Small is Beautiful During COVID-19

“Small is Beautiful” is going to be my mantra for community cat programs and clinics this summer.

As states begin to open up their restrictions on what businesses can and can’t do, we will need to be creative in adjusting to different working conditions. The most nimble organizations are going to be the most successful. If you are unsure where you state is in terms of restriction, this resource from the New York Times is a good place to start.

Many clinics are choosing to do community cat days before they open up to the public so that they can really focus on the changes in their internal systems and their supplies used. Please make these first events a success by being organized and professional. Below are some tips to follow that will help things go more smoothly.

When you are out in the field, I would recommend focusing your trapping efforts on a few colonies at a time so that you can be most effective in your efforts to get as many cats as possible. Also, stay socially distant, wear a mask and gloves, and don’t go into any homes. In some areas, it may be best to not depend on community members to do the trapping. Instead, it may be best to start out with volunteer trappers who can handle a larger number of cats.

Should we open our trap banks to the public? I think you will need to judge for your own organization how you feel on this issue. You may want to ask your clinic staff how they feel too. If you do open up the trap bank, most likely those cats will need to be brought to a central location and then be brought in to the clinic by one designated person. So that is another step that will need coordination from the community cat groups. In states that have really pulled back on restrictions, you may be able to move to the traditional model sooner rather than later.

How community cat programs can proactively assist S/N clinics as they open up:

• Reach out to your local clinic and offer to coordinate a community cat day for a large number of cats (10-15+)
• Offer to do all paperwork (including some sort of ID tags) ahead of time, scan it, and email it to the clinic if possible. Make sure everything is filled in completely and correctly.
• Very clearly mark/ID every trap with tape (no paper tags), and clearly mark any cats with any known COVID exposure. (In most cases we don’t know, but if you know something, share it.)
• Don’t bring in fewer cats than you commit to. The last thing a clinic wants is to book 15 cats with you and you bring only 5. That is a relationship breaker and also a lost opportunity to assist cats that need these services. Make every appointment count!
• Have one person deliver a large volume of cats via van or large car. This delivery happens outside with a pass off to a technician. This could be via a lobby area, vestibule, or parking lot. No paperwork or conversation is really needed.
• Ask if they want only disposable trap covers. So use sheets that you don’t want back. Limit what you have in the trap.
• Arrive masked and with gloves on to show you respect the staff’s safety.
• Arrive on time (note that on time is usually early).
• Stay available all day long for any calls/text or concerns about the cats.
• Arrive on time (again, usually early) to pick up your cats at the end of the day.
• The clinic should email all paperwork back to you (hopefully for review ahead of time).
• The cats in traps will be passed back to the transporter. Arrive in a mask and gloves.
• Lastly, please thank the staff for their assistance in getting up and running.
• For recovery/return: Use animal shelter protocols. Have only one or two people tend to the cats as they recover. If you are coordinating with others for pick up, then set up a place where you can do it in a safe, socially distanced way. Email/text them the paperwork beforehand. Everyone should wear gloves and a mask.
• For trap return: Set up a return system and cleaning protocol similar to what is currently done to sanitize the traps.

We all know that the more cats we spay/neuter, the better off we will be, but the limitations around how many cats that can be done in the new clinic setting is going to be frustrating. I know you will need to be adaptable and it’s hard when we currently don’t have any best practices on what is the best way to do this. But I hope this is a start. Good luck.