When You Cannot Put That Cat Back Where It Came From – The Call for a ‘Working Cat Program’ Implementation

Introduction: Operation Catnip’s (OC) Working Cat Program (WCP) was created to contribute to life-saving efforts for poorly socialized unowned cats that cannot return to their original location and in turn relocation needs to be implemented. The goal of this study was to evaluate the OC’s WCP, a cat management program, conducted in Florida from January 1, 2019, to December 1, 2023. Methods: Data from cats enrolled in the OC’s WCP were retrieved from electronic records and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Cat adopters were surveyed to assess satisfaction with their adoptions and to evaluate the broader outcomes of the program. Results: A total of 968 cats were enrolled in 5 years of the program. In total, 99% (n = 959) of the cats had a live release rate (959), where 90% (862) were ‘hired’ (adopted into non-traditional homes), 9.9% (95) were transferred to rescue groups (to be adopted into traditional homes), and 2 were returned to their original location (return to field). 85% of the adopters who responded to a post-adoption survey (329/387) were very or completely satisfied with their adopted cat’s performance, and only 10% (40/387) were not or were somewhat satisfied with their adopted cat’s performance. Conclusion: Implementing cat management programs like OC’s WCP is a viable and successful way to provide positive live outcomes to cats unsuitable for traditional adoption, as an alternative to euthanasia.