
Through dedicated socialization techniques, feral kittens can learn to trust humans and become loving pets. (Photo by Anna Bongiorno)
A high point of the trip was the workshop for the staff of Multnomah County Animals Services, attended by 26 shelter workers. Interest among the staff was so keen that we added a second workshop on bottle-feeding orphaned neo-natal kittens on the spot. The staff attended both workshops offered optionally after their full workday at the shelter.
After the Portland area workshops, Mike Oswald, Executive Director of the Multnomah County Animal Services commented, “Valerie and Mike are excellent presenters. The NYC Feral Cat Initiative materials were of high quality, and they both have an engaging style that was well received. We were also very pleased at the great community turn-out for the presentation open to the public. We feel fortunate to have discovered Mike’s YouTube videos on socializing feral kittens — which led us to the NYC Feral Cat Initiative and your program. For our organization it was the right information at the right time. Thanks again for coming out to Portland, and I hope we can work together more in the future.”

L to R: Ann Potter, Apartment Cat Team; Mike Phillips, NYCFCI; and Mike Oswald, Executive Director, Multnomah County Animal Services, at the Multnomah County shelter in Troutdale, OR (Photo by Valerie Sicignano)
The results were thrilling to witness after seeing so many shelters where overexcited dogs lunge and jump out of control at the gate of their kennel as prospective adopters pass by. Not only have the Oregon kennel’s adoption rates skyrocketed after the shelter implemented the Open Paw program with the dogs and cats, but also there has been noted improvement in the mental health of the dogs and cats at the shelter. You can learn more about this positive reinforcement approach to maximize calm behavior among shelter animals through a presentation of the technique from Maddie’s Fund, which has been a champion for its use since 2006.
Inspired by their excellent trip to Oregon, Mike and Valerie will next head to Austin, Texas, to present the workshop at the Austin Humane Society on April 1.