The Association Blog

If you’re actively recruiting kitten fosters, see what happens when you try this

If you’re actively leaning into more light-hearted messaging when you put out calls for kitten fosters, you may wish to rotate in an alternative, more serious version of your ask. In the latest episode of The Intake podcast, Hannah Shaw, The Kitten Lady, recommends giving this strategy a try.

“It can be challenging when we want to maintain positive messaging and we want to maintain the feeling that the world is getting better for animals—which is absolutely is,” shares Shaw.

But sometimes, she notes, this can have a reverse effect, and can disempower people from “understanding how great the need still is.”

Yes—it’s no secret that the cute and fun messaging and photos very often sell themselves. But we also may be missing a chance to explain how vulnerable kittens are in shelters.

“Someone recently told me she thought it was illegal to euthanize animals in California,” relates Shaw, who took the opportunity to share that this wasn’t the case. Shaw took some time to explain “why neonates are in the situation they find themselves in, and how foster care really is the solution to that.”

This short conversation had a dramatic impact. Recalls Shaw “She went from literally misunderstanding the circumstances that animals face to asking, ‘How can I sign up to foster?’”

As you consider and craft messaging for your foster programs, Shaw suggests sharing both sides of the coin. “How about looking for that balance between celebrating the good that is happening, while also balancing the very real, persistent need for more live outcomes for neonatal kittens? Doing this in a delicate way could get a more people motivated and empowered.”

What messaging has resonated with your community? Leave a comment and share your experience and tips.

For more from Shaw, listen to Part I of a two-part interview with Shaw and Jackie Noble, the newly appointed ED of Orphan Kitten Club.

Photo: The Kitten Lady/Facebook