Shelter Sheets
Free Printable "Instruction Sheets" for Use by Groups Offering Cats for Adoption
|
||
|
||
Adopting a cat is a major decision, and sadly, is one that people are often unprepared for. Even in these enlightened times, the fable still is held in common belief: that cats are independent animals that can take care of themselves. Sometimes (too often, according to the evidence I see) people adopt cats with that thought in mind: that they will be low maintenance, economical pets, and that if they don't work out, they can always be returned, or worse yet, turned out on their own. A common topic in the Cats Forums is that cats should come with instruction manuals. With that thought in mind, I created the Feline Owners Manual and Maintenance Guide, which is an online instruction manual in progress. While this series of articles is hoped to be valuable to cat owners with online access, it was thought that something more was needed; something closer to the source of adoption, such as at shelters and other rescue organizations. Thus, the birth of the Shelter Sheets for Cats. The shelter sheets are a compilation of information on this site; with invaluable input from the many knowledgeable members of the Cats Forums, and have been created largely through the efforts of forum leader HOSTGary, whose zeal and energy where cats are concerned is unparalleled. These sheets are printable, one-page documents which cover individual subjects such as How to Cat-Proof Your Home, How to Manage Your Cat's Claws, litter box maintenance and more. We intend to eventually cover all of the most important issues involved with maintaining a cat, as well as some specific ones, such as "How to Manage Your FIV+ Cat." Many shelters already offer this kind of information in a more general form. If yours does, congratulations! You may still want to supplement your handouts with one or more of our Shelter Sheets. If your organization does not already offer this information, these sheets were meant for you. They are free to download and distribute in print form ( but sorry, not for reproduction on another web site). All we ask is that you use them in their entirety, and do not remove the copyright information. This is our gift to you, in recognition of the significant work you do for animals in need. Together, we can work to ensure that cats that are adopted will stay adopted. Credits: Graphics on Shelter Sheets are through a license with ArtToday. Please fill out the following form, which will take you to the download area. This information will be kept private, and will not be used for any mailing list, nor sold to any other entity. We simply want to get an idea of who is using our sheets. Although they are called Shelter Sheets (we had to have some title), we hope they will also be used by any non-profit groups who offer cats for adoption. We'd even like to see them used in veterinary clinics, as those are sometimes the "first line of defense" for new cat owners. The fields marked with an asterisk are required. Next: > Look Who's Using Them! > Page 1, 2,
