Promoting cats

Spring is always a time for hope and reflection. (Bit of a cliche there!) More than New Years Day, I think spring is a better time for looking at what you've done well, and what you have not. For example...did you make it through the winter without obsessing about fuel or money to pay for fuel? No? Well, I guess we need to do better next year, then don't we?

Or maybe we should just lay back and soak in the sun...

Bo shows that he can be a pretty as any garden statue
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Every year I am committed to getting all the older cats adopted so we have plenty of room for kittens. Did that happen? Well, I started out on a roll, but other commitments seemed to get in the way of working more online, having booths at local fairs, etc.

I'm happy to report I have fewer cats at one time than I used to. My place will fit forty. I assure you, however, that would be an overwhelming prospect, so I like to keep it well below 20. I currently have 16 adoptables (two in foster homes), which would be great...if only all of them were properly promoted.

Once upon a time, all you had to do to place a cat was put an ad in the local hard-copy newspaper. That was more than the local shelters were doing. But it's a new age, people. There is Petfinder, plus other adoption portals, Facebook, off-site adoption venues, Twitter, Pinterest, and shelters are doing a really, really good job of promoting their pets, in many areas (although not all). However, that does mean that independent rescuers can't sit just throw an ad in the paper and say "no cats in cages" and have people beat a path to their door.

Luckily with all these great social media tools, there are even OTHER tools that help you manage them. So I'm going to be spreading my wings into that area.

Bo and Davis need to shine their beautiful selves in a new home


I plan to experiment with management tools for Twitter and Facebook, as well as Google Analytics. If anyone has a great tool that has helped them manage social media, please feel free to share in comments!