Welcome to the UCTB Family!Thank you for helping us save lives by joining the Urgent Cats of Tampa Bay family! We understand your time is valuable, and we appreciate that you have chosen to donate some of that time to the page. In the sections below, we will go over some basic training to help prepare you for your new volunteer role. We do ask that if for any reason you can't perform your duty on the night assigned, please reach out to another admin to arrange to have your shift covered. Thank you!
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About Us
The first step is to read the About Us section of the UCTB Facebook page, specifically the text under the long description. This section answers a lot of questions that come up on the page, including rescue and foster info, shelter contact information, and adoption fees and information. It also highlights some of our most important rules and policies, which are reproduced below. Another great resource is our Frequently Asked Questions page on our website, which will go over some of the most common questions we get.
General Tips
There are some general tips to be aware of when navigating the page once you have been assigned as a page admin.
Nightly Reports
Each evening around 7:45 PM, the shelter posts three reports on the county website which we use to update our page. Links to those reports are listed below (click report title to open link):
Pre-Euthanasia Report: this report lists all the animals scheduled for euthanasia the following morning after 9AM. An email commitment MUST be received prior to the 9AM deadline the next morning or the animal will be euthanized.
Daily Intake/Outcome Report: this report lists all the animals who arrived and/or left the shelter that day. So it includes all intake, as well as all outcome (adoptions, rescue pulls, and euthanasia).
Kennel Report: this report lists the majority of the animals currently at the shelter along with details about their record (age, gender, weight, current stage, behavior and medical notes, etc.). Some animals will not show up on this report for various reasons. Animals on quarantine for biting or scratching will not show up. Also, many of the kittens and moms with babies do not show up. We hope the shelter will eventually list all animals on this report.
Outcome (in progress)
Every night around 8pm, one of our admins performs the task of outcome. This involves updating every single cat in the Ready To Go album and the Urgent album. It is a very critical task and our followers often wait anxiously each night to see the outcome of specific cats, especially cats on the previous night's euthanasia list. It is therefore important that outcome be performed every night at the correct time. Otherwise, page followers continue sharing cats that are already safe (instead of focusing on the new euth list) and start bombarding the page with update requests.
Instructions for doing outcome:
Rescue Pledge Information: this report lists the pledge and contact information for current and past shelter rescue partners. After a rescue partner pulls a cat from the shelter, we post their pledge payment information so page followers know where to honor their pledges.
Euth List
Each evening, we post a list of the cats scheduled for euthanasia the following morning. These are the cats found on the Pre-Euthanasia Report. We also sometimes highlight medical plea cats on this list, which are cats that can be euthanized at any time without warning. If no cats are scheduled to be euthanized, we will instead list some of the most urgent Ready-To-Go cats at high or extreme risk of euth.
Instructions for preparing the euth list:
The first step is to read the About Us section of the UCTB Facebook page, specifically the text under the long description. This section answers a lot of questions that come up on the page, including rescue and foster info, shelter contact information, and adoption fees and information. It also highlights some of our most important rules and policies, which are reproduced below. Another great resource is our Frequently Asked Questions page on our website, which will go over some of the most common questions we get.
- Long Distance Adoptions: UCTB’s position on long distance adoptions is that they should be considered with caution. We do not personally arrange any adoptions, and the shelter requires adopters to come in person. Bare minimum, anyone pulling or adopting-to-rehome for a long distance adopter needs to arrange a home check as well as check vet references. The person picking up the cat at the shelter is responsible for the cat’s safety and well being. While we know there are many great long distance adopters who can offer wonderful homes, it is impossible to sort out the good from the bad without doing the proper checks (this requires more than a conversation on Facebook or even on the phone). Last but not least, if for ANY reason the adoption doesn’t work out (home check doesn’t pass, adopter backs out, cat gets sick, etc.), the person who picked up the cat needs to have a long-term plan in place. Pulling for a long distance adopter without a local back-up plan is irresponsible. We appreciate the Village’s support in ensuring these cats go to loving homes.
- Pledges: Pledges are for 501c3 non-profit rescues who are also current HC-PRC rescue partners. UCTB will post pledge pay-to information once the cat is safely out of the building. Unauthorized paypal posts will be deleted and repeat offenders will be banned. This policy will be strictly enforced to help protect the welfare of the cats.
- Page Rules: Please keep in mind we are not Animal Control and don't have the resources to investigate claims of neglect. If you feel a cat or any animal is being neglected, you should report it to your local Animal Control. We will use our best judgement when making the tough decision to ban someone and sometimes we may get it wrong. We are human. Regardless of whether you agree with us, we hope you will continue to help the animals at HC-PRC. The animals did not create any drama and should not be the ones to suffer for it. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all our supporters and all the tireless rescue workers who give up so much of themselves to save lives.
The following activities are those which we look at when deciding whether to ban someone from our page:
1. Repeatedly calling us and our page murderers and other horrible names after it's made clear that we don't work for the shelter.
2. Repeatedly attacking other posters after being warned to stop.
3. Repeatedly pledging on a cat and then not following through with payment to the 501c3 rescue that pulled the cat. Pledge amounts are meaningless if the rescues can't trust them.
4. Saying you will send an email to save a cat and then not following through, either by not picking up the cat or not sending the email at all. That is the same thing as sticking the needle in the cat's vein.
5. Putting a cat in an unsafe situation, either by pulling without a solid plan on where the cat will stay long-term (and then, for example, demanding we take the cat from you or offering it on Craigslist for free) or pawning the cat off on an unfit or unstable foster just to get them out of the shelter. This is the so-called "get them out at any cost" mentality that leads to terrible suffering for the cats involved. As much as it breaks our hearts to see cats lose their lives in the shelter, there ARE fates worse than humane euthanasia. If the shelter confirms to us that your name is on the cat, then you are responsible for the cat.
General Tips
There are some general tips to be aware of when navigating the page once you have been assigned as a page admin.
- First, please be aware that you can choose to comment on the page either as yourself or as Urgent Cats of Tampa Bay. When commenting as the page, please keep comments professional and be aware that you are representing the page and the brand we've worked to build in the rescue community. If you would like to post more passionate comments, please switch to your personal profile and comment as yourself. We do not engage in shelter bashing or get involved in arguments as page admins.
- When reading through page comments and messages, you will see lots of questions directed to the page. Please feel free to answer these questions if you are sure you know the answers. However, if you're not sure, please refrain from answering because lives are at stake and a wrong answer could be very costly. You can always bring an important question to the attention of the other admins if you need help answering it.
- When sharing posts and pictures, Facebook gives you the option to share to your personal timeline or your page, which is the Urgent Cats of Tampa Bay page. Please be sure to share your posts to your personal timeline rather than the UCTB page to avoid duplicating posts.
- We are all volunteers and many of us work full time jobs. We do this because we are passionate about animal rescue and about saving lives. And of course, we aren't getting paid to do this work. (We wish, right?) But even though we aren't punching a clock, it's important that we all be reliable with our schedules so as not to put more work on others. If something comes up and you can't perform you duties on your given night, please let the other admins know with as much advance notice as possible to see if someone can cover your shift.
Nightly Reports
Each evening around 7:45 PM, the shelter posts three reports on the county website which we use to update our page. Links to those reports are listed below (click report title to open link):
Pre-Euthanasia Report: this report lists all the animals scheduled for euthanasia the following morning after 9AM. An email commitment MUST be received prior to the 9AM deadline the next morning or the animal will be euthanized.
Daily Intake/Outcome Report: this report lists all the animals who arrived and/or left the shelter that day. So it includes all intake, as well as all outcome (adoptions, rescue pulls, and euthanasia).
Kennel Report: this report lists the majority of the animals currently at the shelter along with details about their record (age, gender, weight, current stage, behavior and medical notes, etc.). Some animals will not show up on this report for various reasons. Animals on quarantine for biting or scratching will not show up. Also, many of the kittens and moms with babies do not show up. We hope the shelter will eventually list all animals on this report.
Outcome (in progress)
Every night around 8pm, one of our admins performs the task of outcome. This involves updating every single cat in the Ready To Go album and the Urgent album. It is a very critical task and our followers often wait anxiously each night to see the outcome of specific cats, especially cats on the previous night's euthanasia list. It is therefore important that outcome be performed every night at the correct time. Otherwise, page followers continue sharing cats that are already safe (instead of focusing on the new euth list) and start bombarding the page with update requests.
Instructions for doing outcome:
- Start in the Ready To Go album: Start with the first cat picture at the top of the Ready To Go album and work your way down the album. Click on the cat's picture, copy the cat's ID number (8-digit number starting with an A), and look up that number in the Kennel Report. If the cat isn't in the Kennel Report, skip step 2 and go to step 3. If the cat isn't in the Outcome Report either, skip step 3 and go to step 4.
- Determine Kennel Report status: If the cat's ID number appears in the Kennel Report, check the field labeled "Current Status" to see the cat's current shelter stage. This stage information will be used to update the cat's picture. Also be sure to look at the notes in the "Comments" field to see if there are any new comments relevant to the cat's status, such as a rescue hold or adopter hold.
- Determine Outcome Report status: If the cat's ID number appears in the Outcome Report, check column three to determine the outcome.
Rescue Pledge Information: this report lists the pledge and contact information for current and past shelter rescue partners. After a rescue partner pulls a cat from the shelter, we post their pledge payment information so page followers know where to honor their pledges.
Euth List
Each evening, we post a list of the cats scheduled for euthanasia the following morning. These are the cats found on the Pre-Euthanasia Report. We also sometimes highlight medical plea cats on this list, which are cats that can be euthanized at any time without warning. If no cats are scheduled to be euthanized, we will instead list some of the most urgent Ready-To-Go cats at high or extreme risk of euth.
Instructions for preparing the euth list:
- Remove cats from previous night's euth list: Check our gmail to see which cats from the previous night's euth list got emails. Before removing a cat from the euth list, verify the cat either left the building on the Outcome Report or verify the cat's status has been changed to adoption or rescue workup on the Kennel Report.
- Add cats to new euth list: Open the Pre-Euthanasia Report on the county website to see which new cats have been added to the euth list. Also check our gmail for any new medical plea cats that went out. Medical plea cats get added to the euth list even though they don't appear on the Pre-Euthanasia Report because vet services can euthanize for medical reasons at any time without warning. So the medical plea email may be the one and only warning we get. If there are no cats on the Pre-Euthanasia Report and no medical plea cats, add the most urgent Ready-To-Go cats to the list. You can find these cats by searching the Kennel Report for the phrase "Xtreme Risk" and "High Risk".
- Post the new list: Type up a new list following the below format, being careful to change the dates highlighted in red text.
OFFICIAL THURSDAY NIGHT EUTH LIST!!
These cats must receive an email before 9AM or could be euthanized by the shelter (can be euthanized at any time before then for medical purposes).
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~~EUTH SCHEDULED~~
*Cat name, ID# - description of reason added to euth list
*Cat name, ID# - description of reason added to euth list
*Cat name, ID# - description of reason added to euth list
~~MEDICAL PLEA~~
*Cat name, ID# - description of reason on medical plea
*Cat name, ID# - description of reason on medical plea
*Cat name, ID# - description of reason on medical plea
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HOW TO SAVE: If you can responsibly adopt, adopt-to-rehome, or are a current shelter foster (i.e., you have taken the orientation class) or rescue partner, you MUST email [email protected] BEFORE 9AM with the words DO NOT EUTH and the Animal ID# in the subject line (serious commitments only). Email MUST include your name, contact information, and what time you can pick up the cat tomorrow. DO NOT email unless you are personally picking up the cat! The shelter will not hold cats for out of state adopters, so don't email and ask. MUST BE PICKED UP TOMORROW IF READY!! Please also send a copy of your email to [email protected] so we know who is still in danger. - Link the main threads: Once the euth list is posted, add links to the cats' main threads in the comments under the list. The quickest method is to copy/paste each cat line from the list (cat name, ID#, description) into the comments, then go back later and add the links by editing the comment.
- Update each main thread: Go through and update the main threads for all the euth list and medical plea cats to make sure the top of each picture has their deadline to save. Copy that update into the comments or write a detailed update.
- Re-share the euth list cats: Lastly, re-share the euth list cats to our timeline so they appear at the top of our page. They tend to get buried during the day as new cats are posted, but at night we want the euth list cats to be highest on the page since they are out of time.