#BetterWithPets Summit – Part 2 – The Lessons Learned and Putting Them Into Action
This post is sponsored by Nestle Purina® and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated to help spread the word about the third annual BetterWithPets campaign but Zee & Zoey’s Cat Chronicles only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Purina is not responsible for the content of this article.
Photo credit: Nestle Purina
Attending a Purina Better With Pets Summit, while an amazing experience, is also an overwhelming one. So much insightful information shared in the span of a day by so many experts – how could I possibly come back home and do justice to all I had learned in a mere blog post or two? The theme centered on the emotional connection between people and their pets, especially as being defined by the new generation of millennials. Rather than debate what to discuss, I decided to go with the obvious – my favorite subject – cats.
It’s what panelist and Purina Behaviorist, Sandra Lyn said that really caught my attention and what I want to focus on – that the shift in households with the largest cat population has changed from baby boomers to millennials – millennials being those individuals born sometime between 1981 and 1997 that have never known a time without digital technology. She said key to the emotional connection was to figure out how both the cat and the millennial get the best out of the relationship because when that happens, both parties benefit.
Although I’m young at heart, in reality, I’m the bag of food on the shelf that’s formulated for mature cats. I was brought up in a world where we communicated in far more than 140 characters and when we took a picture of something, we had to wait several days, if not weeks, for the photos to be developed. Sharing meant printing duplicates and mailing them out to Grandma. A headline was about something that could have happened days before, not in real time, and going viral probably meant a trip to the doctor, not a marketing phenomenon.
These were my boys in 2013 celebrating Christmas at my house. I am happy to state they are well-adjusted millennials that have been brought up knowing the enrichment pets bring to our lives.
But just because I might not always like or understand the technology that defines the millennial world, it doesn’t mean I can’t embrace and successfully use its far reaching capabilities when it comes to cat welfare. Sandra said it best – think of the hyper social world we live in, in terms of bite size servings – like a super vitamin packed with a powerful boost of vital information.
In real terms, that means if Twitter gives me 140 characters, then I have to make the best of use of each and every one of them – not only to grab the reader’s attention, but to impart a useful and lasting message or relevant call to action. For example, when Marty Becker, D.V.M. was discussing the importance of placing cat cages in shelters high up from the ground so that cats feel safe and secure, I tweeted the message “Cats like to get high! No, not that kind of high- they need high spaces to feel safe & secure!”
What’s most important about that tweet is that it’s instantly catchy, but quickly, before any attention span is lost, it immediately explains why cats like to get high, not implying that cat’s actually like to get high on drugs. If I shortened the headline to “Cats Like to Get High” to use on a blog post, for example, that would be irresponsible of me. While definitely attention getting, there is no guarantee the post would be read in full and I would not want the takeaway being that people think it is okay to get cats high on drugs.
We see these kinds of dangerous and misleading headlines all the time – one of the most recent being the study by the University of Edinburgh and Bronx Zoo, suggesting that domestic cats are neurotic and sinister and want to kill us. Seriously? Cats got a bad enough rap as it was a couple of years ago when a study was released in the journal, Nature Communications, that free roaming and feral cats were responsible for killing up to 3.7 billion birds annually in the continental United States. Studies like these take whatever facts seem to suit them the best and then either distort or misrepresent the rest, wreaking havoc with the gullible mainstream public that doesn’t know any better. In cases like this, Mikel Delgado, Certified Cat Behaviorist, explained that we must do our best to fill in those social gaps with education.
So in my example of cats liking to get high, the best case scenario would be if I wrote an informative blog post and designed a compelling photo graphic to go with it. Then I could attach the photo to my Tweet and share the link to the blog post by using a program like bitly to shorten the url and drive traffic to my blog.
The same photo could be used for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. and the best part is that all of these social platforms encourage sharing and conversation – conversation where, if myths and inaccurate are present, they could be politely corrected or debated. I learned that a long time ago from my own life lessons – we can never assume that everyone knows as much as we do about a particular subject and as a devoted cat advocate, I make it my mission to educate any time I can.
That’s actually true for all of us and you didn’t need to attend the summit to learn that lesson. Every single day in our everyday actions and language, we educate whether we realize it or not (good or bad). I learned this lesson firsthand as I was getting ready to leave the summit with Robin Olson of Covered in Cat Hair. We were on our way to the Koneko Cat Café in SoHo and were interrupted by two staff members of the Brooklyn Expo Center who wanted to compliment us on our leopard attire (yes, I let other people wear leopard print). We told them we were going to a cat café and they were fascinated.
One of the ladies made a joke about wanting to open a bar for dogs, thinking it would be cute if dogs could drink. We very politely (but firmly) explained how dangerous that was – even in jest – which led to a conversation on certain foods that were toxic to pets and so on. She had no idea and was horrified – clearly she did not want to do anything to harm an animal, but she didn’t know any better. And that is my biggest takeaway from the summit – I am a social influencer and I have the power to help ensure that the emotional balance between people and their pets is as healthy, safe, loving, and beneficial as possible.
Once again, I thank Purina for the incredible opportunity to attend the Better With Pets Summit. As a way to wrap it all up, I thought I’d share some of my favorite graphics I have created over the years that I have shared on a social level – I think they all highlight quite vividly just how powerful social media can be to sharing positive and informative messages about pet welfare. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
One of my biggest “don’t assume everyone knows everything” is the subject of early spay/neuter. At one point in my life, I did not know all the facts and now it is a subject that I try to educate on as much as possible. This graphic I made back in 2012 really got it all started for me – leading me to write for Cat Fancy Magazine on the subject.
I’ve used this simple graphic about black cats for various occasions over the years. It’s by far one of my most successful and has been shared thousands of times worldwide.
A very simple message with a very simple picture is all it takes to initiate positive and compelling conversation about the love we share with our pets. This was for National Pet Week.
Declawing is one of the most sensitive and controversial subjects about cats there is. Rather than be adversarial, by creating a very heartfelt and compelling graphic, I was able to encourage some very helpful and positive conversation to those who might not have known how detrimental declawing can be to the health and well-being of a cat.
Sometimes the most effective way to communicate with people is to spoof something that is popular at the time. I created this graphic for Adopt a Shelter Cat Month when the new season of the wildly popular show “Orange is the New Black” was beginning.
What a fascinating and compelling discussion- I had never thought about how technology, social media and education about animal issues can be and are used together to help spread information. This is nothing new as I have seen countless memes/infographics on social media and learned info I was unaware of from them, all without consciously thinking about how well they work together and are a powerful tool to educate. I think this is perfect for Millenials who are part of the McNews age where at no other time loads of information in so many forms has been more accessible to the masses, all competing for intake by people. Although I am part of Generation X, I find the amount of information available due to technology overwhelming and often am looking for condensed versions in order to be able to cover all interests I have. The infographics you created above are simple, clear, and pack a lot of valuable information that is easy to digest and remembered, all serving as excellent examples of how to educate the public effectively. I believe this is one of the most successful ways to present important information we in animal rescue can use, rather than long articles or speeches that are more likely to be skimmed over or bring up diverse emotions which can take the discussion off topic. Thank you for this much food for thought!
I am so glad you found this discussion compelling, Angel Ms. Phoebe’s Family. I think that’s the best way to learn sometimes – through the unaware subconscious – and social media gives us the perfect format for that!
Thank you for your thoughtful response – very much appreciated!
Education is so important. I try to do some sort of educational post on my blog once a week for cat lovers and owners. Not only do I get to educate others about important subjects, but I usually end up learning something, too. 🙂
That’s a great point, Fur Everywhere! I think as wed educate others, we do end up learning a lot more on our end as well!
I enjoyed reading this post today Deb; had to laugh at the cat’s getting high
scenario….told myself ….dont get me started on the bird controversy; { that has
nothing to do with da tabbies this time} and was happy to learn that the info
you imparted to the gals about the dog pub, actually “hit home” …the black cat by
the way is gorgeous; is that Christine’s ? ♥♥♥
Thank you tabbies – that bird controversy still gets me crazy and it still pops up in headlines to this day. I was glad we were able to educate the girls too – although my favorite ever “help” was when I convinced someone she was actually a cat person when she thought she was not. I was at a retail store when I had the conversation with her – I came back several months later, and based on my advice, she had adopted a rescue kitten that she was madly in love with!!!
And no, that cat is not Christine’s. It is one of the few pictures I have of a random cat…
If you are good at one liners then Twitter is probably for you!! What I can’t understand is that most tweets I see are just ats and hashtags! But I do admit to not being a big fan!! However, social media generally has allowed for ease of information sharing. You just have to be able to sort out the good from the bad!!
CATachresis – to this day, I am still not a big Twitter user, but when I do use it, I try to make the best of it!! It is nearly impossible for me not to be overly wordy!! Hard to change a habit that’s over 50 years old!
It is interesting that even today, with all the technology, education and information can be lost. I dropped off a foster this am to be neutered and was talking to a group of ladies at the clinic. One mentioned that a female stray she took in just had a second litter of kittens (yeah…don’t get me started). Seems she found a website that informed her that cats won’t go into heat until at least 60 days after kittens are weaned. ARGH!! Along side that, it is interesting the number of people I talk to either at the rescue, or at clinics or adoption events and can pass along even just the most basic of information. It is interesting to try to rethink the way we approach social media and “catching” the attention of others.
Random Felines – that is why I never assume anything any more with anyone. I once thought a cat had to be a year old before she could be spayed, but I do find it hard to believe in today’s day and age that a website would post such erroneous information about when a mother cat could go into heat again. Thank goodness she was able to learn the correct information.
I do think that everyday conversation can be an invaluable learning tool to educate people about certain cat issues- especially on sites like Facebook. But the key is to treat people with respect. I deplore when people get overboard judgmental, causing the thread of the post to become cyber bullying. That kind of mean-spiritedness solves nothing and just pits people against one another, rather than solving anything.
Wonderful, wonderful post and I think my favorite part was this: “Although I’m young at heart, in reality, I’m the bag of food on the shelf that’s formulated for mature cats. I was brought up in a world where we communicated in far more than 140 characters and when we took a picture of something, we had to wait several days, if not weeks, for the photos to be developed. Sharing meant printing duplicates and mailing them out to Grandma. A headline was about something that could have happened days before, not in real time, and going viral probably meant a trip to the doctor, not a marketing phenomenon.”
Thank you Caren – I really loved that part too and I could have went on and on about that… But, despite that, technology really is wonderful – it’s just all about finding the right balance in life to where it doesn’t completely overrun and control your life (as you know, easier said than done…)
Pawsum posty. Weez still wishin’ we kuld go to these kinds of events. Glad you had fun and was able to help educate peeps.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
Great article! I agree as influencers we need to think about what we write and what we share. And I also believe that most people are not intentionally cruel or irresponsible; they just don’t know. And that’s where influencers like us can do our part to inform and educate.
–Purrs (and wags) from Life with Dogs and Cats