Colorado Animal Welfare Conference Session
Feline Focus
10:30am-noon • August 19, 2025
City Lights 2-3
Behavior Symposium
When we think of shelter behavior programs, we often think of dogs. Cats, for a variety of reasons, have lagged behind dogs when it comes to sheltering. Things have changed! Cats are having their day, flying out the door and being adopted in record numbers! How do we, as shelters, ensure we are identifying and meeting their needs with the same sophistication and skill we apply to dogs, in an environment that is arguably even harder for them? We’ll discuss what it can look like to provide well-rounded emotional support for all types of cats in the shelter, from arrival to adoption.
Maggie McSchaefer
Maggie McSchaefer is the Eeecutive director of Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden, CO. Working in animal shelters since 2007, her background is in shelter operations focusing on animal behavior, reducing length of stay, and the integration of those concepts across shelter processes. McSchaefer has expertise in improving the emotional experience of shelter animals through agency and choice, embracing imperfection and removing adoption barriers, and believes strongly in the elevation of applied animal behavior as the science it is. She has a particular affinity for cats and has redesigned a number of shelter cat spaces to the benefit of their residents including the Humane Society of Boulder Valley’s 2014 Cat Adoption Center remodel featured in Jackson Galaxy’s book, Catify to Satisfy. She serves on the board of the Animal Welfare Association of Colorado, is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy, and a certified animal welfare administrator (CAWA).