dakin launches aspca meet your match® feline-ality™
Imagine the heart-warming sight of an adult Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society cat going home with a family that perfectly matches his adventurous personality … a confident, loving tabby cat being hand-picked by a senior citizen looking for companionship … or an energetic tuxedo cat going home with the newlywed couple who will provide a loving home.
Increasing the likelihood that adopted cats will be a good match with their new families is the underlying goal of the Meet Your Match® Feline-ality™ Adoption Program, a program of the ASPCA®.
Dakin announced today it is implementing the Feline-ality™ program, further increasing the potential for successful, permanent placements for the organization’s adopted cats. The program — which includes a Feline-ality™ behavior assessment of each cat and a brief survey of each adopter — results in a color-coded matchmaking system that brings compatible companions together. With so many cats to chose from, the decision can sometimes be overwhelming. Color-coding can help refine the adopters’ efforts and help guide them to a lifestyle fit.
“The goal for every adoption is to find a loving home for our cats,” says Leslie Harris, Dakin’s Executive Director. “The Feline-ality™ program helps us do that. It helps our adoption counselors match the expectations and lifestyles of potential adopters with the behaviors and feline-alities™ of the cats.”
Feline-ality™ uses detailed research-based surveys and behavior assessments, both for cats and potential adopters, to make the best matches possible between the two. The cat assessment reliably predicts, based on its Feline-ality™, how an individual cat is likely to behave in his new home. An adopter’s survey identifies the characteristics of the adopter’s preferences and lifestyle that correlate with specific feline-alities™. Adopters can then look for the cats with the specific feline-alities™ they feel would be a good fit for their household and identify them by colors and sub-categories.
For example, a cat with a green color-coded description would be a “Party Animal”, “MVP” or “Leader of the Band.” Green cats are savvy, unflappable and adventurous. A cat with an orange classification makes a great companion kitty, and would be called a “Sidekick,” “Executive” or “Personal Assistant.” A cat with a purple classification is one that seeks affection, is quiet and stays out of trouble. He could be called a “Secret Admirer”, “Love Bug” or “Private Investigator”.
Click here to meet Feline-alities™.
Prospective adopters wanting to meet their match are invited to visit Dakin adoption centers in Springfield and Leverett.
