Cats Rule: Short ‘n’ sweet videos tap into all things cat to support keeping felines with their families

August 30, 2023

As the cat content strategist at Best Friends Animal Society, Samantha Bell’s goals are two-fold: to use her passion for cat rescue to inspire people to foster and adopt cats and kittens, and to use her behavior expertise to help adopters, volunteers, and enthusiasts understand their cats so they stay in their homes.

Her latest effort that meets those goals involves the creation of Cats Rule videos on YouTube, 50 very short videos (and counting, because Samantha is filming new videos every week) that can be used by a wide audience to improve their relationship with the felines sharing their home, whether they are fostering or adopting. Shelters and rescue groups can tap into the videos to train their foster parents or add to the info they share with adopters.

“Animal shelters and nonprofit rescues are short-staffed and busier than ever,” says Jenn Stone, senior specialist for the pacific region. “These videos are great for new volunteers and staff who may not be cat experts yet but want to be able to answer a potential adopter's questions confidently.”

“I have taken all the helpful cat knowledge in my brain and transformed it into fun, easily digestible social media videos so this valuable info can reach the widest audience possible,” Samantha says.

Here are some of the topics she has covered so far, with blurbs about how Samantha visualizes organizations using them:

Why you should foster a mom and kittens

I once asked our senior manager of lifesaving programs for help with something and to show my gratitude I jokingly told her, "I wish there was something you need that I could give you. I mean, if you ever need a cat video, I got you!" And she said, "Actually, we have so many mamas and babies needing foster homes right now, could you make a video that encourages people to foster them?" Boom. This is the video. Share it in your next foster email and get some cat families out of your facility.

How to handle kittens so they grow up to be great cats

This is one of my favorite topics. Cats' personalities are determined at birth, but the way they cope with living in the human world can be greatly improved by the experiences we provide them as kittens. This video gives viewers three easy things they can do with their kittens to set them up for a lifetime of behavioral success. I'm also working on a long-form "Kitten Kindergarten"-type video that goes more in-depth on this topic.

What it’s like fostering medical kittens

Anyone can foster cats with a contagious illness, even if they don't have a spare room. I don’t have that extra bedroom, but this year I brought home two kittens who ended up having scabies. This video shows what I did and how easy it was, and I hope it helps get more ringworm and scabies cats into foster.

(Jenn chimes in on this one, too) We think of our medical fosters as unicorns because you only ever get one on your foster roster. Anyone can be a medical foster with the right tools and information. This video helps staff and volunteers explain medical needs to a new foster so they can be confident and prepared for their new adventure.

How to take great pet photos with your phone

I want to give fosters and volunteers the tools they need to help us place animals in homes. Not every organization has a staff photographer, but most people have phone cameras. This video will help shelters and rescue groups get better photos of pets to give them a better chance of getting out.

How you can help kittens and cats get adopted through video

Even the friendliest cat doesn't always show well in a shelter environment, so this one shows staff and volunteers how to show off their true personalities by taking video when they're feeling comfortable. If a cat doesn't show well during meet-and-greets, they can share video of the cat enjoying getting attention or playing.

How to help shy cats that hide

This is a sneak peek of a longer, 16-minute video I created on how to help shy cats that covers tips like giving those cats a small space, taking things slowly, and having patience. It explains shy cat behavior and is full of suggestions to help them feel more confident and comfortable. My favorite takeaway is: The more hiding spots you give a cat, the less they will hide.

Cat music for quiet kennel time

This is a partner video to the shy cat long-form video. This mix of soothing music helps calm shy or stressed cats and can be played in the cat areas to drown out scary sounds. That lowers stress. It’s important to give cats eight hours of quiet time per day to avoid auditory overstimulation, however, so it's a good idea to turn off the music overnight.

Five things to consider before adopting a cat

After years of assisting potential adopters in meeting cats, I decided on five things I wish they knew before they started their search. People think they want a certain color or age, but I want them to come in with an open mind and let the cats choose them. I also want people to know how wonderful it is to adopt a pair . . . or an older cat or a shy cat!

Tips to help cats use the litterbox

Part one | Part two | Part three | Part four

House-soiling is one of the main reasons cats are surrendered or returned, so I wanted to give this topic additional content. This is a four-part video series that also comes with written resources all about all kinds of litter box issues — and there's more to come, including a long-form video. We can't expect every person involved in rescue to be able to solve every behavior issue. I want to make your life easier, so have staff send adopters this resource page link when they call with questions.

Train cats to love their carrier

This is how my brain works when deciding these video topics: "Cats get returned for behavioral reasons that are often due to medical issues. If they went to the vet more often, they may not have these issues at all. What's a barrier to cats going to the vet? Getting them in a carrier. Let me help remove that barrier. Let me teach people how to get their cats to love their carrier." Voilà!

Take advantage of these free resources at your fingertips

“Cats are having their moment in animal welfare, as more and more families are adding a cat to their home for the first time,” Jenn says. “The internet is full of cute cat videos, but Samantha’s videos are both cute and helpful. They give quick advice and tips on all things feline.”

So, add links to these free resources into your internal communication, like volunteer and staff emails, and encourage them to be shared far and wide. And of course, add them to any resources you provide to the public.

“The more people understand their cats, the fewer surrenders and returns there will be,” Samantha says. “If someone wants to surrender a cat for a behavior issue, giving them the link to the appropriate videos may just help them keep that kitty. I want these videos to give you back time you can spend on other important things. I packaged up all this cat behavior info and am gifting it to you. Go accomplish other amazing things!”

Liz with cat