FTNR Admin Etiquette

By Nan Wright

 

If you’ve been to the Fresno TNR (FTNR) facility, you’ve already seen our admins at work. The FTNR admins are some of the hardest-working volunteers in Fresno. Daily they make themselves available after work, school and family time to arrange spays and neuters, vaccinate and handle other basic cat care, tend to cats with medical needs at the facility and at home, answer questions, and make sure Fresno’s highly effective TNR organization runs smoothly and efficiently.

 

FTNR admins strive to fill every surgery spot available: counting and recounting cats, organizing transportation, and checking multiple chat channels for cats in need – every day!.

 

And if that’s not enough, our admins also help disinfect floors and kennels, take care of general cleaning, and stock and organize administrative and medical supplies at the facility.

 

Bottom line: They do it all, and it’s a constant mental load.

 

So it’s up to those who rely on FTNR services to make sure the FTNR admins have the time and energy to shoulder all they must take on. 

 

How do you do that? With good admin etiquette.

 

To get a cat scheduled for surgery, the first step for most people is to reach out to an admin. This means that admins are reading and responding to dozens and dozens of messages a day. Even brief back-and-forth discussions add up where time and effort are concerned. 

 

To ease the burden, follow these good etiquette steps:

 

1. Read the FTNR FAQ. Before reaching out to an admin with a question, check to see whether you can find the answer yourself. Our FAQ is chock full of information and guidance!

2. Learn the rules and best practices. Don’t ignore the rules. And don’t ask admins to make exceptions to FTNR rules for you. Rules are posted in the Facebook group and in the FAQ.

3. Message one admin at a time. Don’t spam all of the admins or signal an admin in every FTNR chat channel with your question. Choose one.

4. Be brief and to the point. Keep your request clear and brief. Don’t include extra information that isn’t relevant to the cat’s situation or the help you need..

5. Be patient. Admins are juggling jobs, school, family, friends, personal situations, and colonies and trapping responsibilities of their own. Don’t message with requests to “come right now.” Don’t use a tone of impatience or frustration. Be kind. And allow 24 hours for a reply.

6. When you get a reply, act! When an admin replies to your message, be ready to answer any questions the admin has asked or take the action requested. Don’t ignore admin replies or let them sit unanswered for hours, especially if you’ve asked about a time to drop off your cat.

7. If a mistake or miscommunication happens, keep emotions in check. Sometimes it may take more time than you thought it would to get a response from an admin. Or maybe you overlooked something or made a mistake. Instead of being defensive or getting angry, remember that admins want the same thing you do: to help cats. Don’t take things personally. Work with the admin to fix the situation and get back on track with your cat.

8. Secure your cat when dropping off. Too often lately people are allowing their cats to escape in the parking lot of the FTNR facility. This requires admins to stop what they’re doing and try to capture the cat. Zip tie your traps, double-check carrier doors (these can often be zip-tied too), use solid equipment in good working order (no collapsible traps and carriers), and come into the facility and ask a volunteer for help before attempting to bring in your cat if you’re unsure about whether the animal is secured.

9. LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANT: Don’t share personal phone numbers. If an admin has given you her personal cellphone number, do not share that number with others unless you have clear permission. Giving out someone’s personal number is inconsiderate, removes boundaries, and leads to real mental and emotional burnout.

 

FTNR admins want to help. If you haven’t received a reply in 24 hours, please reach out again! 

 

But admins are also human. And TNR work is not easy. Imagine the nonstop pressure FTNR admins face to show up every day, deal with the vast public need, and make sure as many cats as possible get critical spay/neuter care!

 

You have a role to play in keeping FTNR sustainable by being considerate to our admins. Their hearts are full of kindness and a deep desire to address our community’s cat overpopulation. 

 

By being courteous, well-informed, and kind, you can protect those admin superpowers that have led FTNR to fixing more than 20,000 cats since its founding.

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*Fresno TNR Admins to contact are: Brandi Can Sherman, Cassie Garcia, Savannah Hill (for pregnant females), Sydney Sherman and Kayla McLaughlin.

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