Visual Advocacy - Outside Interaction

So I began this process of contacting outside sources by researching all the local shelters and foster homes. I than emailed asking if they had the time to help me with my project and fill out an interview. Out of about six organizations only two replied; The Humane Society and No More Homeless Pets in KC.

I spoke to Karen from the Humane Society first which was really helpful at the beginning of my project because she helped steer me away from one really bad misconception. That increase in abandoned pets was due to the recession. She said from her experience that people have a problem with commitment when it comes to pets. That the ones that end up in the shelters are usually impulse buys and that when the "fun times" wore off they gave them up. She also mentioned that there seemed to lack a connection or bond between owner and pet.

After talking to Karen I sent out a mass email to the KCAI student body asking cat owners what kind of relationship they had with there cat(s) and some background information. For the most part I got the response I assumed I would get which confirmed what I had been thinking. Some of the responses to how abandoning cats be discouraged where interesting because they were on target with the social change I was considering.


The next person I talked to was Kathy from No More Homeless Pets in KC. I began this correspondence by emailing the organization. They directed me to Kathy and Shirley who lead the Feral Cat program. The emails went no where and they never did respond to my questionnaire so I showed up for the monthly feral cat clinic. Shirley gave me a tour of the facility which was really interesting (they do a program called TNR that traps neuters and releases feral cats.) And then I talked to Kathy about my project and showed her my prototypes. She said that she thought that this was a very important area to work in because every cat deserves a better life which is why she works with feral cats because no one cares about them. Her comments on the prototypes were that she thought it made sense and that it was interesting that i was trying to change the stereotypes our society has about cats. She did question the terms abandon and relinquished cats because to her someone who abandons a cat is doing a much more horrible thing than someone who relinquishes a cat because they at least care enough to give them a chance at survival. She said that she could see it being implemented in a real world situation.

I also showed my prototypes to Josh Herron who is a fellow senior at the kansas city art institute in animation. he recently adopted a cat about a month ago named turbo.
I showed him my prototypes and asked him how he would react to seeing these on products he buys for his cat. He said he thought they were funny but he wasn’t sure how effective they would be on changing peoples feeling of cats. He said that growing up with pets in his family they treated “pets as pets” and they were always part of the family. His mom would prepare special food for their pets. and He said he couldn’t imagine abandoning or giving his cat away for any reason.


My last user was Turbo who enjoyed playing with the toy I made for her.