We devised a poster campaign highlighting what happens to the cats if we don’t find them homes. They die. We photographed these cats immediately after they had been put down, so they looked like they were sleeping, sitting or falling. We then used three common beliefs to communicate what happens to them, that not every cat lands on its feet, ‘10’ that cats die after their nine lives are up and that in the case of this ad, an animal was actually harmed. The posters were then put up in vets, pet stores and at community events.

Approximately 170 cats are impounded at the home each month. Prior to the poster campaign, approximately 12% or 21 cats found homes. Since the campaign, this has increased to 45% or 77 cats finding a new home each month. Over 670 more cats are now being saved each year. In addition, the number of calls received from people asking the home to record that their cat is lost has risen dramatically, strongly highlighting that more people are aware that the home also cares for cats, overcoming the hurdle in their name.