Welcome!

Now that your shelter is part of the Million Cat Challenge, we'd like to help you spread the word to your community and local media that your organization is leading the way for cats!
Dr. Kate Hurley and Dr. Julie Levy would be glad to make themselves available to your local media as well; their contact information is in the release.

We also have a few tips on how to interest your local media in the story:

1. Make it personal. Add a paragraph sharing the story of a specific cat who has been helped by one of the Challenge's five initiatives. Statistics can be harder for a reporter or the general public to connect with, but a heartwarming story reaches everyone.

2. Include at least one great photo. It will substantially increase the chances your story will be covered if you have assets like  photos and video. A single photo of a cat looking directly into the camera will be your best bet.

3. Email or call any reporter or blogger you've spoken to in the past, even if it was just to give a comment - and even if the reporter didn't use it. Reference your past connection either by mentioning it or by replying to the last email he or she sent you.

4. Don't send the press release as an attachment. Paste it directly into the email, and include a link to the release on your organization's website or blog. This will increase the chances for online coverage.

5. Be available! Make sure the contact person listed on the release will be checking emails and taking calls right after the release goes out.

6. Not sure who to send it to? Go to news.google.com and search for the name of your community and words like "cats" and "animal shelters." Find reporters and bloggers who have covered these issues in the past, and email them. Their contact information should be on their stories, but if not, call the newspaper, radio station, or TV station and ask! And if they list a Twitter handle, Tweet them! It's often the best way to pitch a story to local media.

We hope you'll also share your accomplishments and landmarks with us so we can in turn share them on our social media. And we hope you'll follow us, too -- the links to our Facebook and Twitter are in the right hand column. We promise to follow back!

We look forward to working with you on making the Million Cat Challenge a huge success for the cats and for your shelter!

Kate, Julie, and the Million Cat Challenge team