A local shelter cat, Tudie, from Chattanooga, is training to participate in the Fourth Annual Cat Pawsitive National High-Five Day Contest for a chance to win a $5,000 grant for McKamey Animal Center.
The annual Cat Pawsitive National High-Five Day Contest celebrates the success of the life-saving Cat Pawsitive initiative of The Jackson Galaxy Project, a program of Greater Good Charities, and powered in partnership with Petco Love.
Tudie is a two-year-old male tabby cat who has been participating in the Cat Pawsitive Initiative since it was first introduced at MAC earlier this year. Since then, he has learned commands such as sit, head bump, eye contact and high-five. Despite being FELV+, Tudie is described as a loving and playful cat who loves people, especially those who will play with him.
On National High-Five Day, celebrated today, animal shelters and cat lovers are invited to share their most creative feline high-five images and videos on social media, with the hashtag #felinehighfiveday2022 and tagging @greatergoodcharities, for a chance to win.
“Most people don’t realize that cats can be just as trainable as dogs – with the right motivation,” said Inga Fricke, MAC executive director. “Cat Pawsitive is a wonderful way to provide enrichment for the cats here at the shelter and demonstrate just how much more fulfilling our relationships with our feline friends can be.”
"Cat Pawsitive is a life-saving initiative for shelter and rescue cats that aims to increase feline adoption rates by instructing shelter/rescue staff and volunteers how to implement positive reinforcement training for cats, that includes a signature move - teaching them to high-five," officials said.
Jackson Galaxy, renowned cat behavior and wellness expert, host of Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell,” New York Times best-selling author, and founder of The Jackson Galaxy Project (a program of Greater Good Charities), developed Cat Pawsitive with a team of feline behavior experts with support from Petco Love.
The winners of the Fourth Annual Cat Pawsitive National High-Five Day Contest will be selected by Jackson Galaxy and announced this Friday. Social profiles must be set to "public" for entries to be eligible. The prizes of the Fourth Annual Cat Pawsitive National High-Five Day Contest follow:
• The grand prize is a $5,000 cash grant to an animal shelter/rescue of the winner’s choice;
• Second place is a $3,000 cash grant to a shelter/rescue of the winner’s choice; and
• Third Place is a $2,000 cash grant to a shelter/rescue of the winner’s choice.
"Since 2016, more than 1,900 cats have been adopted during Cat Pawsitive semesters, with hundreds of more cats benefitting from being in the program and continuing their training on the road to adoption," officials said. "To date, a total of 203 animal welfare organizations have participated in Cat Pawsitive semesters, with over 1,700 individuals trained in Cat Pawsitive techniques to help save the lives of cats."
Contest participants can download step-by-step instructions to teach the feline high-five and review the complete contest terms and conditions at felinehighfive.com.