County Cat Cam

Cats awaiting adoption at the Loudoun County, Va., Department of Animal Care and Control can now be seen on YouTube videos. The department initially bought its high-definition digital video camera to record evidence for a cockfighting investigation. But Laura Rizer, community outreach and resource services manager for the agency, found the camera sitting unused in a closet and thought of an additional way it could help animals down on their luck.

"It was just sitting in there until the next big case came along, and I thought maybe I could borrow it," Rizer said.

 

Video: Loudoun County posts YouTube videos of cats at its animal shelter awaiting adoption.

A member of the animal shelter's volunteer staff of roughly 50 people shoots the videos, introduces the cats, and offers insight into the personality of each. For example, by watching the videos, a local viewer seeking a rambunctious cat could take a liking to a feline named "Precious," while someone preferring a more docile pet might like "Janis."

After uploading the videos to YouTube, Rizer enters the URLs into software called Chameleon Public Access. From there the videos travel to a Web search engine called PetHarbor, which shows the videos on the agency's Web site.

Loudoun County's animal shelter is in a remote area, which helps citizens reduce unnecessary trips, said Andrea McGimsey, supervisor of Loudoun County. She recently accepted an award on behalf of the county at the Center for Digital Government's Digital Counties Survey awards ceremony. She bragged about the videos on stage.

"We live in a very busy part of the country. People commute long distances," McGimsey said, later adding, "It's going to incentivize them to make the trip and hopefully adopt the animal."

Rizer couldn't assert definitively whether or not the project had led to more cat adoptions, but the videos have been popular on the Internet.

"We've seen some videos that have had 300 and 400 views. Hopefully those are people who want to adopt a cat," Rizer said.

The Department of Animal Care and Control plans to post videos of dogs as well. Recording the dogs had been difficult because they tended to bark at the camera.

"Some dogs react poorly to the camera because it's like a giant eye staring at them," Rizer said.

However, volunteers recently found that dogs did better on camera if one staffer distracted them while another volunteer shot the video.

"We're trying to focus on our cats right now because we have a lot more trouble adopting cats," Rizer said. "Dogs don't seem to need the extra help."