Dilara Göksel Parry has been an integral player in Cat Town’s work over the years — first as a consultant, and more recently as our part-time Cat Care Coordinator. Now as our first ever Program Manager, Dilara oversees all the work we do for cats in need of support — both at our Adoption Center and in our foster network.
Why did we create this new position, and what it will mean for our cats and our community? We talked with Dilara for her take on this new role, and our hopes for what we can accomplish as Cat Town continues to grow.
When Antioch Animal Services reached out about Rothko and his friends needing extra support, Dilara helped him get a full mouth extraction before he arrived in our care. Photo by Erica Danger.
Cat Town’s Program Manager, Dilara Göksel Parry. Photo by Shelly Waldman.
You're Cat Town's first ever Program Manager! How do you see this role changing the way Cat Town operates? What's the biggest difference you think these changes will bring?
Cat Town has always done an incredible job of supporting people as well as prioritizing the cats who need it the most. I don’t see this changing at all! Our goal with this role is to enable more integration between the foster program and the Adoption Center with regards to intake decisions, adoptions, and more. We are also hoping to increase our capacity and help more cats — first and foremost from Oakland Animal Services (OAS), but also from other transfer partners such as the Hayward, Fremont, and Antioch Animal Services, and Feral Change.
An example of a change we hope to see as a result of increased cohesiveness would be that an adopter can seamlessly connect with a foster cat OR an adoption center cat within the same conversation — and the cats can more easily access that bigger adopter pool.
What are you most excited about?
After weeks of support from Dilara, Effie now feels safe enough to relax with her foster guardian.
Saving more cats and helping more people, of course!
In addition to that, I see my role as not only enhancing our already innovative, life-saving programs for cats and community, but also reducing burnout for the excellent team we have. I believe that the next frontier for animal welfare organizations includes prioritizing staff wellbeing — the happier the staff, the better it is for the organization, after all! Kristin and Marie do an amazing job of intaking and keeping our cats mentally and physically healthy and on the path to adoption. Our new Adoption Coordinator position will take on the steady traffic of potential adopters and post-adoption support. I’m here, along with Andrew, not only to create and guide programs, but to support these crucial positions so that staff can achieve a more sustainable life-work balance.
You have a lot of expertise in animal behavior, adoptions, and more — and this experience has led you to become a great troubleshooter, with a particular passion for helping cats with behavioral challenges thrive with their families. How do you see your background in behavior influencing this new role?
I think that my experience has led to a deeper understanding of the complexities of sheltering and adopting out cats, and improving conditions and outcomes for as many cats as we can.
A young guest plays at the Cat Town Adoption Center. Photo by Scott Russell.
My certification as a cat behavior consultant (through the IAABC-International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants) requires me to keep my learning current with CEU’s and be science-based. This field is notoriously easy to exploit as there is currently no regulation. Once we settle into our new roles, I would love to standardize more of our behavior protocols, as well as increase educational opportunities for fosters, volunteers, adopters, and the community at large. Helping people understand and appreciate cats has always been a priority for me, and something I genuinely enjoy. Andrew and I have also discussed tracking and analyzing data that would not only benefit Cat Town but also other organizations that want to help the cats who need it most. Having the time and resources to work on such an important project would be incredibly exciting.
In addition, actively working towards true inclusivity — researching what measures we can take to be more accessible and welcoming of diversity across all programs — has been a top goal for me as an animal welfare professional. As a Turkish-Armenian American, I am acutely aware of how communities can co-exist yet also have rifts that require effort — not just words, but actions — to heal. Cats and cafes are a common love for so many, globally, and seeing Cat Town’s community grow to be even more diverse and inclusive is a dream of mine.
You were one of the earliest people to work with Cat Town on our Forgotten Kitten Project, helping document its success (and revealing just how many scared kittens "graduate early" from the program, needing very little support once you get them out of a cage). Do you have any dreams for how Cat Town can continue to support overlooked cats in new ways?
Yes! I have always had a soft spot for under-socialized kittens. Some years before the founding of Cat Town, I created a program for socializing feral kittens, including older ones at the SFSPCA, where we leveraged both foster homes and adoption center housing and “behavior program volunteers'' (this behavior program, incidentally, was the impetus for Cat Town’s founder, Ann, reaching out to my partnership, Feline Minds, way back when!).
Cat Town’s focus has historically been on adult cats and kittens over 4 months of age, as they are “forgotten” by other organizations. However, a number of kittens come into OAS at a younger age — 10 to 12 weeks old — but are neither transferred to other organizations nor adopted, and so stay in the shelter for a month or more. I have some ideas for collaborations between OAS and Cat Town to address these “pre-FKP” kittens.
I’m also excited to explore options for cats who have ringworm — we would need a serious educational/media campaign, as well as training and ongoing support for foster homes — but it is a real need for OAS and thus for our community, and could be ground-breaking.
“Pre-FKP” kittens Midnight, Dawn, Dusk, and Sunrise at Cat Town before they got adopted.
We’re excited to continue evolving so that we can meet the needs of our community. Thank you for supporting us as we grow!