FAQ's
Registration
1. What requirements need to be met for my shelter to qualify for the programme?
In the spirit of true partnership, to be part of The Adoption Mission programme, we’re asking shelters to:
- Be open to receiving PEDIGREE® and/or WHISKAS® food products to feed the animals in your care
- Provide your adopters with PEDIGREE® and/or WHISKAS® re-homing kits or look to include branded assets within existing kits to ensure a smooth feeding transition to their forever home
- Willingness to include some branded POS in their shelters
The Adoption Mission team would be very happy to chat if you have any questions, concerns or if you need further clarity around these points.
2. How will being a part of The Adoption Mission Programme benefit my shelter?
The Adoption Mission aims to help you equip your shelter staff with the tools you need to provide excellent care to the animals residing in your shelter, whether that be by upskilling your teams in key areas like nutrition or animal behaviour, or providing PEDIGREE® and WHISKAS® food donations to ensure the animals are eating nutritious food they love.
The programme also includes modules to help you better promote the amazing work you do via guidance and helpful toolkits as well as mental wellbeing support for staff and excel training to help you stay efficient and organised behind the scenes.
3. How do I register my interest in The Adoption Mission programme?
You can register your initial interest in signing up for the programme here.
4. What happens once I have registered my interest?
The Adoption Mission team will be in touch with you shortly after you have registered your interest, to assess your shelter’s eligibility for the programme and, if successful, talk you through the final steps to setting up your unique log-in to the programme microsite.
5. What information will I need to register?
To register your initial interest in the programme you will need to share your contact details, along with information about the types and quantities of animals in your care, so we can best assess your eligibility for The Adoption Mission.
6. How long will it take for me to hear back whether my application has been successful?
We will endeavour to get back to you as quickly as possible after your application has been submitted, however, please be advised it could take up to 14 days to hear back during busy periods.
7. What do I do if there is a problem with submitting my registration form?
Please contact theadoptionmission@effem.com for support should you have any issues with your registration.
8. If our organisation has multiple sites, do we have to register each shelter individually or can we register once to cover all our sites?
A lead contact from each site within your shelter network needs to register for their profile on The Adoption Mission microsite. You can use this one account for multiple staff at a single site.
If you are a foster shelter organisation, regional managers will need to create a log-in for use by all foster homes within their region. They will also hold responsibility for ordering food to one central location and distributing it to foster homes within their region. Unfortunately, food cannot be ordered by individual foster homes.
9. What do we do if circumstances change during the registration process, and we need to amend the information supplied?
To amend information that you have already submitted via your registration form, please contact the team at theadoptionmission@effem.com who will be happy to support you.
Training Modules
1. How do I find the different training modules?
If you head to the ‘Training modules’ section in the top navigation bar of the website, you will be able to view all the training modules available within The Adoption Mission programme.
2. How do I download the training module files?
To download a training file, simply click on the ‘PDF’ button on the relevant tile at the bottom of the training module page you are on. This will automatically save in your PC’s ‘Downloads’ folder if you do not opt to save it elsewhere when you begin the download.
3. What do I do if I have a problem downloading the files?
Please contact the team at theadoptionmission@effem.com, who will be happy to help.
4. Can the files be saved or are they only accessible on the website?
Most training modules can be downloaded onto your PC and saved in a useful location for you to access at any time. Do not share these training files with anyone outside of your shelter site, as this is a breach of the programme guidelines.
Videos can only be viewed within the web pages and are not available for download.
Nutrition
1. What is the Waltham Petcare Science Institute?
Waltham is the fundamental science centre for Mars Petcare. They have been advancing research into the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years, and are now leading breakthrough research in preventive health care to advance pet wellness. Their research, in partnership with experts across the world, spans nutrient requirements, preventive health care, feeding behaviour and welfare for cats and dogs. They also support research in partnership with organisations around the world to understand how our relationship with pets can help both pets and their owners to live healthy, happy lives together.
We have worked closely with them on The Adoption Mission programme to develop robust nutritional and feeding advice for dogs and cats. You can find out more about them here.
2. What do I do if I need advice on feeding an animal in my care?
If you need specific advice about feeding an animal in your care with PEDIGREE® and WHISKAS® products, as a first port of call please check the feeding guidelines on the back of the product packaging or you can also ready about this on our website. If you still have a question relating to PEDIGREE® and WHISKAS® products, please contact the team at theadoptionmission@effem.com, who will be happy to help. If your enquiry sits outside of this, we would encourage you to contact your local vet.
Behaviour
1. Who are your expert behavioural training partners?
The Adoption Mission works with Woodgreen Pets Charity and International Cat Care to develop all the behavioural training content on the website. All behaviour training materials are created in partnership with the charities, offering valuable knowledge and support through their expertise. This content has been specifically designed for animal shelters, and aims to help you develop the tools and confidence needed to manage the cats and dogs behaviour in your care.
If you need help with behavioural training and support, please refer to our content available here.
Product Order Form
1. How do I order food for my shelter?
Head to the product orders tab in the top navigation bar of the website, and select the animal you wish to order food for. Add the required product(s) to your basket. You can add as many products as you need to cater to the animals in your care to your basket. When you go to checkout, you will be able to amend product quantities before submitting your order.
2. How often can I order food?
You can submit food orders once per month.
3. When do I need to order food by and when will I receive it?
Please submit your order in the first week of each month, for delivery in the first week of the following month. For example, if you would like to order food for delivery in the first week of October 2021, you will need to place your order by Sunday 5th September.
4. What do I do if I make an error with my food order?
Please contact the team at theadoptionmission@effem.com as soon as possible after submitting your order if you realise you have made a mistake. We will do our best to accommodate any changes required.
5. What do I do if there is an error when my food order arrives?
Please contact the team at theadoptionmission@effem.com, and they will be happy to help.
6. What do I do if my food order does not arrive?
Please contact the team at theadoptionmission@effem.com, and they will be happy to look into this for you and arrange re-delivery.
7. Can I use the food donations to feed food banks or other initiatives we support?
At this stage, you can only use donated food products to feed the animals directly within the care of your shelter or via your foster network. At this stage, The Adoption Mission food donations should not be used to support food banks, the pets of shelter staff or other initiatives external to the animal shelter.
8. How do we know how much PEDIGREE® / WHISKAS® we should feed the animals in our care?
Feeding guidelines can be found on the product packaging for both PEDIGREE® and WHISKAS®. If you head over to the nutritional guidance section of the website, you will be able to read up on these guidelines and also how to manage the weight of animals in your care, specific to their breed and size.
9. What do I do if an animal in my care doesn’t agree with PEDIGREE® or WHISKAS® products?
We would always recommend a slow transition when introducing animals to a new type or brand of food. If an animal appears to have lost their appetite for an extended period of time or is unwell after consuming PEDIGREE® or WHISKAS® products, please contact your local vet, or reach out to our customer care team here.
Re-homing Kits
1. How do I order a Rehoming Kit?
Head to the product orders section of the website, and select ‘re-homing kits’. You will be able to add cat or dog re-homing kits for adopters to your basket here.
2. When can I order the Re-homing kits?
The re-homing kits will be available from the end of September, and you will be able to order them in bulk once per month going forwards.
3. What do I do if I have an existing partner providing re-homing kits for my shelter, but I want to include some Mars Petcare products and assets within these too?
Please get in touch with our team at theadoptionmission@effem.com directly, and we will be able to advise on the best solution.
4. How many can I order?
You can order one kit per potential new adopter, so one kit for every animal in your care.
5. What do I do if my re-homing kit has not arrived or there has been an error with my order?
Please contact the team at theadoptionmission@effem.com and they will be happy to look into this for you.
Mental Wellbeing
1. Who can I contact if a member of my team or I am struggling with their/my mental wellbeing?
We’re very sorry to hear that you or a member of your team is struggling. You can call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or head to www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ at any time of day or night for the support you need.
2. Why have you included mental wellbeing training within the programme?
We know from speaking with many shelters that it can be mentally taxing to facilitate animal adoption. From managing the care of sometimes poorly treated animals, to supporting new pet parents on their adoption journey, looking after your own mental health is vital to you being effective in your role, and we wanted to ensure you had the support you need.
3. Why have you selected the Samaritans as your partner to deliver the mental wellbeing training modules?
Samaritans is a registered charity providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress or struggling to cope, day or night. They have decades of experience in giving people ways to cope and the skills to be there for others. They encourage, promote and celebrate those moments of connection between people that can save lives, and we’re delighted to have worked with them on providing a robust wellbeing programme for The Adoption Mission.