Winograd rejects as ludicrous the argument that the lives of feral cats are so miserable that it is a kindness to kill them. We hardly feel obliged to kill every hedgehog and beaver, after all, to save them from the hardships of life in the wild. How is a cat different?

No Kill shelters promote high volume, low-cost spay and neuter programs. They hector local veterinarians until they agree to volunteer their services; they go to veterinary colleges and recruit students who need to practise their skills. They search for volunteers who will foster the animals temporarily, freeing up kennel space and reducing feeding expenses. This also promotes the socialisation of the animals, making them more adorable and thus more adoptable - and many of the volunteers end up adopting them permanently.

Human contact makes animals sociable - and thus more adorable and adoptable

When shelters refuse to kill, volunteers are easy to find; few people, after all, have the stomach to work with healthy puppies and kittens who are about to be put to death, but many are more than happy to foster a litter of kittens if they believe their charges will go on to a live long, happy natural lives. When Winograd announced that Tompkins County would no longer kill, for example, the number of volunteers swiftly increased from a few dozen to nearly a thousand.

Don't charge high fees to people who want to adopt, says Winograd. Don't make the adoption process bureaucratic and arduous. Extend the shelter's visiting hours so that people with jobs can visit in the evenings and on weekends. Make sure the shelter looks nice, not depressing. Don't put the animals in cages; animals allowed to play in open runs will be less neurotic and friendlier, encouraging people to take them home.

Above all, Winograd insists, bring the animals to places where potential adopters can see them. Show them off outside pet stores, at shopping malls, in office buildings with high foot traffic. Advertise ceaselessly in local papers, radio and television; show fetching photos of the animals with whimsical descriptions of their personalities. Work with local and national breed rescue groups to target adopters who are looking for a specific

breed.

Once people have adopted the animals, make sure they keep them. Turn the shelter into a resource for pet owners who need information about how to reduce behaviour problems. Advertise everywhere: We can solve your problem with that cat who scratches the furniture or that puppy who won't stop barking. We'll send a volunteer animal-trainer right to your home. Growing too old to care for your pet? We'll send you a volunteer dog-walker.

And the idea that you shouldn't give pets for Christmas? Outrageous, says Winograd. The holidays are a perfect opportunity for adoption drives: "We have to stop focusing our policies under the false premise that the public can't be trusted, that the animals are better off dead than in the homes of those who believe that there is no better display of holiday spirit than to open their home to an animal in need."