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In addition to the methods outlined above, shelter managers and veterinarians should work together with policymakers and other stakeholders, as needed, to reduce unproductive LOS at every opportunity. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but some methods may include:

 Reduce or eliminate stray‐holding periods, especially for animals unlikely to be reclaimedIn most shelters, reclaim – or at least initial contact with an owner – tends to occur within the first few days of impound. Holding periods beyond this tend to delay progress along other life‐saving pathways.

 Eliminate voluntary intake quarantine periods for healthy appearing animals (as described earlier in this chapter).This includes eliminating holds for puppies and kittens awaiting second vaccines. The best protection for young animals is to practice excellent biosecurity when handling and housing in a shelter, and to move them out into homes (permanent or foster) as quickly as possible.Intake quarantine may still be indicated for animals with an extraordinarily high risk of serious disease, such as transfers from a shelter experiencing an active parvovirus or distemper outbreak or victims of animal hoarding.

 Eliminate bottlenecks associated with procedures that can only be performed by specialized staff, especially those that are difficult to interpret or provide limited additional information to adopters.Consider allowing feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) testing to be performed by the adopter's veterinarian with the opportunity for more in‐depth conversation and follow‐up about the implications and uncertainties of test interpretation and prognosis in a healthy cat.Consider replacing formal behavior evaluations in dogs with a holistic assessment of the dog's history and behavior throughout the shelter stay. Some shelter medicine and behavior experts have raised questions about the validity of non‐ peer‐reviewed behavior evaluations of shelter animals for adoption (Patronek and Bradley 2016).

 Perform spay/neuter surgery on healthy, robust kittens at 1.5 pounds rather than waiting until they reach 2 pounds.Though 2 pounds/1 kg have been common cut‐offs for surgical weight in kittens, there is no scientific basis for this tradition and 1.5 pounds is considered acceptable from both a surgical and developmental perspective (ASV 2016).The same surgical, anesthetic, before‐ and after‐care precautions should be used as for pediatric spay/neuter in 2‐pound kittens.This can be especially helpful in reducing LOS when foster options are limited and kittens must spend time in the shelter awaiting either a foster home or surgery.