Open Settings > Records & Data > Pet Configuration. The page has three sections: Custom Pet Statuses, Automation, and Pet Age Display Mode.
Custom Pet Statuses
Statuses are organized into named groups. Groups control visual organization and order; behavior belongs to each status.
Each status defines:
- Enabled: whether it can be selected
- Public: whether eligible pets can appear publicly
- Care state: In care, Placed, or Out of care
- Ends foster: whether moving a pet to the status completes an active foster assignment
- Color: the badge color used across PawPlacer
Only in-care statuses can be made public. Placed and out-of-care statuses are kept off public pet listings. A status that changes a pet out of normal in-care handling usually ends its active foster assignment by default.
Add and Organize
- Add groups and statuses from the relevant group controls.
- Rename groups and statuses.
- Drag groups and statuses to reorder them or move a status between groups.
- Use search to find a status. Reordering pauses while search is active.
System statuses have protected behavior. A custom status can be deleted after selecting a replacement for any pets that use it. A group with statuses must be emptied or have its statuses moved before deletion.
The care state of a built-in status or a custom status already assigned to pets is locked. This prevents an edit from silently changing how existing pet records count or behave.
Creating or editing a status does not move pets automatically. Change pet statuses from individual profiles or the Pets list.
Use a status for workflow and care state, such as Available, Medical Hold, or Sanctuary Resident. Use a tag for descriptive attributes that may overlap, such as Shy, Bonded, Needs yard, or Long-term resident. Avoid creating a status for breed, temperament, location, or every temporary note.
The built-in Adopted status already supports the adoption workflow. Completing an adoption moves the pet there automatically. Do not create a second adopted status to work around an incomplete adoption record.
Choosing a Care State
- In care appears in the In Care view and contributes to active-care counts.
- Placed records a placement outcome without treating the pet as currently in care.
- Out of care appears in Past and is excluded from active-care counts.
Choose the care state carefully when creating a status. After pets use a custom status, its care state is locked so their historical classification cannot silently change.
Automation
Automatic pet IDs can assign a custom ID when a pet is created.
Choose from ten sequence patterns, including year, month, day, and sequence-only formats. You can also configure:
- Optional prefix
- Sequence padding from one to six digits
- Yearly reset for patterns that include a year
A live preview shows the resulting format before you save.
Pet Age Display Mode
Choose how ages appear throughout PawPlacer:
- Automatic/default presentation
- Date of birth
- Calculated age
- Life-stage category
This preference saves immediately and reloads the display so the new format is applied.
Permissions
Pet Configuration requires Administrator access.