Midwest Pet Refuge, Ltd.: Cat Enrichment Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The grant has helped us purchase a major portion of the materials needed to build catios for the many cats in our rescue. We have used all of the grant money completely and are currently fundraising to complete the project. We are still in the process of doing so, but we are most of the way done.

We are currently working on getting donations of pavers to put on the preferred ground of the catios; we have had some donations, but not enough yet. The pavers are the last of the materials needed. We have had a number of pavers donated, but we still need 300 square feet of them. We have more coming, so we should be able to finish this project by the end of October. We really want to make the floor of the catios safe and easy to maintain. Using sand, gravel, and/or grass just isn't a good idea with cats.

We have also relied entirely on volunteers to bring this project to reality. Relying on volunteers, we are dependent upon their schedules and availability. While we had hoped to have the project completed by now, we are nearing the end.

How many pets did this grant help?

This project will give 75-100 cats an outdoor space to enjoy safely.

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Ranger (first photo) is a cat who wants to be outdoors so much. We set up one of the windows with the cat flap insert and put a cage outside of it to see what he would do. HE LOVED IT! We know that once the catios are done, he will probably spend 90% of his time outside.

Ranger has yet to be adopted. You can meet him here.