SPCA of Bradley County: Cat Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The Cat Enrichment Grant allowed us to purchase individual "Stretch-and-Scratch" cat scratchers to hang in each cat's kennel to let them express their natural behavior of "scratching" while they are waiting in our care for a home.
We recently upgraded our cat kennels from ferret cages to double-sided Shoreline kennels with portals, and having these cat scratchers in addition to the updated houses has been incredible. We are seeing happier cats who are staying healthier while in our care, and it feels like they are getting adopted more quickly than they did last year at this time!
We are sending the individual scratchers home with new adopters in hopes that the cat having something with their scent on it will make the transition a bit easier. For litters of kittens, we keep the scratcher in the kennel until the last kitty goes home. Our volunteers have also been making cat grass in K-cups so they get a taste of the wild while in their kennels as well!
How many pets did this grant help?
400
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Justice came to us as a stray mom to three kittens. Upon arrival, the kittens were old enough to be separated from her, but for Justice, being in a new environment and having her babies removed made her scared and confused. She didn’t know what was happening.
We took all the steps to ensure she was as stress-free as possible, including Feliway and individual enrichment such as our awesome cat scratchers and cat grass cups.
After a couple of days of being able to do all the things in her kennel that she had been able to do outside, this sweet girl was living it up with no fear in her eyes! She uses her cat scratcher every day and she has definitely changed for the better.
All of Justice’s kittens have been adopted, but Justice is still in our care, waiting for the right family to come along. This grant has given us the ability to give multiple cats a happy place to live in an almost-always hectic environment, and to make their stay with us as “normal” as possible.
