Humane Society Pet Rescue and Adoption Center: Cat Enrichment Grant Report

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

This grant provided much-needed enrichment items, hideaways, and comfort items for the cats in our shelter care. The stress level they display in-shelter has diminished considerably since we introduced the toys, towers, window seats, and hideaways into their space. As an added bonus, the communal cat spaces appear much more inviting to our volunteers and potential adopters.

How many pets did this grant help?

1,000

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

This enrichment grant made a huge difference for a cat named Scooby (first photo). He was surrendered in January 2022 by his owners. They told our admissions counselor they were moving and could not take their pet with them.

Scooby was a complete recluse on entering the shelter. All of his time was spent inside his litter box. We placed Scooby in our communal cat room along with a few others, and all the new enrichment items. He quickly found a hideaway box and crawled under the padded cushion inside to hide (second photo).

Within a week of being placed in the communal room with all the new goodies, Scooby began to spend time outside the hideaway. He was spending the majority of his time out of the hideaway after about two weeks.

On March 3, a potential adopter saw him sitting on one of the new window seats, soaking up the sunshine. She adopted him that day!