Animal Rescue League of Iowa: Cat Enrichment Grant Report

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

To purchase individual cat scratchers for enrichment for cats in our care.

The shelter environment is stressful for the homeless animals, and cats are typically the sensitive and most likely to experience stress while in the shelter no matter how nice the shelter and staff are.

The ARL is committed to providing adequate space and enrichment for the cats in our care to exhibit natural behaviors; one of their natural behaviors is scratching. The cat scratchers provide enrichment for the cats while they are in the kennel environment and provides a familiar smell/belonging for them to take with them to their adoptive home.

How many pets did this grant help?

900

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

Lamb came to us as an owner surrender. They suspected he was born to a feral mama and his people were unable to keep him due to lifestyle changes. He enjoyed his cat scratcher and the opportunity to exhibit normal behavior while in the shelter. I love to see the creative ways the cats use the scratchers! Lamb enjoyed working on the top of his! He is now adopted and living a wonderful life in his new home.