Cumberland County Animal Control: Cat Enrichment Grant Report

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

The funds were used to purchase 700 Stretch and Scratch scratchers for our shelter cats.

This grant helped us provide enrichment items for 700 cats that otherwise we would not have had the funding to purchase. Scratchers are very much appreciated by our cats and kittens, as having one gives them the opportunity to display their normal behaviors in the shelter environment. This, in turn, reduces their stress levels and improves their overall health and wellbeing.

How many pets did this grant help?

700

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

Cherub is a 6-year-old tabby domestic shorthair who was abandoned by her previous owners in an apartment when they moved out. Cherub stayed in our shelter for nearly a month waiting for her forever home, and a Stretch and Scratch scratcher allowed her to be much more comfortable. Cherub was adopted on July 27, after a 26-day wait. Her scratcher was sent home with her, and it will help her adjust to her new surroundings by giving her something familiar with her scent on it.

Without the funding from the Petfinder Foundation, Cherub and 699 other cats who have been or will be in our shelter wouldn’t have the enrichment value of a scratcher.