Parma Animal Shelter: Stretch and Scratch Cat Scratchers Grant Report

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

Stretch and Scratch cat scratchers

Oh my goodness, where do I start? Our cats LOVE them! It took some convincing to get the Health and Welfare Chairperson to allow me to try them but the proof was that the cats shredded them down to nothing (see pictures) in some cases. Our cats live in condos and, while they have a little room than those in regular cages and they do get out to the exercise room, most of their time they are stuck in a cage. This product was the best thing we ever did to improve their quality of life. We are a no time limits shelter so improving their living conditions is very important.

How many pets did this grant help?

We used every one of them and the main cat room has about 50 cats at any one time.

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

Pita – picture 001. Pita is one of our Lonely Hearts Club cats because she’s been with us since November 2012. She has been withdrawn and a little depressed and probably bored but since we installed the scratchers she has perked up and clearly loves it. When I took the pictures they all were sleeping after a busy morning shift but the evidence is clear that these scratchers will be a permanent budget item for our shelter. We have put them on our Facebook page and volunteers and supporters have been donating them. Thank you SO much for this grant. It opened some eyes to the importance of enrichment of the environment of shelter animals and the positive effects on their attitude. We are hopeful it will increase our adoption rate.