Nuzzles & Co.: Cat Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
We were able to purchase a variety of cat toys, Feliway spray, cat grass/catnip plants, cat trees, snuggly cat beds, and cat puzzle toys.
Nuzzles & Co. has cats of all stages (kitten, adult, and senior) from diverse circumstances, and some have special needs or medical needs. The Petfinder Foundation Cat Enrichment Grant allowed us to provide specialized enrichment for each kitten or cat in our care, which reduces stress and over-grooming/barbering, and allows cats with medical concerns or those recovering from surgery to heal more quickly. This is turn allows cats in our care to be ready for adoption and their forever homes in a shorter amount of time.
We greatly appreciate this grant to expand our cat-enrichment offerings and program. The attached photos show cats who have benefited from the cat enrichment grant already: Dina (see her adoption story below), Gertrude McFuzz (third photo), Nugget (fourth photo), Walrus (fifth photo), Samson (posing with some Cat Enrichment Grant toys in the sixth and seventh photos!), and Hummus (eighth photo).
How many pets did this grant help?
830
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Dina came to Nuzzles & Co. in mid-April 2022 as a senior kitty. She was sweet but shy on intake, and we could tell she loved attention. However, she had a little trouble coming out of her shell in her kitty condo. We decided to move her to a community cat room so she would have more opportunities to both socialize with other cats and to meet potential adopters.
At first, Dina was also shy in this new area, but our cat caretakers used Feliway spray and began spending some time determining which toys Dina preferred. It was found that Dina liked crinkly toys!
Finding enrichment she liked helped her feel more secure and she started requesting attention from not just her regular (and familiar) caretakers, but also potential adopters.
One day, and older woman came to our Rescue Ranch and asked to meet some senior cats. We took her to the Community Cat Room and Dina immediately walked right up to her and rubbed against her legs. It was love at first sight, and Dina found her perfect forever home (second photo).
