Housing matters. It matters from the first minute a cat enters a shelter’s care.

 

As a shelter cat she has lost just about everything: familiar surroundings, family, and freedom.  Housing in the shelter will determine whether, in this new environment, at this most vulnerable time in her life, she can find comfort in a soft surface to sleep on; defecate and urinate without soiling her food and water; relax at full body length; stretch her agile body; and even take a few steps or play with a toy.

 

Even more importantly, we now know shelter cat housing has profound effects even beyond these simple comforts. Housing from intake onwards profoundly influences health, behavior and even the chances a cat will leave the shelter alive.