Mendocino Coast Humane Society: Cat Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The Cat Enrichment Grant was tremendously helpful with two separate areas of our cat care:
1) Our foster program! Our foster take-home kits, which include blankets, toys, a bed, and licky mats, are a huge hit with our foster families, and having them ready to go at all times makes it easy to get animals out into foster quickly with all the supplies they need. We never have to scramble for supplies or worry that we've forgotten something in the chaos of the shelter. (One of our permanent residents, Salem, is very helpful with putting them together!)
2) Our adoption program! Most of our adoptable cats spend their time in community housing in the Kitty Cottage, and the more enrichment for them, the better. It's especially important for shy residents, who can be prone to hiding and miss out on socialization and adoption opportunities. Having lots of fun toys gives staff, volunteers, and members of the public tools for interacting with shy cats and encouraging them to build up confidence and positive associations with humans. Food puzzles and licky mats also keep the cats' brains engaged and curious, and are a great way to give them something to focus on while a human sits nearby to get them more comfortable with people.
How many pets did this grant help?
Approximately 250 shelter cats and kittens
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Kiki (first photo) came to us as a very shy cat who mostly stuck with her friend Nic Nic and was hesitant to interact with human visitors. Thanks to the Petfinder Foundation grant, Kiki discovered the joys of the Ripple Rug, which created a place where she could feel safe while engaging with toys, treats, and other enrichment from visitors; if a stimulus got to be too much, she could always duck under the rug for some private time.
It made her much more confident by creating a way for people to interact with her that didn’t require direct contact, and as Kiki got more used to the idea of people being a source of fun and attention, she relaxed and even started walking up to greet people and hopping on laps, which is a very recent development!
Our licky mats also help Kiki enjoy time with other cats, and we’re pleased to say that she’s an excellent sharer (the second photo shows Kiki with her friend Felix). Being relaxed and friendly with other cats beyond Nic Nic will help Kiki find a home with someone who already has a cat, which expands her adoption options. While Kiki hasn’t been adopted yet, her future is bright, and her budding personality is making her a big hit with visitors. Meet Kiki here.
Sunflower and Hyacinth (third photo) were found with their mom and the rest of their litter in a cardboard box by the side of the road. Unfortunately, our rural community has a shortage of veterinary care, making spay and neuter hard to access, although our in-house clinic is hard at work spaying and neutering as many pets as we can! Sometimes, desperate or ashamed people abandon animals rather than getting in touch with the shelter for help.
We don’t know about the series of events that led Sunflower and Hyacinth to us, but we’re glad that they’re in the care of a talented and amazing foster, who also happens to be a nurse, who’s willing to take on mama cats with very young kittens. The Petfinder Foundation grant allowed us to send her home with a foster kit: Lots of soft blankets (we know kittens can really go through laundry!), along with a bed for mom and some appropriate toys. We’re glad to have them set up with lots of supplies while in foster, and while they’re not ready for adoption yet, they will be soon!
Snickerdoodle (fourth photo) is a sweet, highly active cat who’s also easily bored. The food puzzle gave her an outlet for her energy and helped her flex her young brain – and gave people a chance to see her in calmer mode. Shortly after this picture was taken, she went home with a lovely family who were excited to have a young, playful cat.
Bonus photo (fifth photo): Judy Martin, our Executive Director, with Li Shang, another kitten we just sent into foster!
