Mower County Humane Society: Cat Enrichment Grant Report

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

This grant from the PetFinder Foundation provided the Mower County Humane Society with healthy cat enrichment for the 140+ cats under our care while they await adoption. We were able to purchase two cat exercise wheels and two cat towers that will be utilized both indoors and within our outdoor catio space. With the large number of cats that have been surrendered or rescued, our organization needed additional cat enrichment to best meet the needs of our furry felines.

How many pets did this grant help?

This grant will help hundreds of cats this calendar year.

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

King’s rescue is almost the definition of a miracle — we believe several of his nine lives were used up in his journey to the Mower County Humane Society.

He came to the MCHS after he was discovered in an empty apartment by contractors who had been hired to gut and update several units. The story starts when one of the main contractors came to the complex and was shown what needed to be done in the empty apartments. After the job run-down and tours, he left and did
not return with his crews to start working for three weeks.

King was eventually discovered in a pet carrier that had been hidden in a closet. He had a box in the carrier, but no litter. He had two empty bowls — no water and no food. The contractors found King when they took the closet door off to start removing carpet. They thought he was dead until he moved.

King was immediately brought to the Mower County Humane Society and from there we took him to the Austin Vet. After a quick exam, it was determined that King was extremely dehydrated and malnourished. He was underweight and weighed about 6
lbs. — his normal weight would have been about 10 lbs.

For the week after his discovery, he was given fluids every day and fed very small amounts of canned and dry cat food. When
he was given the first bite of food, he acted like he wasn’t sure what to do. Over about a month, King became alert, gained weight and became more interested in interacting with volunteers.

We are thrilled to report that King gained enough weight to receive his shots and get neutered. He has tested negative for FIV/FLV and he is ready for a loving, forever, indoor home! King is healthy and active and able to utilize the exercise wheels funded by the Petfinder Foundation to get the exercise he needs to remain healthy and continue gaining muscle strength.

King is still available for adoption. You can meet him here.