Animal Humane New Mexico: Cat Enrichment Grant Report

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

Thanks to generous funding from the Petfinder Foundation, Animal Humane New Mexico was able to buy individual cat scratchers for the cats in our care. Scratching is a normal, instinctive cat behavior done to express their emotions and mark objects with their scent. Many cats in the shelter environment, especially those in single-cat condos, had been unable to have this behavior outlet.

Now that the cats at Animal Humane have their own scratchers, they have this needed enrichment! These scratchers travel with each cat throughout their stay at the shelter, from the holding kennels to the cat condos/houses, and then finally to their new homes once they get adopted. These scratchers are helping provide our felines with a sense of security and territory through their scent, helping make their stays in our care much more comfortable!

How many pets did this grant help?

500

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

Simba is a beautiful 8-year-old domestic short hair who was unfortunately abandoned by his original owner and then brought to Animal Humane New Mexico.

Since his arrival in January 2024, Simba has had a difficult time transitioning to shelter life. While working with our Behavior Team, Simba has had to move multiple times to find the best place for him within the shelter. Thankfully, because of the Petfinder Foundation, Simba was able to take his own scratcher with him for each move!

Simba can get overstimulated with touch at times, and uses his scratcher often to destress. Simba’s favorite activities are batting his scratcher around his room and rubbing his head all over it. He also loves when volunteers and staff members run a wand toy over his scratcher, allowing his claws to sink into it!

Simba is still working with our Behavior Team, so he is not available for adoption yet. But we look forward to when he can go to his forever home, of course taking his favorite scratcher with him!