Parma Animal Shelter: Cat Enrichment Grant Report

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

Thanks to the generous grant from the Petfinder Foundation, Parma Animal Shelter was able to purchase a wide range of essential supplies for our foster program, including feeding kits, heating pads, flea combs, toys, baby kitty nursers, cat trees, scratchers, humidifiers, playpens, kitten‑sized litter boxes, scales, enrichment items, and more. These resources have made an immediate difference for our foster families, allowing them to confidently care for neonatal kittens, medical cases, and young litters who need specialized support. Having the right tools on hand has reduced stress for both fosters and kittens, and has helped us place vulnerable animals in safe, well‑equipped homes more quickly.

With the additional grant dedicated to cat enrichment, we are currently surveying our volunteers to determine the most effective equipment to purchase for our shelter cats. Their feedback is helping us prioritize items that balance durability, ease of cleaning, and the ability to give cats meaningful exercise and stimulation — while ensuring they remain accessible when staff or volunteers need to move them. This thoughtful approach, made possible by your support, will help us create a safer, more engaging environment for the cats in our care.

We are deeply grateful for your partnership and for the positive impact these grants continue to have on our animals, our volunteers, and our community.

How many pets did this grant help?

400

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

Our very first recipients were Peggy’s kittens — Tippy, Silver, Chester, Mini Me, and Tiger2 — born around Christmas and thriving under the care of their foster mom, Susan.

The playpens arrived just in time, giving the increasingly adventurous kittens a safe space to explore while keeping them contained. The kitten-sized litter pan and perfectly sized food and water bowls have made daily care much easier for Susan and helped the kittens learn good habits early. Peggy’s kittens are still too young for spay/neuter, but our other kitties also used the supplies we purchased.

This grant has strengthened our foster program by improving safety, reducing stress on the shelter, and ensuring that every foster home is equipped with the tools needed to give vulnerable animals the best possible start. We are deeply grateful for your support and partnership.