Cat Housing: Chemung County Humane Society
The following is from the Summer 2010 issue of Protecting Animals, American Humane's quarterly journal for animal welfare professionals. Used by permission. To learn more, visit www.AmericanHumane.org.
By Jaclyn P. Welles, PR and Marketing Coordinator of the Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA of Elmira, NY
We finished our newly renovated cat adoption room and
unveiled it to the public in December 2009, although
it was in use starting in June 2009. Veterinary students
from the Cornell University College of Veterinary
Medicine helped with the design of the room, and it was
paid for by a grant from the Sweetbay Foundation. The
new cat room uses colony housing where multiple cats
live in an open environment.
Since its opening, we have seen a dramatic decrease
in the average number of days cats stay in our shelter.
In 2008, our average length of stay for cats was 80 days,
while in 2009 our average stay was 48 days - a decrease
of about 40 percent.
In shelters that have cat rooms similar to ours, the
prevalence of disease present in the population of cats
decreased by almost 20 percent on a monthly basis.
Also, the incidence of disease and the number of
cats at risk for disease decreased
by almost half in shelters with
similar housing. We have seen
similar numbers in disease
reduction.
A lot of people come into the
shelter and drop off goodies for
the animals. Every time they do,
we ask them if they want to go
say hi to the critters in the back.
Sometimes they say, "No, it's too
sad back there." Now we tell them,
"Why don't you go take a look,
you might be surprised." They
come to the lobby after their visit
glad that they saw our positive
changes.
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