Working alongside the Morris Animal Foundation, EveryCat Health Foundation & Humane Colorado, we devised a randomized controlled trial to determine if adding a simple den to a cat’s typical shelter housing would result in better health outcomes and quicker adoption times.
In shelters, cats often face illnesses such as upper respiratory infections (URI), which not only affect their welfare but also delay adoption. This collaborative study looked at whether giving cats a consistent place to hide, a “den”, could help.
The results? Cats with a den were much less likely to get sick and were adopted faster. Something so small turned out to have a big impact on their well-being and chances of finding a home.
