"Scratching is an essential element of cats' communication, problem-solving, health, and security issues." -Jackson Galaxy You can help make shelter cats more comfortable and adoptable. In most shelters, cats live in small, easy-to-clean stainless-steel cages with a metal gate as the entry, a small litter pan, food, water, and a towel or blanket. This meets the most basic of physical needs, but in no way meets behavioral or emotional needs to keep a cat healthy and satisfied. Cats communicate with scent. They have scent glands on their cheeks, their head, and their paw pads, and when a cat leans up and scratches something, they are effectively announcing, "this is my space, my home." But in a stainless steel kennel, there is no place to scratch. Also, every time a worker sanitizes the cage - a necessary process - the cat's natural scent is washed away, and kitty is left once again in an alien and frightening place. Providing specially-designed cat ...
