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What has been a work in progress for over a month has finally come to fruition. Friendship APL is excited to announce its newly complete room for free-roaming felines, or as we like to call it, The Cattery. First off, we owe a big thank-you to David Humphrey and Ohio Desk for donating the furniture that will be shared by human and cat alike. FAPL’s own Executive Director, Greg Willey, fashioned the shelving against the far wall that you see below. A high durability indoor/outdoor rug is also now part of the room to handle the foot traffic of people while also giving the cats a warm place to lie.
The room is designed to hold 10 to 12 free-roaming cats. The concept of a communal cat room is not a new one, but it is certainly one that has ongoing benefits for our resident purring machines. For one, it establishes socialization amongst them. Socialization leads to tolerance of other cats and tolerance leads to adoptability. There is also the health/wellness factor that comes into the equation. Cats who have decreased stress levels in situations around other animals (or in general), can lead healthier lives.
Finally, and related to the previous matter, this new room frees those 10 to 12 cats from their cages, allowing them to jump, play and sleep in an area much more wide open than their previous living quarters. Yet another added benefit of the Cattery is that it allows FAPL to rescue more cats. Those dozen or so vacant cages give us the opportunity to save more cats from unfortunate situations such as bad homes or rough lives as strays in the great outdoors. If you’re interested in adopting in your future, please stop by the Friendship APL and step into our cozy cattery!