Animal Welfare Professionals

Hey guys, huge debate between our staff and the board on quarantine kennel design. We have a 10x10 room where we have particle board kennels where we keep sick cats. As we know, this is horrible for contagious cats! The cats only stay in this room while sick-so maybe 5 days or so , then they are moved to our community cat room.

So, the question that we are debating is this... do we purchase single (24x18x28) stainless steal modular kennels so we can fit more cats in the room or do we purchase the same size kennels but with portals so they can move around more? The problem is that we average 5 cats in this room so I am reducing the amount of cats that we can fit in this room with portal kennels.

Amanda

Dear Amanda,

Thank you for asking this very common question! The answer is very clear and scientifically based so we can resolve this debate. Square footage available for confined cats is directly linked to stress that is directly linked to the incidence of upper respiratory infections. The cages should be portalized so litter is separate from food/water/bed and the portal door only closed during a quick spot cleaning. Cats also need to have the option to hide. Here are some DIY projects to consider:https://www.sheltermedicine.com/library/diy-housing-accessories/. Now the question of the need to house so many cats. That goes back to the foundational principles on which your organization operates. 1) Community cats should be going directly to spay/neuter and returned to their original location (along with proactive TNR), 2) Good Samaritans should be asked to foster kittens, 3) potential owner surrenders should be assisted with alternatives to intake and 4) your website and messaging should be very clear about not kitnapping kittens. You might think you don't have the resources to do everything but you will be amazed as you implement even small changes at the big impact. Thanks for all your hard work and stay safe! On behalf of #allthecats

I think giving them more space would lessen their stress, and thus may lessen the amount of time that they are sick.