Despite making up over half of the ~920,000 shelter animals who are euthanized each year, cats are often overlooked in conversations about animal welfare. Maybe it’s because cats habitually hide their stress and are therefore less needy, or maybe it’s because cats are thoroughly misunderstood by more people, but it needs to change.
I’m inviting you to be a part of the work to ensure that shelter cats are less stressed. Well-adjusted cats have better health outcomes and are more likely to be adopted, thereby minimizing the number of needless euthanizations in shelters. By teaching you how to identify stress in cats, evaluating the do’s and don’ts of cat enrichment, and learning to implement some simple enrichment techniques, I hope to give you the tools to better meet the needs of the cats in your care.

Cats and Stress

Cats are mesopredators, meaning they are both predator and prey animals. Cats’ instincts compel them to stalk prey and pounce on anything that moves, but they’re also compelled to habitually hide signs of pain and stress to avoid appearing vulnerable to potential predators.
Shelters are super stressful environments for cats; the loud noises of kennel doors opening and closing, the sight of other animals and shelter staff bustling around, the smells of disinfectants, and the constant stream of new people all serve to create sensory overload in cats.
Because cats tend to hide their stress, it often takes a well-trained eye to recognize it. This is a problem because, without proper intervention, stress can serve as a silent killer. Cats who are chronically stressed may be more vulnerable to illness, more prone to behavioral struggles, and less likely to be adopted (hello, high rates of euthanasia).

Identifying Stress in Cats

In order to provide stress-reducing interventions, you must be able to recognize when cats are stressed out. Some telltale behaviors to look out for when assessing stress in cats (from least to most obvious) are:
Fear and aggression
Loss of appetite
Panting
Avoidance
Repetitive behaviors
Increased grooming

Because cats are so good at hiding stress, it often takes a well-trained eye to recognize the more subtle signs. For instance, cats who feel unsafe in their environment will often engage in “absent resting,” where they appear to be resting but are sitting stiffly, remaining hypervigilant. Even increased affection and purring, both attempts to self-soothe, can be signs of stress or pain in cats.

A great tool for identifying stress in cats is the Fear Free FAS (Fear, Anxiety and Stress) Scale which provides examples of body language to assess different levels of stress. Print it out and hang it somewhere visible so staff members can use it as a benchmark for evaluating the comfort of the cats under their care. You can take the Fear Free Shelters course for free!

What is Enrichment?

Enrichment is “a modification to a captive animal’s environment in order to promote natural behavior and improve biological functioning.” Or, to get less technical, enrichment is anything that allows animals to use their natural instincts.

Enrichment benefits shelter cats (and dogs, but we’ll talk about that in another blog) in a number of ways. First and foremost, enrichment reduces stress levels, which leads to more sociable behaviors, improved health outcomes, and a higher likelihood of adoption. Additionally, because cats are less likely to be reactive when their enrichment needs are met, enrichment promotes safety for shelter staff.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Cat Enrichment

Here are some general do’s and don’ts to use as a guideline when working with cats in shelters:

Do

Keep a predictable schedule for feeding, cleaning, visiting, and play
Balance predictability with novelty by providing new toys, sounds, tastes, sights, and textures
Move slowly and methodically when in view of the cats
Provide spaces – like boxes, paper bags, shelves, or hammocks – for cats to hide or get up high (studies show that cats who can hide are more likely to come to the front of their cages)
Keep food and water as far from the litter box as possible
Keep track of how cats respond to enrichment and adjust accordingly
Allow long-term residents out-of-cage time throughout the week
Provide regular times for cats to be groomed, pet, and played with by shelter staff and visitors

Don’t

Provide food, clean cages, and handle cats at unpredictable times
Give the same old toys over and over again and fail to provide novel sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures
Move chaotically and/or frantically around the cats
Have no elevated spaces or hiding places in the cats’ environment
Keep water and food bowls right next to the litter box
Maintain enrichment techniques that the cats are responding negatively to
Keep long-term residents in cages at all times

Sight

Turn on a bubble machine, motion devices, and/or Cat TV a few times a day
Hang a bird feeder outside windows so the cats can watch birds as they feed
Play with a wand toy within view of the cats

Sound

Play white noise, soothing music, and/or bird sounds over a speaker at various times throughout the day
Encourage visitors to maintain a reasonable volume level
Put curtains, rugs, stuffed animals, and/or blankets in and around cages to absorb additional noise

Smell

Pick a “scent of the week” to put in the cats’ cages
Cats’ claws have scent glands, so provide scratching posts, cardboard, and/or pieces of carpet for them to scratch and collect their scent
Use pheromone plug-ins to promote a calm atmosphere

Taste

Regularly clean bowls
Offer treats at regular times of day, switching out the flavor/types of treats periodically
Create a homemade food puzzle by cutting holes in a box or container and putting food or treats inside

Touch

Use blankets, toys, cardboard, scraps of carpet, etc. to provide a variety of textures within the cats’ cages
Regularly change soiled bedding
Provide access to a variety of toys, rotating regularly
Place wadded-up paper into the cages for the cats to swat and pounce on
Make chains out of pipe cleaners to hang on the cages
Save “trash” like bottle caps, wine corks, and cut-up paper towel rolls to use as low-budget toys

Meeting Cats Where They’re At

A timid and dirty white cat with spots stares cautiously at the camera through the bars of a cage. — Consent with Cats

Though all of the methods I’ve mentioned are a great place to start, they may not work for every cat. San Diego Humane Society suggests starting with a “consent first approach,” and you watch their video on how to do it here. You should be constantly assessing what works and what doesn’t for each cat. Jackson Galaxy, renowned cat expert, advocates for shelters to use enrichment as a type of “behavioral CPR” for cats who are struggling.
Beyond simply spending time with the cats, Galaxy suggests shelter employees implement a triage system. In this system, staff should identify cats who need the most attention (those showing the behavioral symptoms of stress discussed earlier in this blog), placing a higher focus on meeting the needs of those cats – while obviously still providing enrichment to the lower-needs cats.

He also recommends that, when faced with a cat who is overly fearful, staff should scale back their enrichment efforts. Instead of pushing a highly stressed cat to actively play, staff should focus on simple engagement, like getting the cat to come near you. By using “low value” interactions, like talking softly, avoiding eye contact, and respecting boundaries, staff can work to get a fearful cat to the point where they can begin receiving enrichment.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but cats have quirky, wide-ranging personalities. What works for one cat is not guaranteed to work for another. That’s why keeping an enrichment log, in which staff notes how each individual cat responds to different enrichment methods, is a great idea. Staff can stay on the same page, and the information in the log can go home with adoptive families to help the cats as they adjust to their forever homes.

Shelter Cat Series: Enrichment 101

Cats and Stress

Identifying Stress in Cats

What is Enrichment?

The Do’s and Don’ts of Cat Enrichment