The April/June edition of the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science ‘Factors Relevant to Adoption of Cats in an Animal Shelter‘ researched the effects of toys, cage location, and cat characteristics (activity level, age, sex and coat colour) on the adoptions of 111 cats available in an animal shelter.
Results showed that “active cats were more likely to be adopted during the 16-week study than cats that were less active”. This adopter preference has serious implications for shelters with an environment which sees cats sleep for most of the day. It is probably also one of several contributing factors for higher rates of adoption of the more active kittens and adolescents.
The study suggested that shelters should investigate cage enrichment and conditions that provoke interest in the cats as a way to foster an environment that promotes adoption. Allowing adopters to interact with the cats through open plan cat rooms, allocating volunteers time to encourage daytime activity in the animals and interactive cat toys may all be ways to bring about a connection with cat and potential adopter.
The study also found that animals with toys in their cages were viewed more times than those without, regardless of whether the toys were actually played with by the cat. Cats housing at eye level, were viewed more than those on lower tiers, and the more a cat was viewed, the more likely that it would result in an adoption.
