Many people say they just can’t bring themselves to visit the animals at the Humane Society, simply because they perceive a shelter environment as a sad place. However, as anyone who has spent a little time in the shelter’s adoptable cat room can tell you, felicitous is a feline living at the Humane Society of South Central Michigan.

Cats at HSSCM live in a cagefree environment. Up to 40 felines share space in the adoptable cat room, which is filled with places to stretch, play and sleep away the day. The cage-free environment is preferable for our felines,
because at our Humane Society, no adoptable animal will ever be euthanized for a lack of space. Some of our cats have been here formonths...or longer. Ridge, our longest-running resident, has been at the shelter nearly 2.5 years. Can you imagine spending all that time in a cage? Neither can we!

There are some benefits to shelters with caged environments, however. Transmission of diseases, including ringworm and upper respiratory infection, is made easier when all cats have ready access to one another. If you’ve visited the Humane Society recently, you may have noticed that we are working with new disease transmission
protocols. Cats new to the floor, recovering from surgery, are placed in the special fenced-in area inside the adoptable cat room. Visitors are not allowed to interact with our newest feline residents until we are sure the
animals are comfortable in their new environment. When kitten season inevitably starts, potential adopters will be able to view photos of kittens, but will be required to completean adoption application before visiting with the kittens. Kittens will be housed in another area of our facility, not on the adoptable cat floor. While it may take you
some time to get used to our new protocols, the health of the animals in our facility is our utmost concern and we are confident our changes will make a difference.

Improving the lives of the felines at our facility is an ongoing concern. While our new protocols should help with disease transmission, there are other avenues of reducing feline stress and improving feline health. Anecdotal
studies have suggested that cats who have access to fresh air and sunlight may be less likely to come down with the illnesses endemic in catteries such as ours. We started doing research on state-of-the-art cat facilities, and
discovered something unique...the concept of a cat solarium.

Our goal is clear: to improve the health of the cats in our adoptable cat room. Our dream: to achieve our goal through the creation of a space that will provide fresh air and sunlight while keeping the cats safe and inside. We decided upon a three-seasons cat solarium, like those used at Tabby’s Place in New Jersey. Our first step was to contact Randy Case from Architecture + design (www.aplusd. biz), the original architect from the Watkins Road facility construction in 1988.

An inside-only cat is a healthy cat. HSUS notes, “Cats allowed to roam outdoors face threats from traffic, diseases, poisons and injuries inflicted by other animals. Cats can also become the victims of animal cruelty when allowed
outside. And outdoor cats are the most common domestic vector for rabies.” HSSCM is committed to getting the word out about insideonly cats. The City of Battle Creek, City of Albion, City of Marshall and Pennfield Charter Township include cats in their animal ordinances; cats are not allowed to run at large in these municipalities. The
key is to creating an environment where our cats can have fresh air and exposure to sunlight while remaining safe indoors.

Our cat solarium project started out with an incredible gift. After meeting with HSSCM staff members to discuss the
specifications required, Randy Case created the drawing of our proposed cat solarium and presented it as a gift to the shelter. “When the Humane Society asked me to help with the cat solarium, we discussed what features it
should have. We asked ourselves, ‘what cats love to do?’ Explore, play, view their entire domain (of course, we all know that we are their servants!), and of course they can never make up their mind whether to go in or out. Some cats want to go outdoors and others would rather live vicariously by just watching all the activities outside without having to actually go out there. The discussion lead to having lots of light to allow views of the Humane Society grounds, but, because of the western orientation, the initial thought of having a glass top was set aside in order
to create shade with a roof and large overhangs to shelter from the harsh heat of the sun on that area. In order to keep costs down and comfort up, the proposed cat solarium is envisioned to have large awning windows that can
open to allow breezes on nice days while sheltering from rain so staff members don’t have to run out and immediately close the windows when it starts. In order to meet the wish to allow exploration and indecision, the design incorporates an existing operable window that can be open between the solarium and the rest of the adoptable cat room. The intent is create a ‘cat perch stairway’ which leads up to the opening on the inside of this
window terminated in the solarium side of the window in a 3’ square platform allowing the high view of ‘the domain’ with another attached ‘cat perch stairway’ leading down to the floor of the solarium. Of course, this space can be filled with cat toys and activities.”

Our Campaign
Our proposed cat solarium will be a three-seasons room; neither heated nor cooled, it will not increase the total square footage of the building nor add to utility costs. Cats will have access during open business hours on all but the coldest days of winter. Increasing the amount of space for our feline population will make a difference in the quality of their lives. The total projected cost for the cat solarium is $30,000. HSSCM has already raised just over $15,000 so we are already half-way to our goal! Funds allowing, construction will start this fall. Please help us
make our cat solarium project a reality for animals like Ridge; for some of our cats, the Humane Society is the only real home they have ever known. To contribute to the campaign, please make sure you note your intention on
your donation. If you would like to speak with someone about naming rights or have additional questions about the project, please call 269.963.1796, ext 13.