Shelter environments present significant welfare challenges for cats, and shelter design and management practices have major implications for cat welfare during the rehoming process.
Shelter cats experience chronic stress from confinement, loss of familiar territory, and proximity to unfamiliar cats. This stress suppresses immune function leading to upper respiratory infections that compound welfare harm. Shelter design that provides hiding places, elevated perches, and visual barriers between cats reduces stress. Foster care programmes remove the most vulnerable cats from shelter environments where welfare cannot be adequately protected.