Shelters are stressful environments for cats. Evidence-based enrichment including hiding opportunities, elevated perches, and sensory stimulation dramatically reduces stress and improves adoption success.
The shelter environment is inherently stressful for cats, who are territorial animals experiencing sudden loss of their home environment, familiar scents, and social relationships. The welfare cost accumulates with time: a cat spending weeks in a shelter without enrichment experiences chronic stress that suppresses immune function, reduces disease resistance, and creates behavioral signs that reduce adoptability, creating a negative spiral. The most welfare-effective interventions are those that shorten length of stay through better adoption practices alongside enrichment that makes the stay less damaging. Hiding boxes are particularly important because they allow cats to regulate their own exposure to stress, which is a fundamental animal welfare need.