If you visit KHS soon, you’ll notice that our lobby is looking extra fantastic! Thanks to generous grants from Petco Foundation and the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island, we were able to purchase new, state of the art kennels for the kittens housed in our lobby area. Five new kennel banks containing individual living spaces were purchased and installed in early July and our kittens, staff and customers are loving them!

Research has found that cats and kittens in the shelter environment do best when they have a place to perch or hide (or both!) and have space or a partition between their food and water and litter box. Unfortunately the old model of kitten kennels were simply a single box shape that could not accommodate these needs. With updated housing that meets these needs, shelter cats and kittens have been shown to be less stressed, and stay healthier- making them more adoptable! When kittens are happier and healthier, they are adopted more quickly, and the shelter can rescue and adopt out more kittens, more quickly, saving more lives. Our “Cattery” (housing for our adult cats) had been renovated a few years ago, but we knew we had to improve our housing for kittens in order to provide the best standard of care and to save as many kittens as possible.

With a limited budget and space, KHS applied for two grants in order to make the new kennels a reality. After a highly competitive grant application and review process, KHS was awarded grants from both the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island and Petco Foundation to fund the new kennels. The Petco Foundation grant also includes funding to help us rescue and care for more kittens at risk of euthanasia from our partners shelters across the region who have less space, resources and adopters.

The new kennels have perches, private litter areas, and even some hiding/sleeping areas! The single living spaces can also be connected to the adjoining space to make a double sized space for when there extra large litters of kittens. As soon as kittens were moved into the new kennels we saw them light up and start to explore their new digs. In addition to the benefits of new and improved housing for the kittens’ health and well being, the new kennels are also better for the staff and visitors. The kennels are white and airy, so visitors can get a good look at the kittens. Staff are able to close kittens out of the litter area for cleaning, so that they can clean more quickly and effectively. Plus, the white, modern kennels are a huge improvement  aesthetically to our lobby area. The new kennels are the latest in a number of recent updates to the lobby, including an expanded retail area where adopters, volunteers and staff can purchase affordable new and used products for their pets.

If you’re inspired by our lobby’s transformation and our quest to provide improved care for kittens, visit our Support Us page to help us continue our life saving work!

If you’re inspired to give a new home to a homeless kitten, visit our Adopt page!