Press Release

Released 3/7/2005

Urbana, Ill. -- Some cats at the Champaign County Humane Society are living the high life after CCHS opened its first communal cat room Friday. About 20 cats are residing in the cage-free room.

"The room will prove to be an invaluable resource for people who don't own cats, to see what they are like outside of the cages that we usually have to keep them in," said Michelle McKnight, shelter manager.

The public is encouraged to interact with the cats in the communal room, McKnight said. People will get a much better idea of how a newly adopted pet might adjust to being in their home after adoption.

"I hope that this will dispel the myth, once and for all, that cats don't get along with other cats," said Jason Smith, executive director of the Champaign County Humane Society. The public reaction to the new cageless cat room has been phenomenal, Smith said. Very few patrons of the shelter can pass the room without stopping for at least a minute or two to watch the cats play and lounge around in their new "home before a home," he said.

The management and staff of the Champaign County Humane Society are extremely excited about the opportunities that a cageless cat area has to offer. With the rapid success of this new addition to the shelter, they are already considering using the room as a model to create other areas of the shelter that are cage-free.
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