After a fire devasted the Montclair Animal Shelter in New Jersey in 2016, the community came together to rebuild and restore as much as they could. The shelter opened its doors again in 2018 but was still struggling and needed renovations and equipment it could not afford.
George to the Rescue, an NBC home renovation show pitched in to transform the shelter’s backyard into a welcoming safe haven for the furry residents, but the job wasn’t done!
In addition to a grant from Greater Good Charities, the Rescue Rebuild team is currently in New Jersey renovating the shelter’s cat rooms!
They ensure the space got new floors and a fresh coat of paint. The team built shelves, cubbies, bridges, hammocks, and scratchers to add plenty of enrichment opportunities for the cats to develop good behavior and habits and be more “adoptable.”
To make the cats more comfortable in what is often an uncomfortable space, the team installed cat portals that allow cats to lie in more comfortable positions and allows them to move more naturally.
The shelter has a reading program for kids on the autism spectrum, in which they are allowed to read their book of choice as the cats listen and interact with the kids. Unfortunately, they currently only have one seat in the main cat room, limiting this wonderful opportunity. So, the team got to building a large bench where kids can sit and read!
The work has only begun at the Montclair Shelter, so be sure to stay tuned to hear more!
Your donation to Rescue Rebuild will help animal shelters, domestic violence shelters, and homeless & veterans housing increase pet adoption rates, keep people and their furry family together, and lower the burden of stress on staff.