Human enrichment
Taking a stroll across the shelter wasn’t simply enriching for the cats within the examine, it gave the scholars worthwhile expertise in utilized analysis.
“I used to have a little tiny fear of cats,” stated Yhakira Gray, who’s utilizing the challenge as a part of a Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program (MAOP) internship. “This experience has helped me with cat handling experience, and I hope to keep growing that.”
“I not only got research experience, which I haven’t had before,” stated Yasmeen Gomez, additionally an MAOP scholar. “It opened up my eyes on how I want to incorporate research and animal behavior into my vet experience if I get into vet school.”
Yanran Sheng stated what everybody was pondering, “I just wanted to pet more cats!”
Looking forward
The group hopes to proceed their work by, first, implementing a volunteer walk program on the shelter to determine if stroller walks have any impression on adoption charges, and second, diving deeper into the suggestion that walking a cat can enhance the human-animal bond.
“We see this research as the first step for many other research projects that can explore the impacts of outings on shelter cat adoption rates,” stated Feuerbacher.
“The outcome of this study also opens the door to exploring how cat owners might share some of the ‘walking’ and emotional benefits associated with walking dogs,” stated Buechner-Maxwell, “such as increased exercise, and in particular, increased opportunities to experience more social interactions and stronger connections within their communities.”
For now, they encourage anybody to go to the fantastic cats at Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center, and even think about taking one out for a stroll.
