With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, our residents are patiently waiting for their enrichment day full of hearts, flowers made of paper tubes and decorative paper, chocolate kisses (no real chocolate, of course), and kissing booths. Each month Catty Shack Ranch opens for a Sunday Enrichment event from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, with last admittance at 3:15 PM. Extra fun is included because we give our furry friends enrichments to get them up and excited during the day instead of in their usual slumber before dinner. After your tour, you get to watch the big cats pounce on their gifts and tear them open with their claws and teeth. Some of the “gifts” have catnip in them while others are filled with meat such as chicken.
What are enrichments and why do we do them? Enrichments are defined as an activity or object that benefits the animal’s overall health. They are used to exercise the animal’s brain and encourage natural behaviors you would see in the wild. It also helps the animals to stay fit, physically and mentally. All enrichments are well thought out by our enrichment team each month to safely ensure each resident’s well-being. Each of the species we care for of animal will receive a different type of enrichment that is suitable for their individual and distinctive behaviors.
If you’ve been wanting to visit with your family or plan a fun day-date, Enrichment Sunday is a great day. Not only do you get to learn about each of our residents during your tour, but you also get to watch them play with and destroy the enrichments we give them (and the volunteers have just as much fun picking them all up the next day). Our tours will begin at 1:00 PM and leave every 30 minutes until last admittance at 3:15 PM. At 2:00 PM we will begin giving out enrichments! This will be a Valentine’s Day you won’t forget.
