Roars of Thanks!

We want to send a ROARING thank you to everyone who donated their Christmas trees this year! The enrichment hand out was a huge success: lots of fun for the animals and lots of entertainment for us! This year when we handed out the trees, the weather was a bit cooler, which always puts the cats in a frisky mood, so we had a great set up for excitement!

As we handed out the seasonal enrichment items, there was no shortage of pouncing, chewing, throwing, and playing. Noel was eager to rub all over his tree, letting the pine needles comb through his fur and soaking himself in the fresh new scent! He spent at LEAST thirty minutes with his head buried in the limbs of the tree! The Triplets weren't as keen on rubbing on the trees. They felt more like pouncing and throwing their trees all over their habitat. They were chasing each other around carrying the new toys, only stopping to take a chomp at the branches!

Even some of the animals who didn't show an immediate interest in the trees (largely because they were more interested in saying hello to all of us standing around their habitats) had a blast with them eventually! We found trees shredded up and thrown all over the day after the initial handout. I guess some of them like to enjoy their toys in private - especially Makeen, who dragged his tree all the way into his house, which was a pretty tight fit considering the size of the tree compared to the size of his doorway!

We are just thrilled with how much the animals loved their seasonal treats, and we can't thank you enough as it wouldn't have been possible without you.

Being able to provide the animals with these trees creates an opportunity for absolutely ideal behavioral enrichment, wherein the animals are able to exhibit many natural and instinctive behaviors. We love when they feel as WILD as they are, and that moment when they POUNCE right onto their new trees is perfect for that!

Thank you all for your wonderful donations. You made the IEAS animals very happy!