Why would the BC SPCA issue an order to cage cats at Forgotten Felines, when their own website extols the virtues of communal housing for cats? Here is a quote from their web page:

"Pioneering research in cat housing sponsored by the Vancouver Region, the UBC Department of Animal Welfare resulted in improved housing and stress reducing procedures for shelter animals. A communal area for cats, enabling adopters to interact with the cats and see how they behave around other cats and people, has been built at the Vancouver shelter. Many other Branches also offer communal areas for cats: South Peace (Dawson Creek), West Vancouver, Boundary (Grandforks), Prince Rupert, Sunshine Coast, Vernon, Shuswap (Salmon Arm), Trail Regional, North Peace (Fort St. John), Kamloops, Williams Lake, Kelowna, Cowichan (Duncan), Nanaimo, Parksville-Qualicum Beach, Alberni-Clayoquot, Salt Spring Island and others."
http://www.spca.bc.ca/Spay/maximum_adoption_programs.htm

The research referred to is Nadine Gourkow's 2001 M.Sc. thesis from UBC. Gourkow, presently the BC SPCA's Manger of Animal Welfare Research, worked with Dr. Jamie Lawson, currently the BC SPCA's Chief Animal Health Officer while conducting her research. In her thesis, Gourkow concluded, in part:

"The results of this study suggest that by increasing the complexity of housing, the welfare and adoption rates of shelter cats can be significantly improved. The focus of such an environment would increase choice, enable consistent handling, and provide cats with opportunity to familiarize with a caretaker. This study does not support the claim that disease is more likely to spread when cats are housed communally."
Nadine Gourkow,
"Factors Affecting the Welfare andAdoption Rate of Cats in an Animal Shelter", UBC 2001.

Joann Bessler
Delta, BC