shelters adopting new ways to enclose cats?

Hello

I was just wondering is it a new thing that shelters all over have been keeping their cats in rooms now instead of cages? few shelters that ive been to keep their cats in just one huge room and let people go in interact with the cats etc.. I Think that is much much better that way you can see the cats interact and interact with al lthe cats at the sametime see what one chooses you!

Is this just being done in canada? or is it also done all over america and the UK ?

Yes, its being done in America. The Richmond Animal League just down the street from me keeps all of their adult cats in a cat room, complete with cages, toys, food bowls, water bowls, a cat couch, and a one way window with bird feeders on the other side so the cats can watch birds. The ASPCA downtown has two cat rooms, keeping adult cats in these rooms. But adult cats are also kept in cages, as are kittens.

The shelter I work for s cageless. Opened in 1971, we were one of the first in the US and are thrilled that other shelters are following in our footsteps.

Being as how the entire shelter is cageless we have several different rooms. We have a room for healthy adults, a room for kittens, a room for FIV+ cats, a room for Herpes/chronic upper respirtory cats, a room for semi-shy cats, a room for ferals being socialized, and a whole floor devoted to geriatric and special needs cats. The only cats you'll find in cages are cats who have not been neutered yet (and our kittens are ALL done at 2 pounds/8 weeks) and cats who are too sick or contagious to be released into the general population. Since we take in exclusively strays and do NOT accept owner surrenders, we find that the vast majority of our cats get along with one another extremely well.

The shelter I'm at has them in cages, but also has big play rooms, so the social cats get to play with other cats, but the shy cats or those who just don't like other cats (and there's plenty of them), can go into the play cages on their own.

The cats are in a highly stressful situation as it is, and I don't think cats who don't like other cats should be forced to be in a room with lots of other cats. They will not show their true personality if someone comes to look at them.

I live in Belgium and the shelters I've visited here has rooms. Adult spayed / neutered cats together and a kitten nursery. Cages are used for quarantine.
There is probably cage-shelters also but I havn't seen any.