Murtaza
Cats can change anyone’s tough attitude.
They are capable of melting everyone. Their cuteness is hard to resist, and when they start playing with you, you have no choice but to play along with them because you just can not refuse the little furball looking at you with those big eyes. Cats have the ability to cheer people up and bring a change in them. This is why content about cats gets instantly viral because it makes people happy. Cats can make anyone happy, that is just in their nature. People have even opened up cat cafes because cats are just so therapeutic to humans.
This was proven by a prison in Indiana when they took in shelter cats and saw a massive change in the behaviour of the prisoners. Scroll down below to read the whole story:
Animal Protection League started a program with Pendleton Correctional Facility in Indiana called F.O.R.W.A.R. in 2015.
The concept and goals behind the program.
The purpose of the program was to let inmates in the correctional facility interact with shelter cats and see the change in their attitude. Ir proved to be a win-win situation for all the parties.
A lot of the cats had suffered from mistreatment in the shelters and had become very aggressive and anti-social.
Due to this behaviour, t is hard for them to get adopted. The program helped them become capable of finding homes by regaining their trust in humans.
The inmates are responsible for feeding, grooming, and cleaning the cats. This made the cats more attached to the humans.
The inmates also learned how to care for others thanks to this program.
“I’ve had offenders tell me when they got an animal, it was the first time they can remember they were allowing themselves to care about something, to love something,” said the director of APL, Maleah Stringer.
“It teaches them responsibility, how to interact in a group using non-violent methods to solve problems and gives them the unconditional love of a pet – something many of these inmates have never known,” the APL writes on their website.
The program proved to be so successful that it is being copied by other states in the US as well.
“The MCKC Program has reduced offender idleness, taught offenders about responsibility and increased their self-esteem. Since the program’s inception, offenders have been motivated to enrol in school, obtain jobs, obey unit rules and improve their hygiene so that they may become MCKC participants. The presence of animals on E Unit has added a new calmness to E Unit’s therapeutic milieu and strengthened its community spirit,” Purrfect Pals writes on their website
Do you think this would bring a positive change in both the cats and inmates? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.