Our Animal Experience Days run every school holiday except over the Christmas period.
They offer children and young people aged 5-16 a unique opportunity to learn about responsible pet ownership and safety in a fun, relaxed environment. For more information and to join our mailing list for the sessions please visit our Animal Days page.
February half-term sessions – what we got up to!
We had a fantastic and busy week here at Cheltenham Animal Shelter over February half-term with our young animal care assistants!
Throughout the week, the children played an important role in caring for our rescue residents, helping clean kennels and rabbit pens and taking part in exclusive animal interactions. They also got creative by making cat-themed pom-poms and crafting enrichment toys for our pets using toilet roll tubes.
It was a wonderful week of hands-on learning, creativity, and compassion for animals in our care.
Animal Encounters
Over the sessions, the children had to opportunity to meet a dog. This included current resident Tommy, former rescue dogs Bernie, Ruby and Millie, and Murphy the Spaniel.
Before meeting the dogs, we learned how to safely approach a dog for the first time, how to read a dog’s body language and understand what it communicates and how they are feeling, as well as important dog safety tips. We also discussed when to avoid interacting with dogs such as when they are eating.
Before meeting the cats, we learned about feline body language and behaviour, and best practices for meeting new cats and where they prefer to be stroked.
We had many sociable rescue cats who enjoyed meeting the children over the half-term break, including Milo, Twilight, Timothy, and Panda. During this time, the children fed them treats and gently stroked them. Twilight especially enjoyed playing with catnip toys, which one of the attendees kindly brought in as a donation for the cats.
We also learned about our rabbit residents and their body language. We discussed the importance of observing a rabbit’s body language to ensure they feel comfortable being stroked, as well as the behaviours they display when they are relaxed and happy in our company.
We finished the session by feeding the rabbits tasty herbs, with some of them even choosing to stay with the children and sit on their laps!
Sessions for Young Adults
We continue to host our popular sessions for secondary school students, giving them the opportunity to attend with other children their own age and explore pet body language and behaviour in greater depth.
This half-term, students cleaned rabbit pens, made enrichment destruction boxes, and enjoyed exclusive interactions with some of our rescue animals. We explored canine, feline, and rabbit body language, focusing on dogs. Attendees learned to recognise fearful, aggressive, happy, alert, and neutral dogs by observing body posture, tail position and facial expressions.
We introduced the ‘Ladder of Communication,’ a tool created by Kendal Shepherd. The ladder demonstrates the subtle signals dogs use to communicate stress and uncertainty, and how they would progress to clear warning signs such as growling. We discussed why it is important to punish a growl, as it is a clear warning sign that a dog is uncomfortable, and highlighted earlier stress signals such as, yawning, lip licking, and avoidance.
Meet the Pets!
Here at CAS, we care for 70 animals at any one time. Our education programmes, including Animal Days, give our more sociable residents valuable time out of their pens and kennels, as well as additional positive interaction with the children.
During this half-term, the children had the opportunity to meet and learn about some of our rescue animals. Below are a few of the animals that took part in the sessions this half-term.
Tommy
Meet Tommy, a five-year-old ex racing Greyhound. Tommy enjoys spending his time with people and taking part in enrichment games.
Tommy loves meeting new people, so Animal Days provided a wonderful opportunity for him to enjoy some extra time with human friends. During the sessions, he helped teach the children how to approach dogs safely by giving them the chance to put their learning into practice. The children each offered Tommy a treat and gently stroked him on the chest or shoulder – the safest place to stroke a dog that you don’t know well.
The children also set up scent games and enrichment activities for Tommy to complete, which he thoroughly enjoyed. They even helped him with some of the more challenging treat balls and puzzle toys!
Twilight
Meet Twilight, a four-year-old Domestic Shorthaired cat. She same into our care from another shelter alongside her three kittens, who have now all found their fur-ever homes.
She is a lovely, friendly cat who enjoys plenty of fuss and playing with catnip toys.
During the sessions, she happily accepted Dreamies treats from the children and enjoyed gentle strokes on her cheeks. Twilight was so keen to greet everyone that she couldn’t keep still – she made sure she visited each and every child!
Panda
Meet Panda, a five-year-old Domestic Longhaired cat who came into our care as a stray.
She is a sweet girl who loves people – and food! While Panda isn’t fond of other cats, this simply meant we created a “human wall” during our sessions to stop her from wandering over to the other pens to voice her opinions.
Thanks to her love of treats, Panda thoroughly enjoyed received cat snacks and soaking up the extra attention from the children during the sessions.
Tilly and Ziggy
Meet Tilly and Ziggy, who are both six-year-old lop rabbits. They were signed over by their previous owner due to changes in financial circumstances. As rabbits are highly social animals that need the companionship of their own kind, this bonded pair will be rehomed together.
These two love cuddling side-by-side, enjoying tasty treats, and soaking up lots of attention! Like many rabbits, they dislike being picked up and like to have the choice to move around as they please.
During the sessions, they especially enjoyed being fed leafy greens and fresh herbs by the children. They are a confident and sociable pair, often choosing to hop onto attendees’ laps for extra fuss and interaction.
They also got up to all kinds of mischief while their pens were being cleaned! This included chewing through bin bags, playing with dustpan and brushes, and even attempting to make the great escape to join the children.
