Holding a striped tabby kitten in his tattooed arms, Robin Schlusser gently rubs noses with his tiny charge. They’re in a socialization room where rescued cats lounge on a couch, climb on carpeted trees and nuzzle up against Schlusser. If it weren’t for the khaki and white uniform or the razor wire surrounding the perimeter of the facility, it might look like a typical foster home. But Schlusser isn’t your ordinary foster parent. He’s an inmate at the Correctional Industrial Facility (CIF) in Pendleton, Ind.
Schlusser is part of Nine Lives, a fostering initiative to save cats that would otherwise be euthanized because of overcrowding at the local shelter, Anderson Animal Care and Control (AACC).
**Get the March 2010 issue of CAT FANCY to read the full article.**