Seattle's 'Cuddly Catz' Program Saves Strays By Pairing Them With Prison Inmates

Prison officers at Larch Corrections Center near Yacolt, Wash., say they have already seen positive changes in two inmates who were given a pet cat two weeks ago as part of a new animal foster program.

Convicts Joey Contreras, 28, and Joseph Walter, 37, are two of the inaugural class of the facility's new "Cuddly Catz" program, an initiative aimed at rehabilitating inmates by allowing them to foster stray cats that are looking for permanent homes, according to Yahoo! News.

After passing a rigorous screening test, Contreras and Walter received a long-haired black cat named Princess Natalie that wasn't getting along with other cats at her foster home and was likely to have been sent to the pound and euthanized.          Full Read