Kids Read To Cats In Hudson County, N.J. (PHOTOS)

HOBOKEN, NJ — Reading to cats isn’t just fun, it’s educational, a Hudson County animal shelter and nonprofit says.

On Thursday, students from PS #23 visited Liberty Humane Society (LHS) to read to the feline residents in the animal shelter’s “Cattery.” LHS staff shared the following statements about the project’s goals and mission with Patch.

“The students’ teacher, Jennifer Valdora, has been teaching animal welfare to her first grade class in hopes of instilling a sense of compassion and respect for animals while helping the students better comprehend the human-animal bond. Reading programs like these help build the reader’s confidence, and often improve decoding skills, fluency and comprehension. They have the added benefit of helping to prepare shelter animals for their future homes by soothing anxiety and providing socialization.

“Upon arriving at LHS, students were eager to share all that they had learned about animal welfare with the shelter staff. After a brief tour of the Cattery and a question-and-answer time, the children were asked to pick the cat they would read to. A number of cats were quick to voice their desire for a more hands-on interaction, but settled down as students began reading. Two kitten audience members were lulled to sleep by the end of the second story, but their reader plunged ahead into the third, unphased and undeterred.”

The Jersey City-based LHS also serves Hoboken.

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Photos: Liberty Humane Society