Studio Exhale and Muncie Animal Care and Services partnered together to bring a unique opportunity to yoga and cat lovers alike.

Dozens of animal lovers filed in to the Muncie Animal Shelter Thursday night to do yoga poses while cats from the shelter roamed around them.

This is the fourth time the two have paired up to bring Yoga With Cats to life.

“The people love it,” said Stephanie Hutchison, the yoga instructor. ”They’re sitting on their mats and the cats will come by or sometimes the cats will lay on people and they’ll start purring. It’s really nice.”

Hutchison said this event provides participants with a unique experience to interact with some of the animals up for adoption.

“It’s something out of the ordinary,” she said. “They get to see some of the cats up for the adoption. That’s also nice, getting the community here and seeing what they can do to help out.”

A portion of the $10 entry fee goes toward helping out the animal shelter.

Phil Peckinpaugh, director of Muncie Animal Care and Services Department, said these events typically make the shelter anywhere from $250 to $500.

“We’re always looking for outside of the box ways to bring people here,” Peckinpaugh said. “If we’re able to make a little money for the animals in our care while doing so, even better.”

While the event does expose people to the animals, Peckinpaugh said only one cat had been adopted because of Yoga With Cats. However, he said it is a good way to bring people to the shelter.

“I just love that they’re here,” he said. “Maybe they adopt an animal, maybe they don’t, but hopefully they definitely have a great experience and come back.”

Hutchison said while this event is a great way to show people that yoga doesn’t have to be stiff, it is also a great way to show people a different side of animal shelters.

“It’s a good way to get people into the shelter. I think that sometimes shelters have a bad rap,” he said. “This is a nice place. This is a good place and it’s happy here.”

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