upper respiratory infections in cats

I volunteer for a local charity in their cat room. Their are 10 cages that are in very close proximity to each other (approx 12x6 room) with just a thin wall in between. In the past I have let all the cats out at once to play (6x6 playroom) while I clean the cages and replenish food an water. The charity is now asking that I only take one cat out at a time to avoid spreading upper resp infections. My question is this... given the cats are already close in their cages and their playroom is small, do you think this will prevent the spread of germs between them. My take is this...the playroom is not disenfected between cats so if one is sick, keeping them separated seems a mute point because there will be germs all over their play room. What is your opinion? The cats have longer time out of their cages and more social interaction when they are allowed to play together, 1-2 hours as opposed to 10-15 min individually. Thanks for your time.

I totally think the cats should be allowed to play together (provided they get along). Stress is actually one of the biggest factors in whether cats get sick or not, and a cat cooped up in a cage for most of the day is under stress. Plus, socialization is extremely important - a well socialized cat is more likely to get adopted than a scaredy-cat. Just my :2cents:

I think you're right about the proximity and about the germs still being present in the play room even if the cats aren't allowed to play together, joyjoyjoy. Stress is a factor in many illnesses and if playing together reduces their stress, it will help them fight off disease. It sounds like they're going to be exposed to the same germs whether they're allowed to play or not.

Just my :2cents:, since I'm really not very experienced with cats... :o