Shelter Work - Need lens help

I read the other thread regarding shelter work, but mine is a little different, so I figured I'd start a new thread.

Next Wednesday I start as a photographer for my local animal shelter (YAY!). I honestly have little experience with furry subjects, but they needed someone.

I'll mostly be doing the cats/kittens, rabbits, and 'pocket pets' (hamsters, ferrets, mice, etc.). That's fine, but I found out today that I'll have a bunch of limitations that kind of threw a monkey wrench into my original plans for lenses to use. The cats are in a room (pod), about 6'x10', and the kittens are in smaller kennels. That's where I get to shoot them. They can't be removed from the kennel or the pod.

My original thinking was my 85mm 1.8, or my 100mm 2.8. Both of those will be way too tight on my crop 50D, so now I'm not sure what to use. My shorter lenses are my Sigma 10-20mm, EF-S 18-55mm kit, and EF 50mm MkI. I''m almost thinking the 50mm may even be too long in such tight quarters. Can you guys/gals give me some advice? Is the kit the one ou would take, or the 50mm, or look for something else?

Your 18-55 should be sufficient if you have supplemental light. I guess I would be concerned about the reason they don't want to let you put them in better situations if they are hoping to use the shots to get the animals adopted. Statistics show that a good image of an animal helps the shelters get the animals adopted. That is why you see more and more shelters and organizations going to pet photographers to get the images on their sites.
Hopefully you can convince them that they will have better luck by letting you get them out of their cages .

I ended up using a 24-85mm that I stumbled upon that day. It actually worked well, and because the lens cost me next to nothing (it had been dropped an is in less then perfect condition, but still works), it'll probably be my 'shelter lens'. This way I won't worry about noses on the glass, etc.

It seems their reasoning behind leaving the cats/kittens where they are are two-fold - they end up hiding under the kennels, and then it's a nightmare to get them out, and second as a disease control method. They say it reduces the spread of illness. Okay, they're the bosses.

I can't believe how much work it was. My daughter wrote down the info for each cat, and then would try and get the cat to do something other then look at us like we were nuts. We shot for 2.5 hours, took 309 photos, and we were exhausted! I'm hoping it'll get easier as we do it more frequently.

Here's three I think came out really well. They were all done with the pop-up flash, as I found that trying to use my regular flash for the ones inside the kennels was not working for me. The ones that were not in the kennels I bounced the flash off the ceiling, and they came out well, but these were the cutest, according to my daughter.

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Those turned out pretty well. I was initially thinking they would have to be taken through the crate/kennel wires. So at least getting to open the enclosure allowed you to get access to them better.
What was the problem with the supplemental flash? Was it too bright? Creating funny hot spots?
I ask because I have a few friends that also do shelter photos and had not heard about problem with using the flash. But they are also doing photos in the yard, or play area as well. So I guess it is just different circumstances.
I really hope this turns out to be a way to get more pets adopted. I have one breeder and one shelter dog and a shelter cat, I don't know what I would do without my fur babies.

I really like the third one. I was thinking about helping a shelter in our area once I got my camera and lens. It's a crop body and the lens will be a 50mm one and my only lens, so I hope it won't turn out to be too tight.

#1 the eyes, cool.

Put a catnip filled toy in your pocket. Cats will naturally give you charismatic expressions.

A squeaker works for dogs. Or a cat stuffed in your pocket...

You may feel foolish, but a simple trick to perk up dogs (works for cats, too, but not as well), is to make ridiculous noises with your mouth. "S" sounds and starting low and going high in a fake "whistle" kind of noise. No words, just silly sounds. It really helps.