2008 Woodie Awards
Volunteers aid in controlling feral cat population around Tech campus
Slide show included
Steve Lewis
Issue date: 5/1/07 Section: News
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After taking a few cautious steps away from the cage, the cat hesitated. Then, instead of putting some distance between itself and the woman responsible for its recent 36-hour ordeal, the tomcat walked over to a bowl nearby and started eating the food left for it and its neighbors.
This tomcat is a member of one of a dozen or more cat colonies on the Tech campus managed by KittiCo. West Texas, a non-profit, no-kill organization that also fosters some cats until permanent homes can be found for them. Finger, who is part of a small staff of KittiCo. volunteers, said the organization has spayed or neutered more than 200 cats since it began providing the service free of charge to Tech in 2003.
Finger said the total number of cats living on campus is difficult to estimate, but it is common to see an increase in the feline population this time of year, and Tech students may play a part in that. Because many Tech students living on and off campus will be moving away at the end of the semester, Finger is concerned unwanted pets may be left behind, further boosting the population of cats and other animals on campus.
Having a sizeable population of cats is not something unique to Tech, said Mary Hatfield, an executive committee officer for The Humane Society of West Texas. All universities have cat populations, and a number of universities in Texas also have trap-and-release programs similar to the one at Tech.
Hatfield said she believes students living both on and off campus play a role in perpetuating the cat population, along with other cat owners in neighborhoods near Tech who abandon their pets or don't have them spayed or neutered.
Hatfield said Tech is a source of food, water and shelter for area cats, and many of them simply drift in from surrounding neighborhoods. Hatfield said new construction, like the on-going construction at Overton Park, also drives cats away from their home territories and onto the Tech campus.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 7
Linda
posted 5/08/07 @ 10:47 PM CST
TNR has not been proven to reduce the numbers of feral cats. The cat that was released is even able to be pet and now has to live and die outdoors. Not compassionate and not humane. (Continued…)
katapalooza
posted 5/19/07 @ 12:54 AM CST
TNR can help feral cats find the answers at Alleycat.org
Linda
posted 8/04/07 @ 1:12 AM CST
Thank you for listing some peer-reviewed lit. I see that they are all by Dr. Levy. You may want to look at the article that appeared in the 12/2005 issue of JAVMA. (Continued…)
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