Cats are beautiful creatures, and I honestly don’t know what we did to deserve these purr-fect little furry beings. If you’ve been around the residence halls recently, I’m sure that you’ve seen the cats that live around the area. Although some of us love seeing them while we are out and about, apparently, these cats are making others really catty. So much so that they have complained about them. So, now, SGA wants to get rid of these cats.
SGA wants to remove the feral cats by taking them to The Humane Society where they will either be adopted or euthanized. The sad thing is that most of these cats will end up being euthanized because feral cats are unsocialized. No human has owned or handled them, so they are actually scared to death of us. Unless they had been handled by humans at a young age, cats will typically become unadoptable. Also, relocating a feral cat by taking it out of its territory is very bad for them, and it can end up hurting them more than helping because the cat will have to re-adapt to a whole different territory.
While it may take some purr-suasion, I believe a good alternative to SGA’s idea for the removal of our resident cats would be to introduce a trap-neuter-return program on campus. With TNR, cats are trapped, neutered and then released back into the area in which they were found. TNR would be a very humane and efficient way to deal with the cat population on campus.
With TNR, the benefits outweigh the risks. There would be less cats in shelters and safer and healthier communities, and the lives of feral cats would be improved because males would no longer have to fight over territory, and females would no longer have to go through the struggle of giving birth and keeping their litters safe.
I may sound like I have a cat-titude when it comes to this issue, but I love cats with all of my heart. But, fur real, I believe TNR would end up being a great, positive compromise for both sides of this issue because cat lovers will be able to rest assured and know that their beloved kitties are safe and sound on campus, while those who are not fond of cats will be able to see the campus cat population slowly decline until it’s at a minimum. TNR is proven to be the most humane and effective way to control the feral cat population, and the ASPCA supports it. So what’s the paw-blem with TNR, SGA?
