Just before the fall students flooded the classrooms, seven kittens were found roaming in a dumpster filled with scrap metal here on the Bakersfield College campus.
“They were four to five weeks old, and it appeared the mother had put them in there,” said Library Technician Carol Paschal, who is also a member of the Campus Cat Coalition.
According to Paschal, the kittens were rescued and then left nearby the dumpster in hopes that “Mama Kitty” would continue to feed them.
“We eventually moved them to a safer location,” said Paschal, “and cared for them ourselves.”
It took about a month and a half before all seven kittens were adopted.
What happened to Mama Kitty?
According to Paschal, the mama kitty was caught, spayed, and then released.
This is just one example of how the Campus Cat Coalition is trying to reduce the feral cat syndrome here on campus.
The coalition began in 2004, and is made up of 40 faculty, staff, and student members.
“It was spurred by the need to bring a number of people who were already working with cats individually, together as a group,” said Paschal, “to form a cohesive and goal-oriented organization.”
According to Paschal, the coalition uses the Trap/Neuter/Release program to help reduce the cat population, which also involves maintaining and monitoring the cats at their feeding stations.
“Based on their breeding habits,” explained Paschal, “our campus cat population would be well over 200 by now, if not for the work we do.”
Not only are the cats neutered, they are vaccinated when money permits it.
“Besides the obvious reduction in population,” stated Paschal, “the benefits of a T/N/R program include healthier cats, a reduction in unpleasant male cat behavior, [and] the elimination of scavengers.”
According to Paschal, the coalition has either adopted or neutered 85 cats, and now there are only 45 cats left on campus. All but two cats are neutered, “who will be caught as soon as they are old enough.”
Even though there are only 45 cats on campus, the feral cat syndrome still exists.
“Our campus is bordered by three residential neighborhoods,” explained Paschal, “which is the primary source of new cats.”
Not only do cats come to school voluntarily looking for food and shelter, they come involuntarily by force of their ex-owners who dump the cats here on campus. They are abandoned.
“It is illegal with fines up to $1,000,” said Paschal. “Here on campus, we do not hesitate to turn in offenders.”
The Campus Cat Coalition is also a member of Alley Cat Allies, according to Paschal, this national organization informs and educates people about cats.
“In fact, Oct. 16 is National Feral Cat Day,” said Paschal, “dedicated to promoting awareness and education about ferals.”
Even though feral cats are skittish around people, Paschal explained that they look for food and shelter in heavily populated places where they know they can find these necessities.
Although the Campus Cat Coalition has implemented plans to reduce the population of cats, they still rely on donations that limit what the coalition can do.
“[We] would like to develop a more dependable source of funding,” said Paschal.
“The coalition would like to see more students involved and possibly become an official student organization.”