Sunday (Feral) Cat Blogging

Those of you familiar with CSU Long Beach may have noticed that it has a feral cat colony, which has been there for decades.  This is a managed feral colony: for many years, volunteers have not only fed the cats, but also provided veterinary care.  Because the policy is trap-neuter-return, the volunteers have managed to cut the colony's numbers in half--down to about 150 (here's an older profile with higher numbers).  Alas, a pair of coyotes have moved on campus, seeking dinner.  The university's response? Get rid of the cats. 

Mom the School Administrator has been assisting the original volunteers for the past few months.  As she notes, the university's proposal--have the volunteers remove all the cats within forty days--is simply impossible.  Many of the cats know perfectly well what traps look like and have evaded capture for years; it's not likely that they're going to be caught now.  Moreover, while the volunteers have successfully removed kittens, none of the adult cats are adoptable.  There are about three or four cats which enjoy being petted, but as one of the volunteers has discovered, they will not tolerate being relocated from their territories.  A handful of others will come within two or three feet of people who feed them, but are not otherwise interested in or friendly to humans.  "Removing" the cats therefore really means euthanizing them.