A lot can change for feral cats

Everyone knew about the colony of cats living outside the “judge’s house” on our residential mall. My freshman year I lived in a dorm where I walked past the cats for almost every class. My sophomore year, my suitemates and I put food outside for a friendly campus cat who liked hanging around our apartment. In our last week before graduation, my best friend and I made a point of stopping by the judge’s house to see the cats and say goodbye to the colony. This was before I knew anything about TNR or feral cats in general. None of the cats were eartipped and there were always dozens of them.

This summer I returned to campus. I went to Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. It’s a great place, but a bit of a hike from Washington, DC where I now live. Before this summer, I’d only been back twice in the half decade since I graduated. One of those times was in the middle of a snowstorm so I didn’t exactly explore my old stomping grounds. This time, the weather was perfect for showing my boyfriend the sites of the stories he’d heard — including the judge’s house.

I always wondered about these cats since I started learning about the situation of wild cats and the need to TNR. I was wondering if something was done to help the colony knew everything. When I took my boyfriend to the house of the judge, I could not believe my eyes - was not only much less cats than I remembered, but almost all I saw were eartipped with about 3/8 inch present in each ear. Someone was holding, sterilization and return of cats. The colony was being responsible management!

I was so thrilled to see that both of these cats had been eartipped that I had to take a photo!

With a little encouragement to consciousness Shelter Susan and a bit of google, I tracked down a teacher who I thought could capture. Mr. Johnson Department of Mathematics was associated with a local group Petfinder, Ohio Alleycat Resource and Spay / Clinic Neutral. I contacted Dr. Johnson, who confirmed that it was the capture. I even learned that our Provost is a cat lover!

It is normal to think that the problems we face are too large to be solved or even affect. It may feel like there is always more to do, to save another animal. Buy a small colony run by TNR inspired me. We are making impressive progress - each of us, in our own way. Dr. Johnson is to save lives that keep these cats at Xavier University and sterilization and castration of them to prevent the colony from growing numbers. Each of us has a way we can help. If you want to know more about feral cats, please explore our articles of wild cats.

October 16 is National Feral Cat Day, a day to focus on responsible, humane ways to help feral cats. For information on how to help stray and feral cats in your area, check out our articles “Helping Abandoned, Stray Cats and Kittens” and “Feral Cat Care and TNR: A Beginner’s Guide.”


Tell us: Have you ever participated in TNR? Do you know a community or school who deserves kudos for supporting humane practices?

Brutus is available for adoption, but has an ear tip indicating he was once part of a TNR effort.