By Maddy McCarty, Nicole Crites, Hannah Hipp and Alyssa Herzog
An adorable, fluffy kitten appears at your doorstep. Do you feed her? Do you pick him up?
These are questions with which many Texas Tech students, faculty and staff have had to grapple over the years.
This kitten was rescued last week by Tech student Blaire Kelly.
David Perlmutter, dean of the Tech College of Media & Communication, recalls a time when he and his family rescued a beautiful dark-haired cat.
“This sweet, sweet abandoned creature was camped out outside our house,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “The girls and I fell in love with her. She would nuzzle us for hours … and purr and meow to be let in.”
But the Perlmutters knew their two house cats would not accept a newcomer. So they offered the cat up for adoption, and Rebecca Ortiz, an assistant professor in COMC, was quick to take her in. The cat is now named Prima.
All worked out well in the case of this adoption, but there is no happy ending for hundreds—if not thousands—of cats in Lubbock, who roam the streets in every season.
Some are domesticated, but many others are feral, which means they have been raised in the wild and have had limited to no human interaction throughout their lives.
Feral cats live outside, which increases their risk of being run over, attacked by dogs, intentionally poisoned or injured in catfights, said Tiffanie Brooks, the Texas Tech attending veterinarian.
Isis was rescued from a second floor apartment landing at 6 weeks old. Now she has a home, thanks to Maddy McCarty, and hangs out in dryers.
They also often carry diseases such as feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)—the cat equivalent of HIV—which is spread through biting. This is why feral cats do not survive for very long.
“Statistics show that cats who live outside won’t live over the age of 5, but a normal cat’s lifespan is going to be 10 to 12 years,” Brooks said.
When owners let their cats roam, their cats face the same likelihood of being killed, injured or exposed to diseases as feral cats, she added.
You may want to think twice before trying to pet one of Lubbock’s feral cats. If feral cats have rabies, they can spread it to humans through saliva.
Brooks recalled a time when a kitten bit a woman in Tech Terrace. Animal control later found that the kitten tested positive for rabies.
“You just don’t know where the animal may have been or what diseases it could be carrying,” she said. “It’s best to just call the Humane Society and let them handle it.”
For more picture of campus cats, check out the Tech Feral Cat Coalition’s website!
According to Alley Cat Allies, a national organization that helps protect feral cats, feral cats are unlikely to get adopted through a shelter because of their discomfort around people. Cats who are not adopted are usually euthanized.
But taking feral cats to the Humane Society of West Texas does not have to end in the cats’ death, thanks to a new program called Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR).
The program allows Lubbock residence to bring feral or stray cats who have been live-trapped to have them neutered for free. The animal’s left ear is chipped so people know that these cats can no longer reproduce and avoid re-trapping them. The cats are then returned safely to their habitat.
Earlier attempts to control the feral cat population have been less effective. A June 2013 Texas Tech press release announced that, in conjuction with the Humane Society, the city of Lubbock and the TTU Feral Cat Program, the university will begin controlling the feral cat population by “relocating the cats to more suitable, safe off-campus locations.”
But this did not work, argued a Facebook page called “Save the Cats at Texas Tech University” and started in 2013. It suggested that Tech should also use a TNR program instead of moving cats to new locations because this puts them at risk and allows new, unvaccinated cats to move in.
Durham said the Tech Feral Cat Coalition is working to provide warmth to feral cats during the winter.
Maggie Durham, advisor to the Texas Tech Feral Cat Coalition, said her group is utilizing the TNR program, vaccinating the feral cats on campus and putting up for adoption mostly only feral kittens, who are young enough to be socialized, or any aged feral cat that is already tame. The coalition has neutered and vaccinated more than 300 cats, according to its website.
On the Tech campus, cats are removed only when they become a nuisance, said Chris Cook, managing director of the Office of Communications and Marketing. This means the cat is aggressive or in an area where it could jeopardize accreditation or raise safety concerns—such as around the Child Development Research Center, labs and food service areas.
“These cats are typically not attacking people, but they are stray or feral, so you do want to be cautious,” Cook said.
A student wishing to report a stray or feral cat can contact the City of Lubbock Animal Services or use the Campus Animal Reporting system.
Listen to the story below to learn who feeds the campus cats.
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