Cats are not that much of a problem when you have a few of them in your campus. But it’s a different story when you have over 50 of them, with most of them not being fed well. Thus, they become malnourished and sick. Such is the case of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). The Protecting Animal Wellness Society (PAWS), tried to solve the escalating population, with Katerina Bourova, the president of PAWS, on the lead.
From The Daytona Beach News Journal:
“They’re like little babies,” said Bourova, 22, who is the president and founder of the student organization Protecting Animal Wellness Society (PAWS). “They scream at you. It was quite an experience.”
While a few cats might not pose a problem, ERAU’s cat colony numbered more than 50. Besides not being fixed, the cats’ growth was spurred on in part by well-intentioned students who fed the hungry felines burritos and other leftovers, PAWS founding member Kevin Schiffli said.
With the cat population escalating, the university began to take measures to control it. Seeing this, Bourova decided to help, founding the now roughly 20-member PAWS group in 2017.
“I didn’t just want to stand around and do nothing,” she said. “Especially since this was a living animal.”
To curb the proliferation of cats, PAWS members partnered with the Halifax Humane Society to trap, spay/neuter them, and give them shots to protect against rabies, feline AIDS and leukemia. Younger, sick, or highly social cats were put up for adoption, while older or less social cats were released back on campus, Bourova said, noting that cats are less likely to be adopted than dogs.
The effort paid off. Now there are 25 cats on campus — a reduction of more than half, Schiffli said.
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(Image Credit: Luis Garcia / Wikimedia Commons)