Cats everywhere at CSULB

By Nicola Chadwick
Summer Forty-Niner

Considered a nuisance by some and charming by others, cats have roamed the grounds of Cal State Long Beach since its inception in 1949.

To euthanize or to feed? That question was followed by controversy as those advocating keeping the cats alive clashed with those in favor of extermination.

The controversy climaxed in 1984 when the policy was euthanasia under Bill Peters, then director of Plant Operations. Under Peters' program, 50-60 cats out of an estimated 300 were caught and exterminated.

Kathy Billing, a library thesis reviewer, took action to save the felines. Billing collaborated with Pet Protection Assistance and convinced the Associated Students Inc.

Senate to stop the killings and develop an alternative solution.Billings and Peters eventually came to an agreement; cats trapped would be neutered and returned to campus, a method known as TNR. Cats that receive TNR are identified by a mark on their right ear.

Since the controversy abated, various individuals and faculty have adopted cats around campus. Roxanne Sexauer, printmaking chairwoman, adopted a black cat that she named "Sweetie."

Carol Loeschen, a CSULB alumni, comes twice a day, seven days a week to feed and care for cats living around the SSPA building.

"There are four main stations on the campus; around the Engineering Building, the SSPA [Social Science/Public Affairs] Building, behind administration and the health center," Loeschen said. "I teamed up with Karen (Rodecki) because I've always loved animals and wanted to help."

Campus Animal Assistance (CAA), a community organization headed by Karen Rodecki, traps kittens and adult cats monthly and takes them for neutering and vaccinations.

Two years ago, Rodecki collaborated with Robert Quirk, director of Facilities Management, in an effort to find a humane solution to control the cat population.

Inspired by the UCLA Campus Cats program, Rodecki formed the animal assistance organization.

"When we collaborated, we wanted to do the best we could do to address the concerns of everyone involved with the cats on campus issue," Quirk said.

"The goal of our group is to control the population and make the lives of these cats as pleasant as possible," Rodecki said.

Since the creation of the animal organization and with help from five other volunteers, 80 cats have been trapped and homes found for 14 kittens.

"We use programs at various vets such as Los Altos Animal Hospital that has a TNR program," Rodecki said. "The whole program is revolutionary in the animal welfare program. But all other medical aid, such as vaccinations, is cash out of our pockets."

Los Altos Animal Hospital receives financial assistance from the California Veterinary Medical Association's (CVMA) Feral Cat Altering Program. The program's goal is to perform 60,000 surgeries over three years.

This program supplies funds to veterinary hospitals to neuter feral cats. The cat altering program defines feral as cats that do not voluntarily accept human handling, are described as "interdependent free-roaming or unowned" or must be trapped to be brought to a veterinarian.

Some problems faced by the animal assistance organization are due to feral'sdefinition. Feral does not describe all cats on campus.

Some cats are friendly and seek out human contact, and many of the kittens born on campus are tameable.

"Some of the cats were previously pets of students who once they move away from the area they leave their cat on campus," Loeschen said.

Other problems are a result of good intentions.

"A lot of people feed the cats but it makes it difficult to keep the population down if there is no trapping," Rodecki said. "It just makes my job harder and sometimes what people leave for the cats, like rotten meat from their freezer, isn't good for the cats."