I still can’t believe the University of Idaho allowed the trapping and euthanasia of cats.
Yes, I am a cat person, which is why my heart aches for all the little kitties who were euthanized unnecessarily.
This situation really hits home for me because I recently adopted a cat. Poppy was at the Humane Society of the Palouse for about three months when I adopted her in June. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Poppy hadn’t found a temporary home at the HSOP. What if her previous owners had left her on or near campus and abandoned her there?
There’s a good possibility if this happened, my sweet little kitty would be dead at the fault of her previous owners. Thankfully, she is alive and a very happy cat.
Tess Fox
Argonaut
I think UI could have found a better solution to the feral cat problem on campus. I understand their want to fix the problem in-house, but was that really the best decision for all parties involved?
Many feral cats, once captured, can still lead fulfilling and productive lives. Right outside of Moscow, there are farms and fields as far as the eye can see. Most of these farms could probably use a cat or two or even three to help keep rodent populations down.
Just because a cat won’t be a lap cat doesn’t mean their life isn’t valuable.
And even if a cat was judged to be suitable to live with humans, not all pet owners are looking for the same things. I was looking for a kitty that would snuggle and be OK with my long absences. I found that in Poppy.
Others may be looking for a more independent cat that could exist with days of solitude. A feral-turned-domestic cat would be perfect for this owner. It just depends on what the prospective owner needs.
When contacted by the campus veterinarian, the HSOP said they would not have the space or resources to handle feral cats. Every time I’ve been into the HSOP, there are plenty of empty cat kennels. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t have the space, but I don’t know much about how the organization works.
It also confuses me that the campus veterinarian didn’t call the Whitman County Humane Society. Yes, these cats are outside of their jurisdiction, but I would be surprised if an animal shelter didn’t take in displaced animals, wherever they came from.
I am glad that President Staben has created a special task force to deal with the issue of feral cats on campus. It’s clearly a grey-area issue, one that needs care and attention. However, that task force should have been created in June, when the campus veterinarian was looking for a solution.
As the university takes steps forward with this issue, something that could help deter the feral cat population on campus could be educating students about proper pet care by partnering with the Humane Society.
So many students grow up with pets and find themselves wanting animal companionship in college. It’s understandable — college is stressful and animals can help with anxiety. But when students adopt pets, they often don’t realize how long an animal can live and how expensive it can be.
When I adopted Poppy, HSOP workers told me to expect her lifespan to be about ten more years with good care. This means she could be alive when I turn 30. It’s a big commitment.
So in partnering together, UI and the HSOP could provide short classes at the beginning of the semester, when students move in and feel the void left by a lack of animal friendship. In an hour or two, HSOP employees or animal science students could give a short presentation listing the costs and responsibilities of cat ownership.
The most important part of this class is to help pet owners know what to do if one cannot care for their pet anymore.
There are enough cats roaming around that the university started trapping them, which means there is clearly a problem with pet ownership education. Giving students the when and where of how to surrender animals could help lower the feral cat population on campus.
There are better ways to deal with feral cats. I’m incredibly disappointed in UI for making a knee-jerk reaction and killing cats that did not need to be killed.
I hope the task force is able to find a new solution when handling feral cats on campus. Every cat life is sacred, at least to me.
Tess Fox
can be reached at
or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos
Discouraged
It's discouraging to me that ANYONE would think killing is now an acceptable first solution to a situation (cats on campus) that has existed as long as there has been a UI campus. It's disappointing that with its resources and place in this COMMUNITY the UI didn't even investigate any non-lethal solutions nor look to develop partnerships moving forward. It's disturbing the UI failed to get appropriate authorization -- as required by law -- to set the traps. It's even more disturbing there's some wholly unqualified mad scientist on campus who built a gas chamber to be used to asphyxiate to unconsciousness non-research animals and who flat-out failed to check for microchips before killing the cats. And it's incomprehensible the UI decided to thumb its nose at Idaho Public Records Law, demanded money to pony up public records . . . and then failed to product the public records, again, as required by Idaho Public Records Law. Oh -- and BAN TNR: you really need to educate yourself. I'll bet you think the hawks and owls that prey on the very same wild birds, small mammals, and herps, and chickens in folks' yards are great examples of nature at her finest. The reality is that's no less horrendous that what cats do. Shall we start killing raptors, too?
Beth McMaster
I believe the university had every right to remove any and all stray cats from their premises. Those wanting to save the cats should step up and give them homes. No cat belongs in the environment.
Ban TNR
Well, Tess, at least you are honest... yep, every CAT life is sacred. So much for the dozens or hundreds of native wild birds, small mammals, and herps that those sacred cats indiscriminately maim, torture, and kill. Right?