{"273511":{"#nid":"273511","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Volunteers Keep Cat Population in Check","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAdopt a Tech kitten or cat \u2026 Reduced adoption fees for employees, students, and affiliates.\u201d This ad in The Whistle classifieds has left some members of the campus community puzzled. Georgia Tech has cats?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe short answer to that question is yes. \u201cEvery place has cats,\u201d said Marilyn Smith, professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering. \u201cNo matter where.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a fact, but it doesn\u2019t have to be a problem \u2014 and that\u2019s where Smith and other volunteers come in. This small, unofficial group, known as Campus Cats, has worked since 1997 to keep Tech\u2019s cat population as small and healthy as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBack then, cat sightings were alarmingly frequent due to a number of construction projects that disturbed their secluded habitats. A few concerned Auxiliary Services staffers put out a call for volunteers, and the group\u2019s first inventory revealed close to 200 feral cats living on Tech\u2019s 450 acres.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVolunteers began capturing, spaying or neutering, and vaccinating the feral cats before releasing them back onto campus. Any kittens or newly abandoned (i.e., tame) cats that were discovered were rescued, treated, and put up for adoption. Central to this effort were feeding stations \u2014 set up off the beaten path to avoid compromising the campus aesthetic \u2014 to ensure the cats were nourished and also to give volunteers a means to monitor the population.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne fecund feline in particular, Mama Calico, has eluded capture for almost 10 years, but hundreds more have been caught and fixed or adopted out.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough these methods (sanctioned by the Humane Society of America), the campus cat population has been greatly reduced. In recent years, it has been holding steady at about 40 to 50 cats, estimated Josie Giles, marketing and communications manager for Robotics and Big Data. Giles coordinates Campus Cats activities and runs \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.krazyaboutkats.com\u0022\u003EKrazy About Kats\u003C\/a\u003E, a nonprofit organization (not affiliated with Tech) that helps many Tech rescues find a home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn time, the campus cat population may get even smaller, but nature guarantees it will never be zero. \u201cIf you actually trapped all the cats and moved them somewhere else, you will get more cats here,\u201d Giles said. \u201cNature does hate a void. \u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving a healthy population of cats staking out Tech territory helps discourage abandoned or feral cats from surrounding neighborhoods from migrating onto campus, Giles pointed out. Unfortunately, she added, some cats are deliberately \u201cdumped\u201d on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cResearch by the Humane Society shows that campuses are the No. 3 place people dump animals, after vets and shelters,\u201d Giles said. \u201cAnd honestly, statistically, quoting the Humane Society, many of the animals that are dumped come from students themselves.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESmith said there\u2019s a misconception that campuses are a safe place to abandon a cat. \u201cPlease let everybody know that dumping a cat on campus is not appropriate,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they\u2019ve [the cat] been inside, they don\u2019t know how to adapt. There are predators. They might get killed by a fox or run over.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother misconception, Smith said, is that the cats might pose a threat to humans or birds. \u201cThese cats are not hungry, they\u2019re healthy, so they\u2019re only going to go after the easy ground prey \u2014 voles, moles, and rats \u2014 things we don\u2019t want on campus,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re not going to menace anybody. They don\u2019t come to me, and I feed them! They\u2019re certainly not going to go after students.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information or to help, contact email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jgiles@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGiles\u003C\/a\u003E or \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:marilyn.smith@ae.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESmith\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAdopt a Tech kitten or cat \u2026 Reduced adoption fees for employees, students, and affiliates.\u201d This ad in The Whistle classifieds has left some members of the campus community puzzled. Georgia Tech has cats?\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u201cAdopt a Tech kitten or cat \u2026 Reduced adoption fees for employees, students, and affiliates.\u201d This ad in The Whistle classifieds has left some members of the campus community puzzled. Georgia Tech has cats?"}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-02-04 13:46:43","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:47","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"273261":{"id":"273261","type":"image","title":"Campus Cat","body":null,"created":"1449244112","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:32","changed":"1475894964","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:24","alt":"Campus Cat","file":{"fid":"198697","name":"cat_in_trap.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cat_in_trap_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cat_in_trap_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":94090,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cat_in_trap_0.jpg?itok=CUgztSsi"}}},"media_ids":["273261"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.krazyaboutkats.com\/","title":"Krazy About Kats"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"85721","name":"Campus Cats"},{"id":"85701","name":"Krazy About Cats"},{"id":"85711","name":"Tech cats"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:margaret.tate@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMargaret Tate\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}