The Lantern

Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Campus

It can be stressful when Ohio State students move after spring or summer quarter.

Sometimes students forget to forward their mail. Sometimes they leave belongings behind.

Some students even leave their pets behind.

Cat owners who are unable to bring their pets home or to a new property often leave cats on campus, hoping they will fend for themselves or find a new home.

"There is a definite increase in the number of cats on campus when students move during the spring and summer months," said Linda Lord, assistant professor in veterinary preventive medicine at OSU.



For years, there has been an overpopulation of cats on OSU's campus and in urban areas of Ohio.

"Free-roaming cats, which are stray, wild or lost cats, are rarely spayed or neutered, so cat reproduction is not under control," Lord said.

Basheer Kayali, a freshman in biology, said the findings are surprising because he has enver noticed cats roaming around campus.

Some parts of campus are more heavily populated with cats than others.

Quieter areas with minimal traffic on alleys and streets provide better environments for wild, stray and lost cats to roam.

In April, Lord conducted a telephone survey to find out what Ohio residents thought about the state's cat problem.

The survey randomly sampled 703 Ohio households.

Of the cat owners who participated in the OSU survey, 40 percent said they allowed their cats to roam outdoors.

"Cats are very good at reproducing, and when owners let their cats roam around outdoors, they easily find other cats," Lord said.

Adult female cats can have up to two litters a year, and each litter can produce two to eight kittens.

In response to whether Ohio households feed free-roaming cats, 26 percent of respondents said they do.

When people feed free-roaming cats, they rarely take the cat to a shelter or try to find the owner.

"Cat overpopulation only gets worse when people feed cats without taking any other responsibility for them," Lord said.

People who find a free-roaming cat without a collar or any identification can call a shelter or take the cat directly there.

Feral cats could be in need of rabies vaccinations.

"An overwhelming 88 percent of respondents in the study said they would support statewide legislation that would require owners to vaccinate cats for rabies," Lord said.

Ameer Abusharkh, a sophomore in molecular genetics, agrees cats on campus should be vaccinated.

"It would be a lot safer for students if stray cats were vaccinated for rabies, because cats can bite," Abusharkh said.

The majority of respondents also said they would support laws requiring cat owners to identify their cats with collars.

When students leave cats on campus, they are often left without identification.

Students who leave their cats behind are often unsure of their options, Lord said.

If students are unable to find a caretaker, they can take cats to several different Columbus animal shelters.

"About 100,000 cats enter shelters in Ohio each year, but so many students don't know that these shelters are near OSU," Lord said.

The Capital Area Humane Society and the Franklin County Animal Shelter are shelters close to campus.

"We have a tremendous cat problem right now, and I think we are obligated to decide how we are going to help them," Lord said.

Jackie Nash can be reached at nash.116@osu.edu.

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