Hollister - San Benito High School officials and local animals rights proponents are trying to ward off a catastrophe over the fate of a colony of feral felines currently residing at the school. Officials say cat droppings and frequent tangles with skunks have begun to disrupt day-to-day operations.
"We're hoping that people who care about the feral cats will step forward and save them," said Vivian Kennedy, president of All Creatures Great and Small Animal Rescue.
San Benito High School's large campus, which takes up more than three city blocks, makes it home to "all kinds of critters," as SBHS' Director of Finance and Operations Jim Koenig puts it.
"We're right next to the wilderness, all the way out to the San Benito River," he said, referring to an unused plot of land separating two parts of the west-side campus. "There are squirrels that are a problem; we have bats; there's mice in the field, too."
No one is sure exactly how long feral cats have been putting down roots at SBHS, but it has clearly been some time. Many of them live under the administration building where grates have come off, giving the small creatures access to the crawl space, and still more live on the west side in parts of the campus far removed from most of the students. Koenig estimates that around 100 cats live on campus.
"They're not a risk to the students; they're afraid of them," Kennedy said.
While chances are slim that local students will be fending off wild cat attacks on their way to English class, officials say they do pose a number of problems.
"We have some legitimate concerns," Koenig said. "People go in and out of our warehouse all day, and the cats get in and leave their droppings. They get into our employee break areas and leave droppings. We can't afford to hire someone to shoo the cats away all day."
Moreover, cats aren't the only ones making a home on campus, and clashes with other houseguests can have odious results for those working and studying at SBHS.
"The crawl space under the administration building is comfortable, dry and commodious, so we have a problem with skunks living under there as well, and the skunks don't know it's for the cats," Koenig said. "People are tired of having the aroma of skunk throughout the administration building, so we want to seal it up without trapping any cats underneath."
According to Kennedy, her organization and the school have had an informal agreement for at least a few years, allowing her volunteers to trap the cats, neuter or spay them, give them shots, mark their ears to identify them as sterilized, and re-release them onto campus. Volunteers, who also set out food and water for the cats, have only been looking for cats under or around the main campus building, saying there are simply too many on the other part of the campus to keep track of.
"They have to go back to the high school; feral cats don't relocate well at all," she said.
In theory, this will keep the rodent population down as well as ensure that no more cats are born at SBHS. More than 20 cats have been neutered and re-released in this fashion, at an expense of several thousand dollars.
Despite these efforts, complaints of cat droppings and skunk odors remain, so seven or eight cats were trapped and turned over to animal control. These cats were caught on the west side of campus and were not part of the colony volunteers are attempting to catch and neuter.
"We're not trapping cats right now, but I won't say that we won't do so in the future," Koenig said Friday. Koenig also said he believed cats have had to be trapped in the past, before he began his career with SBHS.
Koenig said he has since received many e-mails from animal lovers who are upset at the district's decision and fear for the fate of the cats. A few school employees have also expressed their dismay.
"A couple of employees called me and we talked about it," Koenig said. "They've taken care of the cats and don't want anything bad to happen to them."
Because these particular cats are known to be feral and have no owners, they can only remain at the animal shelter for a few days before they are euthanized, according to Julie Cuerro of Animal Control. She said that the cats from SBHS currently staying at the shelter are between four months and several years old.
"'Euthanized' is the polite word, but the bottom line is that these cats are going to be killed," Kennedy said. "They are still God's creatures and they deserve a chance at life."
Unfortunately, because they are wild cats, most of them would not make suitable house pets, unless they're very young. Rather, they are more suited to homes with lots of acreage where the cats can hunt mice and roam free.
"If somebody wants a barn cat, these would be fine," Cuerro said. "They can come down here and get them."
Kennedy says her organization has a benefactor who has offered to pay for the cost of neutering the cats should someone adopt one, as well as its shots.
"It isn't the cats that are the problem; it's what comes with them," SBHS Superintendent Stan Rose said.
Koenig said he would be receptive to working with volunteers on establishing an official trap, neuter and release program for SBHS.
"If we can sit down and work something out formally, that would be great," he said.
In the meantime, Kennedy and her supporters are hoping people will step forward and welcome the feral cats that have been removed from the campus into their homes.
"We're pleading on behalf of the cats," she said.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or dsmith@freelancenews.com
Danielle Smith
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