San Benito High School and our local animal shelter have been
placed in a no-win situation because feral cats have taken up
residence at the school.
San Benito High School and our local animal shelter have been placed in a no-win situation because feral cats have taken up residence at the school.
The number of cats currently residing on the campus, as reported by a school official, is under dispute by some local animal advocates, but the bottom line is that there are enough owner-less cats to be causing problems.
Problems that should not be big enough to distract from the process of providing an education for our children.
By trapping these cats and bringing them to the shelter, the school has been branded by some as insensitive and cruel. The animal shelter does not have the space to accommodate wild cats that cannot be given homes and is forced to kill them, and thus is also branded as cruel.
We support the school and shelter workers in doing what they feel is best for the situation, given the restraints they work around.
What makes the situation particularly heartbreaking is the fact that local residents have worked with the school to save some of the cats, those living in the area of the administration building. Volunteers apparently have trapped cats, had them neutered or spayed, gotten them shots, tagged them, and then re-released them to the campus where, theoretically, they help keep the small rodent population in check and provide more character to the campus.
Unfortunately, the unusually large size of the San Benito High campus means that quite a few cats also live in other areas of the school. As the population of felines has risen, so has the number of problems. Having some cats – spayed cats – living around the campus isn’t a bad thing at all, but when problems begin to mount, something has to be done.
Officials at the school have said they would be receptive to working with volunteers to establish a trap, neuter and release program. That would be a best-case scenario. But until then, we support the school and the shelter in doing what they feel has to be done.
And, of course, we support the community members who have worked hard to save the cats.
“We’re hoping that people who care about the feral cats will step forward and save them,” said Vivian Kennedy of All Creatures Great and Small Animal Rescue. Hopefully, they can be helped.
