Cats deserve more love, and no, I’m not talking about the horrifying 2019 live-action film — I’m talking about the fluffy felines we all see around campus.

UCA’s campus cats deserve to be well taken care of. While cats may not be domesticated in the same way as dogs, they are still fairly dependent on people, and if given the proper care, they can thrive and benefit us, too. Stray cats aren’t always the kindest, but they are still animals that deserve our compassion.

Our campus cats are not a nuisance; they are just misunderstood and neglected. If taken care of, the cats could be a great asset to campus, and serve as a morale booster to students.

Several universities around the country have programs in place for the safety and care of campus cat populations.

In Solano, California, Solano Community College has created the Campus Cat Coalition, Inc. According to their website, this organization has dedicated itself to creating a safe and happy environment for its campus cat population. The coalition serves as just one example of what UCA could do with the feral cat population that calls our campus home.

UCA could make it a campus-wide service project for any student to participate in and gain volunteer hours. There could be an RSO dedicated to caring for and tracking the cats. It would reflect well on the university no matter the type of initiative, and could even serve as a selling point for incoming students.

Knowing there were campus cats made me think more fondly of the campus when I was choosing my school, and had I been able to see a dedicated initiative towards caring for the cats, I would’ve been counting down the days until I was on campus and able to participate.

It looks good to incoming students and great to outside philanthropists and organizations that the university works with and receives donations from. Having a set population of campus cats that are spayed and neutered, as well as fed and content, helps to prevent other strays, especially unspayed and unneutered, from moving on campus.

The cats can also prevent unwanted animals like skunks, as cats are instinctually predators, and signal such to other animals. Skunks can smell the ammonia and pheromones in cat urine, which mimics that of coyotes and foxes and will be less likely to stick around.

UCA’s campus cats deserve to be taken care of and are worth the effort and costs of doing so.