Feral cats may not seem like a huge issue on campus, but as soon as you walk onto the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail or by the Spiritual Center, you may see many cats freely roaming the grounds.

A feral cat is defined as having no to very little human interaction and was born from a stray cat out in the wild. But, why is this an issue? If they are left in their natural conditions, they can reproduce rapidly, soon causing an overpopulation of cats. The environment can only take so many stray cats, and that is our job to prevent the issue.

To stop the overpopulation of cats, a humane way of preventing the cats of reproduction is possible. A technique called Trap-Neuter-Return (or TNR), which is basically what the name says. Cats are trapped where they are taken to vet clinics to be fixed, medicated or whatever needs to be done to the cat. Once they are all fixed, they can be sent out in the wild and if they are young enough, they can try to be adopted into forever homes. It is especially important to do this to young cats because they have the chance to be socialized and have human interaction. This is when they have the opportunity to find a home. Older cats are harder to find homes for. They were born and raised in the wild, and therefore usually stay wild cats. The only difference is that they cannot reproduce and cause an overpopulation of cats.

TNR is an easy solution to an overpopulation issue. Shelters can have more space and less animals that, sadly, reside in kill shelter, and will not be euthanized. These innocent cats can be saved, but the only way that they can be is if cats are neutered so they can reproduce less. This way population decreases in both the world and in shelters.