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Meow! CAMPUS CATS Meow!

Spring 2000--#11

California State University, Bakersfield, CA93311

Phone:(661) 664-2370 (Carol Raupp)

Campus Cats aims to spay or neuter feral (wild) cats on campus, rescue kittens and tame adult cats and find them homes, and have any campus cats who are seriously ill or wounded euthanized.Efforts underway in the past several years have resulted in over 221 rescues and the spaying or neutering of most cats remaining on campus.Unfortunately, the campus continues to be a dumping ground for people abandoning pets.

Catwings

What big news this is!After years of making do with foster care for rescued campus cats, we now have a new home at Catwings.This 2.5 acre property, named for Ursula LeGuin's series of books about kittens born with wings, is just what we needed.During December, a mother-in-law apartment, covered porch, and carport were remodeled for the cats--about 1500 square feet in all.Kitchen cupboards had doors removed to create kitty bunks.Shower liner panels were put on the walls to facilitate cleaning, and outlets were catproofed to prevent electrical accidents.Heating mats designed for use with large farm animals were installed--the cats loved these during the cold weather.And a giant jungle gym and rafter perches were installed in the ex-carport (now catport) by Ed Plake and Martha Stiles.The cats moved in in January.(That's quite an oversimplification of a two-week process--remember that a lot of these cats can't be handled!I am now an expert cat-netter.) Almost all of the cats decided immediately that they enjoy the new place--some are still a bit intimidated.Cats needing special medical attention have their own room inside the main house (an attached small outdoor enclosure is planned for them), and the barn holds tons of donated cat litter.

So far, the cats have been visited by the Cat People's Board of Directors and by the Psychology Department faculty.We're planning a big open house in the Fall.Our next construction project will be an expanded outdoor area with real grass!

Catwings already has its own web site, constructed by Elaine Gregory for a class assignment.The address is http://www.bakersfield.org/catwings/index.htmlVisit us!

CATS ON CAMPUS

Northern Campus Cats** Gleam in the Dark ** It's still Phantom and Tucker at this feeding station.They're usually waiting for the food delivery, their eyes glowing in the darkness.Patches has visited here a few times, as has the seldom-seen tabby with one crumpled ear.

Western Campus Cats** Keeping On** Tortie Girl and the others at the western feeding station continue to bask in the sun and greet their human friends. 

Southern Campus Cats** New Nickname ** Blossom has decided that the way to hurry up the food delivery is to butt me with her head, and one of these days she's going to knock me over.Her new nickname is "Miss Buttly".Yeller grows increasingly affectionate.

Eastern Campus Cats** Tentative Touching ** After many years, Black Kitten and Silva are finally letting me touch them--the tip of one finger touching their noses, that is.It's the usual feral no touching relationship with White Kitty.Chatty continues to talk up a storm. 

RewardCarol Raupp is offering a $1000 reward for information leading to the successful arrest and prosecution of any person(s) abandoning cats on campus.This cruel crime must stop!Helpful information includes time, date, exact location, description of person and vehicle, license number, and description of the cat(s).

CATS WAITING FOR HOMES

Pictures of some of these cats can be seen on our bulletin board across from DDH D113.Cats have their vaccinations and are spayed.Contact Carol for details.

Mabel, 2 years old, female, short-hair gray and white tuxedo cat whose gray fur shimmers like pewter--she is smart and playful and would like a home with someone who can appreciate her cat jokes

LooLoo, 2 years old, female, short-hair black--she loves kittens, being petted, and yummy treats--her purple collar sets off the tiny white spot on her chest

Kew, 15 months, female, short-hair orange tabby--though she has the young heart of a kitten, Kew is very serene and ever so grateful for attention--her tail is always in the "Hi, how are you?" greeting position

Mandy ,12 months, female, medium-hair pastel calico--she has a tiny "mew" but is quite a scamp, and likes to wrestle, her paws versus my hands 

RESCUE and RELOCATION LOG

Keep your fingers crossed--there have been no kittens born here this year and no abandoned cats so far that we know of.

ADOPTIONS--LUCKY KITTIES!

We need adopters!No cats have been adopted this year.

Update on an adoption--just as the last issue went to press, we found out about a cat rescued on campus who went straight to an adopter but we didn't have all the facts.Kiki, a female mostly orange tabby with some tortie flavoring, was rescued last October and adopted instantaneously by Theresa Robertson (Science Stockroom), who reports that Kiki's quite possessive of her cat toys. 

Obituaries:More Old-timers

Every cat has a story.Four former campus cats with stories have died since last Fall.Sage, a beautiful pastel tortie (gray and peach) died in early December 1999 of acute respiratory illness.She had been abandoned at CSUB, pregnant or with her tiny kittens, many years ago.Sage moved her kittens back and forth between the Health Center and the Children's Center several times before she could be found reliably, and by that time, with the rigors of caring for her kittens, she was becoming fiercely protective.Once rescued, she never permitted handling, but two of her kittens, Mojave and Fergus, found adoptive homes (the others live at Catwings).On December 22, 1999, Phil the Whiner was found dead of unknown causes.He was one of a kind.His story began when Phil Whitney carried the little black and white kitten into one of my classes, saying "This kitten just walked up to me over by the cafeteria."Phil (the kitten) then spent the remainder of the class exploring students' desks.Phil the Whiner (the cat) got his nickname because I thought it was so cute when he mewed while a small kitten that I trained him to do it on cue--I would say his name and he would "whine". (No, Phil the person does not do this.)Another cat with an amazing story, Copycat (Mr. Boo, Mr. Fuzzymuzzle), died of kidney failure February 5, 2000.Many years ago I received a call from staff at Modular Building 3--"There's a cat in our Xerox machine."Sure enough, a terrified cat was huddled in the paper storage bin.What else could he be named but Copycat?He had had a tough life as a young tomcat--one eye had a healed wound and eventually developed cataracts, and he always walked with a proud, stiff-shouldered tomcat swagger.For his first year in foster care he had to have his own room because he would simply attack other cats.During an especially crowded time I had to put a cage of young kittens in his room, though--and he loved them!They socialized him and he finally joined the other cats.After a long battle with stomatitis, Boojtu Monkeytail died on March 31.She was the last survivor of the first litter of kittens I rescued on campus, a granddaughter of Momcat.After spending a frustrating daily session in the bushes every day for weeks trying to make friends with these kittens and catch them, I finally grabbed Boojtu--but decided to rely on traps for almost all the other cats since.Boojtu liked to carry her amazingly long skinny tail curled over her back in the monkey position. 

You Can Help Feral Cats in your Neighborhood

If you feed a colony of feral (wild) cats or have cats in your neighborhood that you consider to be wild, you'll be glad to know that several local veterinarians are participating in a statewide program to provide FREE spaying and neutering for FERAL cats.Maddie's Fund has made an initial $1 million grant, with more pending.Call your vet to find out about participating--more vets are still being added.To qualify, a cat must not accept handling by humans, must be trapped and delivered in the trap to the vets, must have one ear tipped by the vet to mark the cat clearly as spayed or neutered, and must be returned to his/her original habitat after surgery.(If you decide to have testing, vaccinating, or other medical treatment done, you would pay for this yourself.)This program is not intended for cats with homes, but if you have abandoned and feral cats in your neighborhood, this is your chance to do something really important--help these cats who have no one--just for the cost of renting a trap.

Spay/Neuter Coupons Available

Free discount coupons worth $10 toward spaying and neutering cats and dogs are available.Kern County Animal Control funds the program.You can come by DDH D113 to pick up coupons for cats, or call 664-2370.Leave your phone number, full name (the name that will be used on the account at the veterinarian’s), full mailing address including zip code, your cat’s name, cat’s sex, and cat’s approximate age and a coupon will be left at DDH D113 within 24 hours for you to pick up.Off-campus callers may have coupons mailed, upon request.Each household may get up to three coupons, one per cat (leave information about each cat for whom a coupon is needed).Coupons are not transferable.For dog coupons, contact Kern Humane Society. 

If you cannot afford to spay or neuter your cat even with the discount, and believe you may income qualify, contact the Cat People for an application for Spay Today (327-4706) which covers all costs for those eligible.Do it now--processing applications takes several weeks, as funds become available.If you adopted a kitten last year, it’s past time to spay or neuter.And if your cat has had kittens, be sure to spay her before Round 2.

Thanks for Helping

Phil Whitney and Linda White made especially generous cash donations that have been used to keep the cats on campus fed and to install security doors for the cats' enclosure at Catwings.

Phil Whitney also spent a day at the cats' previous home helping to clean up the yard as part of our move, and Brenda and Art Bynum, Jan Underwood and Ruth, and Jorge Yviricu moved truckloads of stuff.

Thanks for books for our next book sale from Jackie Kegley and Lori Lowrimore (and thanks for the cat toy for Catwings cats).

Jackie Kegley, Katy Kessler, Phil Whitney, and Jeff Spencer have been keeping the east-side cats on campus fed. 

As always, Southwest Vets have regularly assisted the campus cats and those at Catwings.

The Golden Cat company has donated a barnful of cat litter (probably enough for the entire year!) to the local Colony Assistance Program, and they’ve passed a whole lot of it on to cats at Catwings--thanks to Golden Cat, CAP, Smurfit Recycling (transport), and Brenda Bynum (organizing). 

On a similarly helpful note, Karen Hartlep donated two litter boxes to Catwings.

An anonymous donor who has so far eluded discovery has left several deliveries of cat food for the cats on campus across the past several months.Tina Giblin, Gary Zmitrewicz, and Steve and Penelope Suter have also donated food.This is always much appreciated by the hungry kitties.

Thanks to Armanda Ghilarducci and Loraine Navarro for selling so much of the See's candy for our fundraiser.

A big thanks to Ed Plake, who spent 3 mornings out at Catwings putting in a cat door, building the cats' jungle gym and workout center, and getting the farm equipment running.The cats love their jungle gym!

Martha Stiles visited from Davis and started the flyscreen project on the cat enclosure at Catwings. She also donated some medicines for the cats. 

The cats do flips over all this generosity!

Candy for Sale

We still have some See's chocolate bars for sale (milk chocolate with almonds or with toffee bits).Why not spend the summer in a hammock reading trashy novels and munching a box of bars?Contact -2370 if you can help us finish this fundraiser.

DONATIONS NEEDED--

If you haven’t contributed yet this year, now’s the time.

Please help if you can!Send tax-deductible donations to the Foundation, specifying the Campus Cats account (#3010-471) or send them via Carol Raupp in Psychology.Donations make you a Campus Cats member.

Campus Cats’ wish list also includes the following-- cat food contributors, substitute feeders for cats on campus, and of course, adopters.Former Campus Cats at Catwings could use cat food, Q-tips (for cleaning ears), food or water dishes that hold 1 quart or more, and used towels or blankets for bedding.

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DONATION FORM--Return to C. Raupp, Psychology, DDH D113

Name, campus phone & campus address

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Membership/donation$_______(Checks to “CSUB Foundation”, #3010-471)

(Any amount is welcome--suggested donations are $5 students, $6 staff, $7 faculty)

Thanks to Southwest Vets for all their help!

This newsletter is not printed at state expense.

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