Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Steve Berry

They called it "Acorn" because it had a unique acorn-colored coat of short hair and was perched on a tree limb.

It was a feline that had no place to call home, save for a Cougar Village tree outside apartment 416. But for more than 12 hours Thursday, Aug. 30, the cat lingered on the tree, without food or water, mewing at passers by as the temperatures rose to a sweltering 90 degrees.

At one point, a student drove her maroon Chevrolet Suburban to the tree and tried to catch the feline while standing on the roof of the SUV. Despite this, the cat was still several feet from grasp and remained in the tree.

Cougar Village resident Samantha Gill recalled the ordeal with frustration.

"I'm just completely disgusted by the lack of care for this animal," Gill said.

Gill called the SIUE Police Department, which responded to the scene, but could do nothing because of liability issues.

University Housing Director Mike Schultz said the housing rules clearly stipulate what kinds of pets are allowed in University Housing.

"The only thing that is allowed is a fish and a fish tank," Schultz said.

Schultz said he suspects the feral cat problem started when residents had brought pets from home. Schultz also said there have been coordinated efforts by University Housing to trap the cats in Cougar Village, but they have not been able to completely capture all the cats.

While incidents of cats being stuck in trees are rare, sightings of feral cats have been on the rise in recent months. That is because cats are most likely to breed in the fall and spring, according to Ellen Steen, the operations manager for the Metro East Humane Society, or MEHS.

And during those seasons, cats breed often.

Steen said dogs may have a litter in the fall and spring, but a cat can have two to three in each season.

"Unfortunately, cats are not like dogs," Steen said. "Cats are one of these breeds that while they are still nursing, they can go ahead and become pregnant again. That's how they proliferate like crazy."

As for the potential problems caused by large populations of feral cats, besides inhumane conditions, Steen points to public health.

"The thing that comes to mind is disease," Steen said.

Some feral cats may have a zoonotic disease, a disease that can be passed from one species to another. A feral cat can have hookworm or roundworm, which can readily infect a human host.

Continued...

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