Feeding Stations

For the population of spayed / neutered, vaccinated cats that have been released back onto campus, there are currently twelve feeding stations located throughout Cal Poly which support them. Hidden in non-conspicuous, vegetative areas, these stations serve several beneficial purposes.

One is that they allow for cats to be provided with healthy diets which help to keep disease and starvation away.

This diet also helps to keep cats from preying on birds and other species when this is not desired.

However, several livestock and other agricultural units on campus do consider cats to be beneficial to their area and so often request them to be released there. These cats, which have always gone through the program to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated are often encouraged to hunt to help keep the rodent population down.

Each station is individually monitored by program volunteers who visit and fill these stations at least twice a day. With this monitoring, observation records of new cats or cats looking diseased, pregnant, or having other problems can easily be kept. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, feeding stations provide an established feeding area by which cats, being territorial and yet wanderers, become accustomed to and rely upon. When it is desired to trap a cat whether it is sick, pregnant, unaltered or has otherwise not gone through the program, feeding stations make the job of tracking down and finally trapping the animal an easy one.

Dry food only is allowed at each station, and mainly for the fact that to more easily entice an intended cat, wet food such as mackerel or tuna can be used with great success.

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