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Back in June 2022, a group of Troy University students noticed the campus had a community cat problem.

“That’s when we started TNR, Trap, Neuter-Release,” said Troy University student KayLeigh White, “We researched multiple ways we could prevent over-population but in a humane way. With the shelters already full of cats, taking them there was not an option, so we found out about TNR.”

White said not only have the concerned students had the cats “fixed” they have also had them vaccinated against rabies.

White said Troy University decided to implement a policy to have all faculty, staff and students stop feeding and taking care of the cats.

White said she and Donna Brockmann, president of the Human Society of Pike County, had a meeting with General Boutwell about the policy and a rough draft of an official TNR program.

“Many Universities have a TNR program in place since removing or relocating the cats have proven not to work,” White said. “The University of Georgia in Atlanta has its own TNR program that is run by volunteers.”

White said every one of the 45 cats on the Troy University is accounted for every day and each one has their own name.

“The Universal sign for a fixed community cat is a clipped ear; it’s also the best way to identify which cat has been fixed and which has not been fixed,” White said. “We have volunteers who feed the campus cats, most that are here because students left them behind when they left campus.”

White said a kitten has not been born on the Troy University campus since September 2022.

“What we are doing is working,” she said. “What we would like happen is for all of the cats on campus to be adopted. Their number is not increasing and they lovable animals. We just want to keep feeding them and caring for them in a humane kind of way.”