NMSU’s Feral Cat Management Program makes sure between 110 and 150 feral cats on campus are fed, neutered and up-to-date with their shots. (NMSU Photo by Darren Phillips)

If you’ve ever met Patti Benzie, you probably noticed she likes cats. And, like many cat lovers, she keeps pictures of her pets (past and present) at her desk as the secretary for the Department of Accounting and Information Systems in the New Mexico State University College of Business. She even has a cat pin on her jacket and keeps a toy stuffed cat within arm’s reach of her chair.

Unlike many animal lovers, Benzie takes her commitment a step further, volunteering her time with NMSU’s FCaMP (Feral Cat Management Program). FCaMP started in 2002 as a resource to help manage the cat population on campus – then estimated to be between 200 and 250. Today the population is between 110 and 150, thanks in large part to the efforts of FCaMP volunteers who make sure every cat on campus is neutered and up-to-date on their shots. Volunteers also provide food and water for the cats and make some available for home adoption.

FCaMP is a recognized campus organization, but not funded by the university. Benzie is one of more than a dozen volunteers with the group.

Feral cats eat a morning meal provided by Patti Benzie (photo by Darren Phillips)

“Cats have been on campus forever. And they will always be here, no matter what anyone does,” Benzie said, noting that universities across the country have cat colonies.

She attributes some of the cats to students who keep them as pets and later abandon them. Others might be strays that find a good food source on campus. Before FCaMP, the cats were trapped and taken to the pound where they were euthanized – a strategy Benzie said wasn’t working because the cat population never shrank.

As part of her work, Benzie manages one of the several feeding stations around campus. She also keeps a look out for new cats that may need to be taken in to be fixed and to have their shots.

She said some of the largest cat populations are around the NMSU libraries, where they can be seen either in the early evening or early morning. She said the cats also come in handy for keeping down the university’s rodent population. FCaMP’s website is at http://www.nmsu.edu/~fcamp.

We are working with KRWG to make these videos available again

During the Fall 2009 semester KRWG will begin adding their videos to NMSU’s YouTube channel. Visit the College of Business YouTube.


NMSU To Get A “Proper” Entrance. It’s an old problem for NMSU planners and newcomers to the university: which way is in? On this week’s show, you’ll get a look at plans for a new university entrance at University Avenue and Jordan Street, anchored by a Barnes and Noble bookstore and including businesses and apartments.

Also, we meet some campus residents who are normally out of sight and often unwanted: feral cats. In the second half of the broadcast, Gary Worth interviews Michelle Corella about the Feral Cat Management Program (FCaMP) program, a small, not-for-profit organization that conducts a TNR (trap, neuter, release) program on campus to stabilize the feral cat population at NMSU.

Our Amazing Aggie of the week is Peter Fine, an assistant professor of Graphic Design at New Mexico State who inspires his students to become familiar with environmental concerns and to learn how to make an impact, specifically with design.

New Mexico State University is the home of the Aggies, but its campus has also become home to other residents: undomesticated cats.

As an initiative to stabilize the number of feral felines on campus, the Feral Cat Management Program (FCaMP) was implemented in 2002 on the NMSU main campus.

FCaMP is a small, non-profit organization that conducts a Trap-Neuter- Release (TNR) program on campus.

According to the FCaMP Web site, TNR is a process where FCaMP volunteers trap unidentified cats, after which the cats are sterilized and checked for fatal diseases. A cat that has undergone the TNR process is identified by having a notch tipped out of its left ear.

The FCaMP Web site states that once the TNR process is completed, the cats are returned back to campus, “where they will live out their lives.”

Michelle Corella, FCaMP program director, said approximately 200 cats have undergone the TNR process and nearly 60 cats have been adopted.

In addition to the TNR process, FCaMP provided the on-campus cat population with feeding stations, which are placed in various places around campus.

Corella said FCaMP volunteers supply fresh food and water for the cat colony seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Due to people who are opposed to having cats on campus, Corella said FCaMP does not advertise where the feeding stations are located.

Corella explained that college campuses provide a “good haven for cats to flock to.”

She added that similar conditions exist on college campuses around the nation. She said foliage and availability of food and water make campuses a prime breeding ground for cats.

Corella said the NMSU community is mostly supportive of FCaMP’s initiative.

“People on college campuses are more accepting,” Corella said.

Corella said prior to the inception of FCaMP, feral cats were maintained by a different approach, known as Trap Remove Kill (TRK).

Corella explained the cats were collected by NMSU groundsmen and taken to the animal humane society, where the cats were euthanized.

Due to the territorial nature of cats, Corella said this approach led to more cats on campus because cats breed as a survival mechanism.

“If cats are sterilized, they are not breeding anymore,” Corella said. “What we are doing now is working.”

With the implementation of the TNR program, Corella said the on-campus cat population has since declined.

“The [cat] population is healthier,” Corella said. “The numbers are not increasing.”

Corella added the number of new kitten litters on campus has dropped from about 12 in 2002, to just two this year.

Corella said some people do not support FCaMP’s cause and that for some people, re-releasing the cats back on campus “does not make sense.”

Corella said the NMSU administration approves FCaMP’s initiative. She said Ben Woods, senior vice president for planning, physical resources and university relations, is a big advocate for FCaMP.

FCaMP is privately funded and gets most of its money from fundraisers.

The University of Texas at Austin also has a feral cat population control program, and volunteers go as far as naming all the strays on campus.

The program at UT-Austin reports that as of January 2008, there have been no new litters of kittens for seven years. They estimate that 268 feral cats call the UT-Austin campus their home.

At Stanford University, the Stanford Cat Network is comprised of a volunteer work-force that also supports a spay/neuter feeding, adoption and return program.

The program there, also sanctioned by administration, claims studies have proven trap-spay/neuter-vaccinate-release is the single most successful method of stabilizing and maintaining healthy feral cat colonies. According to the program, the feral cat management system:

• Stabilizes the population at manageable levels (cats are territorial and don’t welcome newcomers).

• Is more effective and less costly than repeated attempts at extermination.

• Monitors the population for health and vaccinates cats, as well as prevents the spread of infectious diseases.

• Provides a humane alternative to euthanisia and inspires compassion in the community.

For more information visit www.nmsu.edu/~fcamp.