REYNA IWAMOTO : EDITOR IN CHIEF
SKYLAR CHUN : STAFF WRITER
Moanalua High School is not only home to more than 2,000 students and faculty on campus, but to around 27 furry animals as well. The increasing feral cat population on campus has brought rising concerns about the sanitary and health conditions of the students and faculty.
Spanish teacher Heather Paulino is located in room M207 and she described her experience with the cats.
“I don’t see them over here by my classroom, but in the mornings I remember coming to school sometimes and there will be cat feces right in this hallway. And you can always smell it... I like cats but on campus, I don’t think they should be here but...I don’t want to hurt them,” Paulino said.
English teacher Christy Lewis is located in the portables where most of the cats are and she shared similar thoughts on the cats, explaining how the smell of the cats’ feces affects her and the students.
“I can just smell [the cat feces] when I come on campus, especially when I come near the cafeteria which is gross because that is where students eat and you don't want to smell it while you’re eating. Especially if it's hot and during the summer time it is worse because it's humid and the smell just lingers in the air,” Lewis said.
A majority of the students and staff on campus share similar concerns, but also agree that they would not want these cats to be put in any danger either.
The increasing cat population is not only a problem just on the MoHS campus, but statewide as well. From October 17, 2018 to November 27, 2018, the new Hawaiian Humane Society’s Community Spay/Neuter Center has spayed or neutered more than 80 free-roaming cats.
According to state laws however, the “Humane euthanasia of any animal by an animal control officer, duly incorporated humane society...” or actions in which the person believes is necessary to avoid harm to themselves and the animal is justifiable.
The law also states that once stray animals are taken to be spayed or neutered, they must be returned to where they were found. Due to these regulations, people are able to take these stray cats to be spayed or neutered, so long as it does not cause any harm to them, but they must be returned back to their homes in the natural environment afterwards.
Despite the rising health concerns that feral cats pose to the students and faculty on campus, there are a number of people on campus behind the scenes, who are doing their best to keep the school clean while also taking care of the cats.
Every morning at the crack of dawn, sisters Nam Sun Gentry and Nam Sun Adena, custodians at MoHS, come to clean up any cat waste that they find and check up on the cats to make sure they are doing okay.
Adena explained that they have grown close to the cats on campus and that through years of caring for them, they have gained many of the cats’ trust. She also explained that her and her sister have given many of the cats names like Blacky, Tiger, and Rays.
Adena added that Blacky is the black cat that tends to stay near the cafeteria and is nearing death.
“Blacky is very old- maybe over 20 years old and he is blind and can’t hear,” Adena explained.
“But like a human he has a very good heart. And if you don’t bother the cats, then they don’t bother you,” Gentry added.
The sisters also shared some of their experiences of taking care of the cats. Using her own money, Gentry has taken numerous cats from the MoHS campus to get neutered. However there was a time when one of the cats did give birth to three baby kittens.
“I took one of the babies home, cared for it and put it up for adoption. And when the cats get sick, I take care of them too,” Gentry explained.
Unfortunately, the sisters explained that they cannot take them to the Humane Society anymore because they will put down the cats after a week if not adopted. The Humane Society does encourage neutering and does about 8,000 surgeries annually.
Alysa Stratman, the Youth Programs Coordinator at the Hawaiian Humane Society explained how they have a Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM), a humane, effective, and long-term strategy to reduce the number of cats at large and improve their quality of life.
“Free-Roaming cats are a diverse population that can include feral, abandoned, lost and owned pets that are allowed outdoors. Those who use the Humane Societies sterilization service are encouraged to seek landowner permission to care for cats,” Stratman said.
After the cats get sterilized, and then returned to their original place in the environment, the population stabilizes, and eventually this problem will greatly decline. However, it is a long-term process, and effects will not be seen right away.
Principal Robin Martin shared her thoughts on the feral cat situation on campus.
“As far as I know, the only thing you can do is trap them, have them spayed or neutered. Then you have to return them from where they came from, so it doesn’t stop the population for a long time now, but it definitely helps,” Martin said.
According to the state laws and Humane Society regulations, there is no way to get rid of the feral cats completely and immediately without bringing any harm to them. So although at first glance the cats may seem like a hindrance to the health and sanitation on campus, we must learn to accept their presence. After all, they are living beings just like the rest of us.
For more information about the spaying and neutering of stray animals, visit the Hawaiian Humane Society’s website at https://www.hawaiianhumane.org/spayneuter/