<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.fark.com/goto/12653236/www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/cal-polys-cat-program-gives-feral-disabled-and-abandoned-cats-a-sa" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Welcome to Cal Poly's Cat Program, a nonprofit organization that provides feral, stray, surrendered or abandoned cats a sanctuary. Caturday approves</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">.</span><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Courtesy of New Times (San Luis Obispo, Calif..) at:</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/cal-polys-cat-program-gives-feral-disabled-and-abandoned-cats-a-safe-haven/Content?oid=13187752&utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark"> https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/cal-polys-cat-program-gives-feral-disabled-and-abandoned-cats-a-safe-haven/Content?oid=13187752&utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark</a><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">————————————————<span style="caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><h1 class="headline headline-13187752" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 35px; line-height: 1; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;">Cal Poly's Cat Program gives feral, disabled, and abandoned cats a safe haven </h1></div><div dir="ltr"><p class="dropcap" style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">Nestled among Cal Poly's agricultural warehouses is a modest looking building with an inconspicuous keypad-encrypted door.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">With a flash of green light, Dana K. Humphreys pulled open the door on a recent November morning, revealing a feline safe haven,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><a href="https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/all-paws-on-deck/Content?oid=2936609" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); transition: all 0.04s linear 0s; cursor: pointer; outline: none 0px;"><span style="color: rgb(156, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Cal Poly's Cat Program</span></a></b>, a nonprofit program aimed to provide feral, stray, surrendered or abandoned cats a sanctuary.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">It began in 1992 as a senior project designed to solve the rising population of feral cats on campus. Initially, the project trapped and euthanized feral cats, Humphreys said, but eventually, the program turned toward a more humane approach—the "trap, test, vaccinate, medicate, alter, and release" technique.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">As the program grew, so did the services they provided.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">"And it just eventually evolved, and it's now a full-service cat shelter," Humphreys said. "We do adoptions. We do rescues ... and it has actually expanded. We actually go out into the community and do trapping."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">Humphreys started volunteering four years ago when she tried to find a home for her neighbor's cat, Bubba, whose owner had passed away. When the Feline Network couldn't take in her neighbor's cat, Humphreys was directed to the cat program at Cal Poly. The shelter is managed through the help of volunteer students, such as third year Daniela Jacobson, and community members who all have one thing in common—a love for cats.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">Even though I did have to wake up early—I'm not a good morning person—it was still super, super rewarding," Jacobson said. "It was a good way to just get rid of stress from school and life."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">Jacobson started as a volunteer and worked her way up to being a shelter manager, which she says is rewarding despite the extra workload. Her favorite part of the job is helping feral cats socialize with humans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">"We would get feral cats that would come in and they would kind of hang in the corners. [They] tried to hide from people," Jacobson said. "Someone took a picture of me one day when one of the feral cats was letting me feed it from my hand and everyone was crowding around, because she would hiss and bite you if you even stepped foot near her."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">As shelter manager, Jacobson is in charge of knowing everything about each cat—what kind of medications, diet, and behavioral issues the cat has in order to make sure each feline gets the medical attention it needs. And these services don't come cheap. A surgery to correct inverted eyelids, for example, can cost up to $4,000, Humphreys said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">"We have a lot of huge expenses for dental work. That could be like $1,000 to have an extraction," Humphreys said. "It's not just running the shelter, you know, the litter and the cat food and that type of thing. It's a lot of the surgeries and the treatments, the medical treatments that are very expensive."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">Donations aren't the only thing the shelter needs right now. As students leave for the holidays, Humphreys said the shelter needs more volunteers who can take care of the cats.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">"It is kind of left to just a handful of us. We'll take on anybody and everybody. We'll find a position for them," Humphreys said, adding that they'd need at least 15 volunteers to pick up one shift a week, ranging from one to three hours. It's a way to help give animals another shot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 13.45pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; caret-color: rgb(11, 12, 12);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(11, 12, 12);">"Not only has it helped the community, but it's continuing to provide more chances at a second chance at life for a lot of animals," Jacobson said.</span></p></div><div dir="ltr">————————-</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Photo . . .</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; }
span.apple-converted-space { }
p.imagecaption, li.imagecaption, div.imagecaption { margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }
.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; }
@page WordSection1 { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 1in; }
div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style><p class="imagecaption" style="margin-top: 6pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol;
mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#555555">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">OUT FOR A STROLL<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">Student volunteer Jacob Burgasser gets ready to take one of the shelter cats to a fundraising bake sale.</span></p><p class="imagecaption" style="margin-top: 6pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_112622.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_112622.jpg</a></p></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">————————————————<span style="font-size: 16px; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div><b>“Caturday”</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> by Linus Petit</span></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_by_Linus_Petit.mp3">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_by_Linus_Petit.mp3</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span dir="ltr">http://www.MoscowCares.net</span></span></div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>