A cats vs. coyotes dispute at Cal State Long Beach

At least two coyotes have been preying on feral cats that live on the Cal State Long Beach campus. But the real clash is between animal activists and university officials, who are at odds over which species should have to go, the Times' Ann Simmons reports:

University officials say the cats are attracting the coyotes, and it is the cats that need to be removed. That has outraged many cat lovers who fear the felines will be killed. They say the coyotes present the danger, so they should be evicted.

On Sunday, a small group of cat lovers lined a curb outside the university, waving handwritten signs with slogans such as "Save The Cats" and chanting their message as motorists hooted and whizzed by.

Cal State Long Beach spokesman Rick Gloady said he hoped that the cats could be "trapped and removed from campus," and that homes could be found for them in shelters.

University officials said in a written statement that the cats had been fed and well cared for. But the felines tend to cluster around the multiple campus feeding stations -- which coyotes had discovered and started visiting, leaving behind several dead cats.

The activists who care for the cats, which have lived on the campus for decades, argue that trapping the coyotes would be easier than rounding up the cats and taking them to shelters where they might be euthanized.

-- Tony Barboza

Comments

[Algen]

Those feeding the feral cats should be held responsible for the expense of trapping them, neutering them, and finding them homes. How many birds have these feral cats killed? How many people have become sick because of the diseases these feral cats spread? Like so many these people create a mess and then want others to shoulder the burden and expense of cleaning it up.

[Brien Comerford]

This is a tough one. I say save the feral cats and place the coyotes in a humane sanctaury. I don't want either killed by humans.

[LB Resident]

These zealots who have moved on to the Cal State campus and proclaimed it a feral cat sanctuary are just squatters. They and their cats should be removed post haste.