Very exciting - Marist's beloved cats will be cared for! We now begin the next chapter. Please follow progress on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/MaristCats/

Marist College has been home to dozens of free roaming cats over many years. It is our estimate there are currently between 40 and 50 cats living peacefully on campus in colonies; groupings of cats that share resources and protection with a complex social system.

These cats are not typically socialized to humans but pose no threat and rely on humans to survive. The cats’ presence offers students and staff a bit of comfort away from home.

Due to expressed concern for the cats, Mr. Justin Butwell was contacted with a request for permission and financial support to implement the nationally recognized humane practice of trap/neuter/return and place (TNR/P).

TNR/P involves humanely trapping free roaming cats, transporting them to a veterinary clinic where they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and ear tipped (for identification purposes), held for recovery and then returned to their colony to be managed. Each kitten or cat that is social enough to be handled is removed and placed in a home.

Proper management of a colony includes daily feeding, fresh water and shelter.

Mr. Butwell allowed volunteers on premises to trap and alter the cats in 2014. Over the course of 10 months, 55 cats were altered 14 of those were removed.

What was missing in this project was the spirit of cooperation and proper management of the cats. Feeding and water dishes were consistently removed and shelters were not allowed; which remains the case to this day. Individuals feeding the cats were literally doing it under the cover of night for fear of retribution.

Volunteers had to depend on the hours they personally spent on campus to determine if there were still cats in need of TNR/P. After a month of not seeing any unaltered cats, the campus was considered “closed”. Volunteers were eventually not allowed on campus when students were there.

Systems for proper management of the cats were offered to be implemented by volunteers. Those offers were turned down or completely ignored.

To make matters worse, the dormitories where one of the colonies lived under was demolished, with no effort to ensure the cats’ safety. Now, those cats have no shelter whatsoever.

Additionally, volunteers were notified by construction workers about a box of kittens (8 to 10 of them) that had been overturned at the dorm site under construction in May. The terrified kittens scattered before workers could catch them. Several attempts to contact Mr. Butwell were made throughout the summer about the kittens yet he neglected to respond. During that time frame it was discovered several adult cats that live on campus did not have the identifying ear tip. Again, Mr. Butwell did not respond.

It has now come to the attention of students, staff, faculty members and the community surrounding Marist that Mr. Butwell has initiated an effort to relocate the cats that call Marist home. His focus is mainly on the ones residing behind the admissions building.

We are concerned by the manner the effort is taking place, for the many cats that are not able to be relocated and for the ones Mr. Butwell is still ignoring on campus that need TNR. Mr. Butwell has repeatedly used hostile language such as "get rid of the cats", which creates a vacuum effect, and that the cats can “fend for themselves”, which in reality simply weakens them and makes them sick.

He has been non responsive to requests by experienced volunteers to retrieve the kittens at no cost to Marist and to TNR the adult cats in need. There is no expressed, clear plan for the cats. He has been slow to understand relocating cats often leads to their demise. There is no transparency in his effort to rid the campus of cats.

We are seeking assurance from you for the humane management of the cats moving forward as part of an ongoing trap/neuter/return or place program (TNR/P).

It is the strong recommendation of the undersigned to support proper management of the cats which includes:

~ Continued TNR/P efforts for cats/kittens in need of surgery and vaccinations. Removal of any that can be handled.

~ Establishment of feeding stations to provide food and fresh water daily. Currently, the cats are drinking from mud puddles and eating off the ground which increases their risk of infections from parasites.

~ Set up shelters to protect them from New York’s often bitter winters. This will also reduce the cats’ attempts to get inside the buildings for protection.

~ Allow faculty, staff and students to establish a group to oversee the care of the cats, similar to the Stony Brook CAT Network. Students have already stepped up to help.