angelia albao,
Feature: Take Care of Me-ow!
Do you remember Snowbell? Ever wondered where she is now and what had happened to her?
For those of you who don’t know her, this is Snowbell.
Snowbell stares straight into our souls with her wonderful heterochromia eyes.
Photo credits: Angie Albao
Snowbell is a very beautiful all-white cat with blue and green eyes. She was the resident cat of the P.A. Pavillion circa 2015-2018. During this time, there weren’t as many cats as there are now. Snow Bell was one of the very few cats that we knew, and we loved her so. We loved her so much that a Twitter account was even made in her name.
Snowbell has her very own Twitter account (@pusaaa). Screenshot taken by Angie Albao.
However, one day, our beloved Snowbell disappeared from the UPIS grounds. Students who had grown attached to her were very much worried and confused as to why she disappeared. So the question is, what exactly happened to Snowbell?
Apparently, last August 2018, the UPIS Administration had asked the University of the Philippines Office of Community Relations (OCR) for help in catching the stray cats of UPIS. OCR then rounded up the cats and brought them to a compound inside the UP campus. Do not fret though! Snowbell charmed someone’s heart while she was at the compound and so she landed a new, loving home.
Nowadays, however, there are plenty of lovable cats roaming around our hallways, and it’s even more than we had before. Recently, a lot of these new-gen UPIS cats have given birth to heart-warmingly adorable little kittens.
Two adorable kittens watch the students with curiosity. These are two out of eight kittens that were born in UPIS in the past month or two. Photo credits: Angie Albao
The students all have heart-eyes for these cute babies, and it’s not hard to understand why. However, the birth of these babies mean the inflation of the population of the school feline. With this comes the risk needing to do another cat control measure in the school.
As much as we want to continue having our furry friends with us, we also have to understand where the admin is coming from. The administration only wants to keep the students safe from possible complications and harm, such as getting scratches or bites from the cats, which can then lead to acquiring rabies.
Do not fret though, since our cats are still with us. While the administration is letting us have fun with our felines, here are some things we can do to make sure our furry friends will not be deemed as a problem to the UPIS community.
Cat-venience
A lot of students feed the cats in our school, and that’s actually very sweet. However, a lot of the remains of the food we give them (such as bones, rice, etc.) can be seen lying around places like the hallways and classrooms. This is something we want to avoid. UPIS is our school and we shall strive to maintain its cleanliness. Yes, we have custodians who help us keep it clean, but we shouldn’t give them additional burden by leaving random food around.
To help our custodians with making the school a clean and hygienic place, you can put the food you give to the cats in containers. This will make the feeding and cleaning-up process more convenient. Make sure to also get and throw/retrieve the containers after the cats have eaten.
Additionally, knowing what cats like to and can eat will help too. Some cats don’t eat all kinds of food they are given, so most of the time, some food will just be left uneaten by the cats. In addition, some foods such as chocolate and garlic are actually harmful to cats.To avoid wasting food and harming the cats, give cats food they can actually eat. When giving meat, remember to only give cats cooked meat because raw ones will upset their stomach. Also, most cats are actually lactose-intolerant, so large intakes of milk is not recommended. For your convenience, here is a summarized list of food that cats can eat and what they shouldn’t.
Photo retrieved from: https://catsareontop.com/can-cats-eat-yogurt-cheese-bread/
Safety Prrrr-st
To avoid cases of bites and scratches, it is important to always keep your safety in mind first.
Be careful when dealing with cats. Before approaching cats, it is important to watch the body language of the cat first to know if they want to be touched or left alone. If the cat is aggressive or is in a bad mood, do not approach. Here are some infographics that can help with determining a cat’s mood via their body language.
Photos retrieved from: https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/cat-body-language
In addition, please do not harm cats. A lot of cats become wary and aggressive because they’ve had a bad experience with humans before. To avoid having more cats become aggressive, make sure to treat all cats with love and respect. If you see someone messing with a cat, stop them immediately or report them to authority.
Take Me-ow Home
“Adopt, don’t shop!”
For those who are capable, do try adopting one of our lovely cats or kittens at school. This will not only ensure that these cats will have a caring family and home, this will ensure that there won’t be an overpopulation of cats in the school.
You may adopt both adult cats and tiny kittens found in the school. However, adopting kittens are actually much more complicated and precarious, so here are a few important things to keep in mind:
1. Make sure you are capable and responsible enough to be the little kitten’s loving family. You should have the time and resources needed in bringing up the kitten.
2. Determine the age range of the kitten (Alley Cat Allies). It is better to adopt kittens that have already been weaned by their mother cat so that they can already eat solid foods. According to WebMD, the weaning process starts when the kitten is about 4 weeks old and is completed when it is around 8-10 weeks old.
3. However, there are cases when the mother cat is not around or the baby is lost or has been abandoned. In cases like this, you can adopt the baby even if it cannot eat solids yet. If you have a cat at home who is also breastfeeding, you can mix your kitten with her own litter. Mother cats are generally welcoming and will also feed your adopted kitten. However, if no mother cat is available, you would have to turn to kitten formula milk. It is important to give the kitten the formula milk to ensure that they get all the nutrition that they need for growing up. Don’t forget to buy a kitten bottle as well!
4. Go to the vet for regular check-ups.
5. If the kitten isn’t weaned yet, help your kitten transition from milk to solid food. Start with soft foods (such as wet kitten food) first before trying out harder ones.
These are just a few tips to get you started. You can always do more research online if you want to know more about how to take care and handle our little felines!
Together, we can keep the UPIS community a safe and happy place, for both students and cats alike. //by Angelia Albao
Source: Alley Cat Allies. (n.d.). How Old Is That Kitten? Kitten Progression: At-a-Glance. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://www.alleycat.org/resources/kitten-progression/
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