Tomball College Hires Pest Control: Feral Cats Dead 

The Issue:

In late August, Tomball College facilities manager Mike Dannenbaum hired Cypress Creek Pest Control to remove the wildlife from the campus of Tomball College. Initially, Mark (owner of Cypress Creek) and “Buddy” (on Mike’s team, and the person who made the original agreement with Cypress Creek) stated that “the cats are not the target.” They both were quick to say the problem was skunks, raccoons, and possum, as well as people feeding the cats. However, they both agreed that if cats were trapped, they would be removed.

Mark (Cypress Creek) said the cats were taken to the SPCA. Feral cats taken to the SPCA are euthanized. (Verified with SPCA.) Dennis, the trapper Mike used to trap the cats, said that he drops the cats off at his office and someone takes them in the morning to the SPCA. The cats are in the traps many hours before being euthanized.

And although the pest control people and the college state that the cats were not the target, one night, we witnessed a trapper going into a locked area in which two to three kittens and their mother live. The trapper laid a trap there. The bait used in all the traps we saw was sardines.

Dennis, the Cypress Creek trapper working at Tomball College, told us he’s taken “many“cats from the college, and that the trapping has been successful, since he now seldom sees a cat or other wildlife. Recent visits to the college campus at various times of night confirm this; we have not seen a living cat there.

Dennis also said that Cypress Creek prides itself on being “no kill,” and that they use humane traps and release the wildlife to other sites. In our first conversations with Mark, he said he took the cats to the SPCA because he thought their lives would be spared.

Tomball College:

The college (http://www.tomballcollege.com/) is located in northwest Harris County, and in addition to the college facilities, hosts the NW Harris County Montgomery Library, a community library. The college has a vet tech program, as well. The campus is on many wooded acres, and is next to a subdivision of homes. There is a known feral cat colony nearby, and presumably, cats from either the subdivision or the other colony migrated to start this colony. The cats had been there for years.

Who we are:

Tomball SOS—Save Our Strays (www.TomballSOS.org) is a trap, neuter, and return group operating in the Tomball area. We feed and maintain homeless cats, and help companies and people who find themselves with feral cats. We help trap and obtain extremely low-cost spay/neuter/vaccination/parasite control for feral cats in colonies, as well as offer advice on maintaining the colonies. We are members of the Feral Cat Assistance Program, which is affiliated with the Citizens for Animal Protection shelter.

We got involved with the Tomball College feral cat colony in about June by a call from a community member.

Information from monitoring the cats over two months:

·       We estimated many cats in three different locations on the campus. Some were kittens.

·       None of the cats approached us, the majority ran from us as we approached them, but a few were tame enough to stay in place when we walked within ten to fifteen feet.

·       At least three people were feeding the cats.

Chronology of events:

1. June: Local citizens, who know of our organization, called us to report a feral cat colony.
2. June: Volunteers went out to monitor the situation.
3. A large-scale trapping was scheduled for September, at which the cats would be trapped, neutered, and returned.
4. August: Buddy at the facilities department of Tomball College, hired Cypress Creek Pest Control to eliminate the skunks, possum, armadillo, and raccoons at the campus, and if cats were trapped, to eliminate them as well.
5. September: The cats are dead.

Actions we’ve taken:

·       We interfaced with Cindy Shaw, director of the Citizens for Animal Protection shelter. She agreed to accept the cats and allow Tomball SOS to relocate them from the shelter to barn homes or back to the college, if an agreement could be made with the college.

·       We talked to Mark and attempted to get his agreement to give us the cats or to take them to the CAP shelter. After the initial conversation, he did not return our telephone calls or emails.

·       We spoke to Buddy, who asked us to send him information that he could use to present to Mike, so that the cats could be saved. We composed an email with a three-part plan and a lot of information about feral cats, that we sent to Buddy and forwarded to Mark. Our plan was basically to 1) stop the killing, 2) identify cat feeders and get them onboard with daylight monitored feeding in identified places, and 3) work with the college to create wildlife-proof feeders that would warn against non-monitored or after-dark feeding.

·       We attempted to talk to the college president, who refused our call and directed us back to Mike. Mike responded to our calls and emails with an email (see the high points below), which authorized the pest control company to turn over the cats to Tomball SOS, but also stated the college did not want the cats returned. Although many staff members and faculty are concerned about the cats, Mike stated the college staff was directed not to feed or intervene with the cats. We could find no evidence that there has been an official statement from the college to this effect.

·       We talked to Suzanne with Cypress Creek, who said she had no authorization from the college to turn over cats to us. We forwarded the email authorizing them to deliver the cats, but following that conversation, neither Mike nor Suzanne have responded to calls or emails, and no attempt to arrange for transfer of any cats has been made as of September 4.

·       We called the director of the vet tech program on campus to see if he would be interested in using the feral cat colony as a teaching tool for the students.

Highpoints from the Mike Dannenbaum email:

·       Cats are not killed, but taken to a shelter (see above—the shelter is the SPCA, which has no room for feral cats, ergo the cats are killed). Quote: “First let me assure you that neither the college nor the pest control company is killing the cats.”

·       Tomball SOS can have any remaining cats that are trapped, but cannot return them to the college. (No arrangement to give us the cats has been made.)

·       The email implies that the college is unwilling to work with the feral cats or with us, except to give us the cats, although again, no attempt has been made to do so.

Mike’s belief the cats are a safety hazard:

·       Mike: With automatic sliding doors in several locations there is a possibility of cats entering the building. Our response: These are primarily feral cats, and they are unlikely to enter a building. However, if they do, they can be retrapped. (We’ve asked Mike for figures on how many cats have entered the buildings since the automatic doors were installed, but have not yet received a response.)

·       Mike: “Also, students and the children have both tried to pet the cats in the past.” Our response: The cats will either allow people to pet them or they won’t. Most cats won’t attack people trying to pet them; they may hiss and run, or they may allow someone to pet, but they don’t generally attack. If rabies is a concern, in a managed colony, cats are vaccinated for rabies—and the vet tech program at the college could do so. However, perhaps an attack is not the worry, perhaps the worry is that they will transmit a disease. We do not know of any zootic disease transmitted by petting cats, although, of course, there may be one. We also believe signs strategically placed warning visitors not to pet the cats might be a more effective deterrent. (We’ve asked Mike what his concern is about people petting cats, but have not yet received a response.)

·       Mike:” The cats also get into equipment which can result in their getting seriously injured.” Our response: Again, we’re unsure what the concern is. If the cat is seriously injured, animal control or Cypress Creek could be called to take the cat to be euthanized. If the machinery could be ruined by a cat getting into it, perhaps some sort of shielding is called for. Rodents and wildlife, as well as cats, can get into the machinery. However, cats feeding at identified stations, provided some shelter from the elements at the same spot, are unlikely to search for food or partners in operating machinery.

·       Mike: “The cats also live in the storm drains. In the event of a serious rain storm, the cats face the threat of drowning.” Our response: If there is a serious rain storm, and a cat is in a storm drain, it could drown. It would be a hard death, but arguably less difficult than being trapped, waiting in the trap for hours, being transported to various places and finally ending up held down and euthanized. However, feral cats run the risk of many difficult deaths, and to euthanize the entire colony for fear one might die makes little sense.

We will continue to try to work with the college, but at this point, we believe that our best course is to make the public aware of what has occurred, and is still occurring.

Please join us in both getting out the word about the decision of the college to remove the feral cat colony from the campus, and in protesting this decision.

How you can help:

·       Call the office of the chancellor (you will be directed to Mike Dannenbaum, but begin here, if you don’t mind—we want the administration to know how many calls are generated): 832-813-6515.

·       Email Mike Dannenbaum at Mike.T.Dannenbaum@nhmccd.edu and beg him to reconsider a managed feral cat colony on campus. Because they have eliminated this feral cat colony, other cats will eventually move in. We don’t want them to die as well.

·       Call the college office of external affairs: 832-813-6620 to ask them to make a public statement about the decision to euthanize the cats rather than maintain a colony on campus.

·       Call any of the members of the executive council: http://www.tomballcollege.com/13555/ and request the administration rethink the feral cat policy.

·       Contact any of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District board of trustees members that you can reach to protest the decision made by the college:

o        Position 1: David Holsey, DDS, Spring (We believe this is his phone number, however, the address says “Houston.”): 281-440-3530

o        Position 2: Chris Daniel, Marketing Engineer, Cy-Fair (no contact information as yet)

o        Position 3: Stephanie Marquard, Kingwood, owner of Kingwood Air Conditioning (281 358-0955)

o        Position 4: John Fox, Cy-Fair, partner in Fox & Bubela, real estate appraisal (email: appraiser@foxandbubela.com)

o        Position 5: David A. Vogt, The Woodlands, Vogt Engineering, L.P. (936 273-9980)

o        Position 6: Maria Flotte O'Neill, Spring, BP North American Gas and Power Division (1-281-366-2000)

o        Position 7: Richard Campbell, PhD, Spring, retired minister (no contact information)

o        Position 8: Randy Bates, JD, Aldine, Bates & Coleman, P.C. (713-759-1500)

o        Position 9: Priscilla Kelly, Tomball, Klein Oak High School counselor (832-484-5040 or email: pkelly@kleinisd.net)

·       Call or write your Texas State Representative and Senator about the lack of protection for homeless animals and the necessity for a mandatory spay/neuter law.

·       Write to the Harris County Commissioners and request they make provisions in the animal control regulations to allow for the protection of managed feral cat colonies.

·       Contact local media and ask them to look into the situation and produce a story.

·       Read our blog and keep up with events as they unfold.

·       Contact us and volunteer to help. We need people to make phone calls to other feral cat organizations and to national organizations. We need people to send emails to other colleges and universities with feral cat programs and ask for their support. We cannot do this alone. If you've got an hour a week, we can put you to work.