Kudos to Florida Southern College in Lakeland for taking on a trap, neuter, return program and then returning the community university cats to live in  a half-dozen or so cat cafes, designed to look like many campus buildings designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. On campus, there are about 60 feral cats that are being fed by students. The Alpha Chi Omega Sorority will be putting food in the cat cafes in hopes the cats will get used to finding food in the cafes. They are hopeful this will make it easier to trap them. Once they are caught the Lakeland SPCA will bring a mobile facility to the campus to spay, neuter and microchip the cats, which will then be released.. The students will continue to feed the cats once the TNR program has been completed. Once all the cats are spay/neutered, the cat behaviors associated with mating with cease, and since the cats cannot reproduce, over time, the cat population will go down, eventually being reduced to zero cats.

For more on this, check out the following link:

Florida Southern to address feral cat population with ‘cafes’
Central Florida News 13
The college estimates there are about 60 feral cats on campus. They are apparently fed by students. The Alpha Chi Omega sorority will put food in the cat cafes in hopes the cats will get used to eating in them and make it easier to catch them. Once the…

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That story is particularly refreshing considering all the sensational news stories clamoring that cats are the ‘reason’ for exotic and endangered bird species getting smaller and smaller. These reports are based on limited studies. They also ignore the effect of reduced cover and urban sprawl on the bird population. In the following article, Alley Cat Allies President Becky Robinson points out how effective the Trap, Neuter, Return program has been. She also points to some of the other factors involved in the cat-bird controversy. While Paws for Reflection will be addressing this issue in much more debt, CatNews Friday, shares the following two stories.

Killing unadoptable cats is a cruel, ineffective approach
Orlando Sentinel
The study claims cats kill birds and mammals with abandon, and that trap-neuter-return — the nationally popular and humane program to stabilize and reduce the population of unsocialized (unadoptable) feral cats — isn’t working. The solution, the …

**Feral Cats Should Not Be Eradicated
Hawaii Reporter
BY ALLEY CAT RESCUE – Alley Cat Rescue (ACR), the international cat protection organization, urges environmentalists to act cautiously when pronouncing that they want ALL outdoor feral cats eradicated. ACR is reacting to the latest media frenzy about

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And if the myth isn’t bad enough, check out the following article written for kids. Paws asks doesn’t this kind of ‘news’ perpetuate cruelty to cats. This is just going way too far with the cat-bird controversy.

**Killer cats | Science News for Kids
By Stephen Ornes
Cats kill between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds every year in the United States alone, a new report concludes. That’s nearly a billion more birds — at least — than estimated by some previous studies, Peter Marra told Science News.

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The cerebellum’s underdevelopment may be caused if the mother contracted the feline distemper virus while pregnant or if there was trauma to the kittens while they are in the womb.

Despite their impairments, cats with the condition still make good companions, and have a devoted following amongst owners who find the cats and their wobbly gait to be very endearing. For more on this, checkout the following link:

Feline Cerebellar Hypoplasia, Brain Disorder That Causes Cats to …
By EDW Lynch
Feline Cerebellar Hypoplasia is a neurological condition that causes a cat to have coordination and balance problems, often resulting in a “drunken sailor” walk. It is caused by underdevelopment of the cat’s cerebellum during the animal’s …
Laughing Squid

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It seems cats share much of their human’s lives, including their tragedy. CatNews Friday finds that to be the case when several pet cats were shot as part of a murder-suicide in Ramsey, Minn. A threatening email led police to the home of a 65 year old man and a 67 year old woman. It was reported they had just recently received an eviction notice. For more on this story, check out the following links:

Ramsey couple, several cats dead in apparent murder-suicide
FOX 9 News
A suspected murder-suicide is being investigated in Ramsey, Minn., after an email led police to a home on 176th Lane NE late Tuesday night. According to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, a relative of the couple called Ramsey police to request a …

There’s a host of other stories about cats in the news this week. Check out the following links:

Can feral cats and songbirds coexist?
Orlando Sentinel
In dealing with the free-ranging felines, many municipalities and universities and colleges adhere to a policy of capturing cats to be euthanized at animal-service units. Cat lovers, meanwhile, fancy a policy of “trap-neuter-return.” Strays are …

Dogs, Cats Bring Cuddly Bid For Adoption To Congress (PHOTOS)
Huffington Post
Jim Moran (D-Va.) and John Campbell (R-Calif.), along with Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), were among the many who gathered to pet cats and dogs from 10 D.C.-area animal shelters. “There are about seven million animals that are brought to shelters …

Video: “How Single Cats Are Spending Valentine’s Day”
Houston Chronicle (blog)
Video: “How Single Cats Are Spending Valentine’s Day”. Thursday, February 14, 2013. Comment. CommentsComments(1)Comments(). |. Email. E-mail. |. Print. Alone on Valentine’s Day? Get some feline inspiration from a hilarious video by online humor site …

Man rescues 16 cats after being trapped in foreclosed home
Wink News
“Urine all over the place, feces everywhere, and cats in every room.” He quickly noticed sixteen pairs of eyes staring back at him. Sleicher brought all of the cats to the Southwest Florida Veterinary Care Center. The Vet carefully looked over each one …

87 Cats Rescued From Burning Home
Fire destroys part of a house in Terre Haute where dozens of cats were living. In all, 87 cats were pulled from the home on 8th Avenue early Thursday morning. A passerby happened to notice smoke coming from the attic around 2:45 a.m. and …

New program to reduce feral cats
WANE
NEW HAVEN, Ind. (WANE) – Feral cats may look like friendly house cats out on the prowl, but they are much more similar to wild animals. “If they don’t having someone feeding them, they fend for themselves much like raccoons and skunks,” Jessica Elliott …

20 dead cats removed from Minneapolis home
KARE
Police said were called to the home on the 2400 block of Jefferson Street NE to execute a search warrant. When police arrived at the home they found about 38 cats, four dogs and three guinea pigs. There were also 20 dead cats removed from the home…

Caring for community’s abandoned cats
Huntington Beach Independent
They get a little help from people who spend hours feeding the stray cats around the city and even trap many in a practice called catch, neuter and return. Just like it sounds, the cats are lured into a trap, taken to a vet to be altered and then …

Pet adoption – Try fostering a cat or dog first
ChicagoNow (blog)
Many years ago, I was pet-less for several years during a time when I worked long hours while establishing my career. I eventually moved in with a roommate who had a couple of cats. During that year, I realized that I did have the time and energy to …

**Theater is Raining Cats and Dogs…Really
TheaterMania.com
Sunny and Casey, the beautiful canines in the current Broadway revival of Annie, have some competition. Theater, on Broadway and abroad, is going to the dogs. And cats. Literally. From cat auditions to dachshunds as political figures, here’s a look at …

Architizer Blog » Moving On Up: Homeless Cats Get New, Frank …
By Ashley Wells
As it turns out, the FSC campus is home to more than 100 feral cats, many of whom will be relying on these new structures to provide shelter as well as food and drink (basically anything a feline friend may desire.) The six cat cafes, as they are …

Hoarder House with Numerous Cats Deemed “Uninhabitable” by Police
KTXL
Neighbors living on Spicer Drive, just off San Juan Avenue, say they’re fed up with the stench coming from a hoarder house. “It’s violated my rights as a resident in this city,” said Marcelle Flowers, who lives two doors down. She says they’ve been …

**CSU seeking cats with inflammatory bowel disease for study
The Coloradoan
Drs. Craig and Tracy Webb, veterinarians at CSU’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, will study the animals’ mesenchymal stromal cells as a potential therapy for cats suffering from the disease. IBD is the most common cause of chronic diarrhea …

Must Love Cats festival is the purrfect idea for Valentine’s Day
Daily Helmsman
Like the Walker event, this subset of the Must Love Cats festival will feature videos pulled from YouTube — which could mean both funny videos recorded from the laughing hands of someone holding a cell phone, or planned out skits wherein the cat is …

County animal shelter would like to add room for cats
Herald & Review
The Decatur-Macon County Animal Shelter Foundation has proposed to add a 500-square-foot “free roaming room” to the shelter. The additional room would allow between 20 and 30 cats that otherwise would be in cages to have a larger area to roam…

Cats for Darwin and Lincoln Day « Why Evolution Is True
By whyevolutionistrue
Darwin, unfortunately, was a dog person and seemed to dislike cats. I haven’t been able to find much information on Darwin and felids, and my inquiries to Janet Browne, the preeminent biographer of Darwin, have yielded bupkes. But loyal ..

Dozens of cats recovered from abandoned Bartlesville home
kjrh.com
Nearly 50 cats are now in the custody of a Washington County animal society Monday after Bartlesville residents discovered an extreme case of cat hoarding and inbreeding at a neighbor’s abandoned home. Washington County’s Society for the Prevention of …

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Cats strut their stuff at annual Santa Rosa show
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Gabrielle, a silver spotted patched Tabby, plays with a feather while being judged in the American-Curl Shorthair Division during the Call of the Wild Cat Fanciers 25th Annual Cat Show at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, in Santa Rosa, on Sunday, Feb…

**18 of the most sophisticated cats and dogs you’ll ever see
msnNOW
(Even though five seconds later, the pooch probably tried to eat that monocle like a see-through Cheeto.) Here are of the most sophisticated-looking animals the Internet has to offer. But if you have a tiny top hat and a cat in your house, we encourage …

**Their videos litter the Web, so fat cats can be charitable
Columbus Dispatch
The first Internet Cat Video Film Festival drew a Woodstock-esque crowd of more than 10,000 — people, that is — to a Minneapolis art museum in August. Police closed a span of highway clogged with cars trying to get to the Walker Art Center for the …

**Cats: The evil that stalks, kills and purrs
MiamiHerald.com
Former President George W. Bush’s dog Barney has gone to that great kennel club in the sky. But I’ll bet Barney died smiling. He lived to see the day when humans finally acknowledged that cats are a menace. In fact, government-affiliated scientists …

Caffrey: The Two-Legged Cat
ABC News
Crazy Cats. Previous · Next. Cat Walks with Two Legs. Caffrey, the black persian cat, has two legs — both on the same side of its body after it was hit by a car according to the Daily Mail. (Casey Gutteridge / SWNS.com) …

Adorable, adoptable cats featured at convention in Reno (see video)
Sparks Today
The Humane Society said the event would have more than 100 cats up for adoption, as well as cat-related merchandise, and include appearances from animal trainer Joel Silverman and “Pickles” creator Brian Crane. It also was scheduled to have a tribute …

**Are Dogs Really Smarter than Cats?
Opposing Views
Cats, by contrast, march to their own drummer and any cat owner knows that “their humans” rush to oblige every anticipated need, grateful for the slightest signal of approval. It was formerly believed that this absence of needing attention was a sign ..

Phoenix fire claims the lives of several cats
AZFamily
PHOENIX — Several cats died early Sunday morning when a fire broke out at a Phoenix home. Firefighters responded to a residence near Central Avenue and West Dobbins Road after an active fire was discovered in the home’s attic. While firefighters were …

**Hundreds of cats handled at Neuter for a Nickel event
News Sentinel
There was a steady stream of traffic through the Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control parking lot Saturday morning as participants in this year’s Neuter for a Nickel dropped off their cats. This is the sixth year for the event and unlike past years, it …

Circuses remove last of the big cats
The Guardian
The last circus to feature performing big cats, the Great British Circus (GBC), shipped its tigers to an operator in Ireland ahead of new welfare regulations that came into force last month. Just two circuses have applied for licenses to keep wild …

Architects craft shelters for New York’s feral cats
StandardNet
NEW YORK CITY — In one corner sat a house built with 300 used aluminum cat-food cans, each stuffed with insulation. Another house, made from discarded foam panels and wood, looked like Swiss cheese. These were some of the entrants in the “Architects …

**Yes, Cats Know How To Fall On Their Feet. But These Guys Do It Better
NPR (blog)
Drop a cat and it will swing its head to a horizontal, rearrange its rear, arch its back, splay its legs, and — amazingly often — land on its feet. Cat falling sequence. Six sequential images showing righting from upside down. Agence Nature/Science …

Cats, dogs and Blizzard Nemo: Pets playing in the winter storm
Denver Post
Cats, dogs and Blizzard Nemo: Pets playing in the winter storm. Posted: 02/09/2013 09:26:37 AM MST. February 9, 2013 6:31 PM GMTUpdated: 02/09/2013 11:31:18 AM MST. Copyright 2012 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved. Print Email Font …

Pet Tales: Cats outdoors ruffle feathers
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Some cat lovers think so, and they’ve reacted with yowls of protest over a new report from scientists who say cats kill more birds, bunnies and other small mammals than anyone ever imagined. “That cuddly kitty is deadlier than you might think …

Four dogs and two cats look for new homes
Daily Journal Online
To give owners the opportunity to claim them, dogs and cats are kept for seven days at the Park Hills and Farmington Pounds; and five days at the Desloge Pound. After that, they are eligible for adoption or euthanasia. There are no adoption fees, but …

Valley cats: Researchers collecting DNA from Bitterroot mountain lions
Ravalli Republic
“We’ve seen quite a few cats,” he said. “We have seen a lot of females with kittens. What we’re not seeing is what hunters would consider a big tom.” “Everyone has been surprised by that,” Jimenez said. The study hopes to unlock some secrets about the …

Cats have nine lives too many for Kiwi economist – Need to know …
By Nick Taylor-Vaisey
The economist says he has nothing personal against felines, but claims the “natural-born killers” are slaughtering native birds across the country—some of them endangered—and must be stopped. Now, a prominent science journal is giving …

Ecology: Cats are enemy number one : Nature : Nature Publishing …
Scott Loss at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington DC, and his colleagues conducted a systematic review of studies on cat population …
www.nature.com/nature/journal/v494/n7435/…/494009a.html

Cat dies in house fire north of Fort Collins; other cats, dogs saved
The Coloradoan
Several other dogs and cats were saved in the fire reported at 12:52 p.m. Thursday at 828 Eggleston Street. The fire started in an enclosed rear porch of the house, in the area of some heating and electrical appliances, Green said. The cause remains …

Dozens of abandoned cats rescued from condemned Ludlow house
WWLP 22News
No one had been in that house since the 25th until Thursday when the Animal Rescue League and the MSPCA removed 34 cats from what Allenberg called “appalling conditions.” “Extreme clutter. Extreme sanitation issues… They’re not going to make it in …

Science says cats are an evil menace
Fort Worth Star Telegram
It brands cats an “invasive” species, imported to North America by humans and unchecked by natural predators. Yet three of the 11 most-victimized bird species in the study are also invasive: the house sparrow, the rock pigeon and the European starling…

Women charged with mistreating about 50 cats
Exponent-telegram
CLARKSBURG — Two Wilsonburg women have pleaded guilty in a case in which the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department found about 50 cats living inside their dwelling. A third of the cats were sick or in distress, according to Harrison Sheriff’s Lt. Greg …

House Fire Kills Rescued Cats
ABC6OnYourSide.com
A woman who was staying in the home told ABC6/FOX28 her mother owns the home and works for Colony Cats, a well-known non-profit rescue organization in Columbus. Red Cross was called to assist those staying in the home with food, housing and other …

Man’s home is castle, haven for big cats
Albany Times Union
Not everyone likes Salton’s cats. The town of Mayfield, near Gloversville and Great Sacandaga Lake, is moving to have the animals evicted, an apparent response to residents of a cul-de-sac who don’t want such large — and potentially dangerous ..

Killer cats
Salt Lake Tribune
2), Leo Whiting argued for killing all wild, roaming cats because they’re decimating our bird population. Yes they are. Scientific American recently documented the destruction cats visit on the animal kingdom. Yes, cats keep the mice population down …

Feral felines get tended to like fat cats
Lake County News Sun
As the cats emerge from small well-insulated wooden motels buttressed by bails of straw and placed against trees, under rusting trailers, and next to abandoned sheds, Larsen-Olloway offers a litany of names and hard luck stories. There’s Jazz, whose …

**First the internet, now Monopoly – cats have got our attention
The Guardian
I haven’t played Monopoly for several years, but I do remember this: I never wanted to be the iron. You wouldn’t really want to be the thimble, either, but at least the thimble has a bit more of a sense of cheekiness and fun about it than the iron …

How Important is the Cat vs. Bird Debate When Millions of Cats Are Dying in …
Care2.com (blog)
Newspaper articles and television programs labeling cats as mass killers and the reason for bird declines, have been all over the news this week, from The New York Times to ABC News, reporting on research published in the online journal Nature …

Keeping the peace between Chilean wild cats and landowners
Cordis News
Probably one of the world’s lesser-known felids, the kodkod cat is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is currently under threat from deforestation, the spread of agriculture, superstition and …

What do you think of these cat cafes? They sound aesthetically pleasing while helping the cats? Do you have stories to share about a group that has taken on a successful TNR program in your community? What do you think of the cat-bird controversy? Please share your thoughts.

Also don’t forget all new subscribers to Paws for Reflection in February will be entered into a drawing for a copy of Gwen Cooper’s fantastic new novel: Love Saves the Day. Sign up today, and suggest your feline loving friends, do so too.