If you ever wanted to know the best part of Florida State University (FSU), now is your chance. On Instagram, there is a page called @fsuscampuscats that has pictures of most of the cats here on our beloved campus. Over Instagram DMs, I asked them questions about our lovable friends and the joys of running an Instagram page about them.
Her Campus (HC): How did you get the idea to start a cat account?
Campus Cats (CC): I started finding more and more cats on campus and when I showed them to other people, they were really surprised, so I wanted a way could show off the campus cats to many people at once. I originally just looked for a campus cats account that already existed and I found one, but they had not posted in a while, so I decided to just make one. Of course, after I made mine, I found one that was active called @fsumeow but at this point, I was having too much fun with my account, so I kept it up.
HC: Were you surprised at how big the account got?
CC: I was a little surprised just because I kind of started the account just for my friends and for me, to show each other photos and so I could show my family back home, but honestly, cats are adorable so I’m glad other people are enjoying them.
HC: How many cats total are there? Where are they mostly located on campus?
CC: According to a couple of people I have asked around campus, there are around 20 cats on campus. Most of the cats are located in little groups of three to four all over campus. The biggest groups that I know of and that I get the most pictures of are a group by the psychology buildings, Dirac Library, the fine arts building and HCB.
The most commonly known cats are definitely Kasha, Coconut and Tofu. They are a group of three cats by Dirac Library that are by far the most friendly cats on campus, so many people are able to pet them, feed them and take photos of them.
HC: What are ways people can help?
CC: When it comes to helping the campus cats, the best thing is just to report any injuries you see on them, feed them if you have the resources to and give them love if they ask for it. Some injuries are taken care of by some people that feed them on campus, but it is really hard to get them veterinary care because in order to do that, we must capture the cat first. These cats are not okay with being captured whatsoever, so getting them to vet care is very rare. There is a group on campus that feeds the cats on a daily basis, so they are very well taken care of in that regard. Just giving these cats pets when they ask for it is enough to keep them happy.
Although, a small thing that people on bikes, scooters and skateboards can do is stay away from the bushes or the cats specifically while riding because it scares the heck out of them.
HC: Most interesting cat story?
CC: The most interesting cat story I have is when I went to the psychology buildings at night for the first time. It was really cool because I went there with my roommate because we heard there were cats there and we saw one and we were petting it for about 10 minutes and then another showed up, and then another, and eventually there were six cats around us just letting us pet them; it was amazing. The psychology cats are definitely my favorite cats.
HC: Advice for people wanting to adopt a campus cat?
CC: Adopting one of our campus cats is a lot more work than the average person expects it to be. Technically, the cats on campus are feral cats, so they are not used to living in a house with people or with any other animals. As I mentioned earlier, even catching them to begin the process of domesticating them is a process in itself. If someone manages to make it through this process, then they have to begin the process of getting them domesticated. This process could be super short, or it can be unbearably long. Many feral cats in domestic environments lash out simply because they are not used to the environment they are in. You have to have the patience to let them lash out without retaliating, which everyone is not capable of.
HC: Any upcoming projects?
CC: Eventually, I do want to create a way to make little DIY cat homes for the campus cats and I have reached out to many different people about this, but so far no one has pulled through for me. It is a very complicated process so I appreciate anyone even trying, but it would be cool if someone is eventually able to make it work.
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