The SBU Cat Network consists of a small group of volunteer students, staff, and faculty, and has the resources to take in or help with feral cats on or off campus. Educational opportunities involve (but are not limited to) guest speakers, site visits, and films regarding the care and management of of feral and domesticated animals, as well as larger social, political, and environmental implications. Pre-professional opportunities consist largely of volunteering on and off campus in the management of feral and stray cat colonies, as well as visits to animal care facilities to observe surgeries and other treatments. Members of our organization have the opportunity to learn and to train others in the most successful and most humane form of wildlife management: Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Because the SBU Cat Network has built a strong reputation for effectiveness since 2002, our members are also in a unique position to participate in social and civic advances regarding policy and practice, which we regard as a major opportunity for our members. Second, we are committed to maintaining our national reputation as the most successful and most active student club in the U.S. Like many universities around the country, Stony Brook University is home to several hundred cats and kittens. Without our intervention, these animals would continue to suffer the ravages of winter, starvation, disease, and auto traffic. Through our Trap-Neuter-Return program, kittens and sociable adults are found homes wherever possible, and all others are returned to their colonies following spay/neuter surgery and any other approproate veterinary intervention, after which they are fed daily for the rest of their lives. Our members have come together because of their shared commitment to the protection and care of vulnerable animals, and so the care of our campus animals is of highest priority.
