Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘cat mom’? ‘Cat mom’ means somebody who cares for stray cats on the streets. Most of them used to feed stray cats or make cats’ houses. Some of them even neuter cats or rescue cats suffering from car accidents or abandonment and temporarily protect them. Recently, there have been two conflicting views between university students regarding feeding cats on campus. It can also lead to conflicts between the two sides so we need to find out and respect both the pros and cons.

‘All living things are precious.’ That is what people who support cat moms insist, and they say that stray cats also have a right to live so they should be protected. The fact that such life-conscious thoughts make human life uncomfortable can’t justify human’s hatred of cats and cat moms. There are stray cats starving and giving them a meal is one of those things a kindhearted person can’t help doing. In winter, wild animals are also fed to keep them from dying. It is not wrong for a cat mom to give warmth in a nearby place.

Feeding cats can also sometimes help humans. Feeding stray cats prevents hungry cats from messing around with food waste while searching for things to eat. If the cats are not fed, they will starve to death faster, and the damage to residents from the dead bodies will increase. In addition, cats are animals that value their territory. If the number of neutered cats increases and they protect their territory, the number of newly introduced cats will decrease.

I think it is okay to feed the cats as a way to minimize damage to humans. For instance, a cat feeding center like the one in Gangseo-gu, Seoul can be a good alternative. The residents’ damage was reduced by setting up a feeding center near the district office. Systematical movement in this way not only protects cats but also makes it easier for cat moms to capture them and perform neutralization, as well as protecting residents. There are also others who disagree about the cat-mom activities, because of the difference in values or in cases where students were damaged by cats. In conclusion, just like the case of the cat feeding center, cats must be fed according to some order as a way to prevent damage to humans.

L.L.F reporter You-Jin Kim

Like many universities, unowned cats on Daegu University campus result in complaints to the school community responsible for animal management. Complaints related to stray cats stem from nuisances caused by fighting, soiling property, and the perception of threats to human and pet health. Overpopulation of stray cats can be detrimental to the well-being of students, staff and the campus environment. Due to this, I side with the idea that feeding stray cats worsen growing problems for two reasons.

First, outdoor cats have the highest risk of disease. Specifically speaking, stray cats live unhealthy lives outdoors and spread disease to people. If they get sick, they can spread to other pets or wild animals, and especially the acquired communicable disease to humans. One of the biggest problems with stray cats is that they mess up garbage bags, making their living conditions dirty. Cleaners are always having a hard time cleaning up the litter that stray cats have messed up. Due to this and, in order for students to enjoy healthy and happy campus lives, students should not feed stray cats.

Second, feeding stray cats is not very helpful to the strays. One or two meals is rather like a putting a Band-Aid on a major wound: it will give the animal sustenance temporarily, but certainly not on a long-term basis. The hunger, like bleeding, continues when you stop feeding. Studies from the Seoul Animal Protection Center have shown that stray cats have excellent breeding power, so if they are easily fed, they can have a very high birth rate. In addition, the increasing number of stray cats can turn the epidemic around and increase the risk of them killing each other.

To conclude, the management of stray cats is an emotive issue because of the wide diversity of public perception and the differences in the way people interact with these animals. I believe that the controversy should serve as an opportunity to reflect on our perception and attitude toward animals. If we humanely manage these strays, I believe students, staff, and animals can coexist peacefully. This is largely due to the fact that we are both part of Daegu University.

L.L.F reporter Ha-young Song