by Sarah Owen
contributor

Last week, one of the Millcats—stray cats that lives on campus—crawled into senior Casey Brown’s engine to hide from the cold while Brown was parked in front of Olin Circle. Students and staff worked to save the small kitten from the greasy parts of the engine. Eventually, they managed to scare it out. Senior Sherry Tran chased the cat into the bushes. She and a few other students cleaned it and, after much discussion, decided to take it to a no-kill animal shelter.

     Tran’s rescue efforts have gotten a lot of people talking about the Millcats. Although Millcats was originally the nickname of a specific stray cat on campus in the mid-2000s, the name has come to refer to all the campus strays as a whole.

“I don’t think there’s a lot Millsaps can do but leave them be,” freshman Amy Evans says. “Most of the time, they’re not in any danger.” However, some of the Millcats are feral—they have never been spayed or neutered and, during the winter months, they are especially at risk as they try to find shelter from the cold.

     This event brings attention to a population that many of us normally do not think about as we crawl into our warm beds at night. These Millcats are at risk to all manner of disease due to their poor diets.

      Is it a good idea to chase down every one of them and take them to no-kill shelters, as Tran did with the one she found? Probably not, but I think a little awareness on campus might do some good for the Millcats.

What do you think about the Millcats and their place on campus?