Many colleges have famous figures on campus, from Emma Watson at Brown to Stephen Hawking at Cambridge. Here at Reed College, we have the Canyon Cats.
These allusive celebrities intrigue many with their stalking steps and wandering eyes. As one of these many admirers, I approached a member of the clan with an interview request, but received only “meow” as a reply. I interpreted this to mean, “Talk to my people.”
Their people turned out to be Brittney Corrigan-McElroy ’94, the Academic Special Events Manager at Reed. Corrigan-McElroy has been instrumental in the care of the Canyon Cats since the discovery of the first cat in the summer of 2011. This cat, now passed, was known as Mrs. Tuxedo Patches or “fun Nancy” due to her tendency to “get it on with [other] cats in the quad,” according to Corrigan-McElroy.
Mrs. Tuxedo Patches went on to be the mother of several litters, including the four cats currently living under the gas shed near the amphitheater. The oldest litter, born in April of 2012, is a male named Pretty Kitty. The rest of Pretty Kitty’s littermates were adopted away, including his brother, who is currently owned by Corrigan-McElroy herself. The other three canyon cats were born in August of 2012 and consist of two males named Screech and Tweak, and a female named Spitfire.
“They were all names based on their personalities” Corrigan-McElroy explains. “Screech wouldn’t shut up… Spitfire hissed and spit the whole time and Tweak was sort of just [Corrigan-McElroy proceeds to imitate a distressed cat noise].”
All four Canyon Cats were spayed or neutered in the winter of 2012/13 in order to prevent them from following in their mother’s promiscuous footsteps. This was done with the help of the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, who also vaccinated them and provided them with treatment for fleas and parasites. They were then returned to the canyon with clipped ears as a mark of their interaction with our alien species.
This work was done at the urging of Physical Plant, Canyon Grounds Specialist Zac Perry, and others who worried about the effect the cats were having on the canyon wildlife, particularly the birds.
“Either you let the colony go and you’re going to have… tons more cats, or you fix and release the colony… and minimize that impact,” Corrigan-McElroy says.
However, despite all the steps that have been taken to safely manage the Canyon Cats, these critters still have their critics. Though bowls of water sit behind Commons near the back of the mailroom, Mailroom Manager Jon Edgington denies that Mail Service employees support the cats.
“…Mail Service does not feed the cats nor approve of their depredations to the canyon bird life,” Jon Edgington said in an email to The Quest. “I think the poor things should be adopted and cleared out of campus. It’s a hard life for them wintering outdoors.”
A life of cushy adoption, however, is never meant to be for Pretty Kitty and his younger siblings. After three months kittens become extremely difficult to tame, though this did not stop Corrigan-McElroy from trying with Pretty Kitty.
“I really wanted to keep him because he was the littermate of my cat, but… he was a wild cat,” Corrigan-McElroy says.
Fortunately, the Canyon Cats still live a relatively luxurious life. They are regularly fed by offerings from Commons and Reed Bookstore employees, as well as abandoned French fries and stripadillas left by students. For this reason Corrigan-McElroy is skeptical of the risk they pose to the birds of the canyon, since they have no need to hunt for survival.
The Canyon Cats may have both their supporters and their haters, but the one thing anyone who has seen these felines — myself included — can agree upon is how goddamn adorable they are. For further proof of their adorableness, check between the back entrance to the bookstore and the amphitheater on any sunny day. You will not be disappointed.