On March 21, the cats who are taken care of under the Feral Cats Initiative rose up against the organization. They escaped the organization and ran across campus to be under the tutelage of Willie the Wildcat.
“I don’t know what caused them to be like this,” said Anna Oliver, a sophomore psychology major from Frisco. “One day they were fine, and the next day they were meowing and scratching all of us!”
The Feral Cats Initiative was started in the fall semester of 2023 when a need to take care of the cats on campus fell on the heart of Oliver. Now that the cats have rebelled, she and the rest of her team and members have no idea what to do about the situation.
“I was really surprised when Peaches and the rest of the cats came to me,” said Jacquelyn King, a senior interior design major from Crowley. “I don’t really know what they want, but I will do whatever I can to help them become more than just ‘feral cats’”.
Willie sat down with the cats and tried to get a better understanding of why they rebelled against an organization that cared so much about them. Through a series of meows and scratches in the ground, he came to an understanding. The cats felt like because they were under the care of the Feral Cats Initiative, they were seen as weak from the other students. So they wanted to show the entire campus that they were not just some weak cats. They wanted to be known for more than just “feral cats”. They wanted to be recognized as cats who could hold their own. After understanding this, Willie took the cats back to the Feral Cats Initiative and explained what the cats were looking for.
”After listening to the cats, I totally understood what they were going through,” Oliver said. “As someone who does not like to be underestimated, I had no idea that the cats felt this way. Now that I know that, I will work with my team to come up with a better idea for them.”
Along with the continued posts on the Feral Cats Instagram page, each of the officers of the Feral Cats Initiative would post something positive about the cats to help boost their self esteem. It’s been a couple of days since the incident, and the cats are more peaceful and loving towards the team and the rest of the students. They can be seen walking around with their heads up with pride. They are no longer seen as just the “feral cats that are weak and needy”, but they are also seen as the “feral cats that help keep ACU together.”
