Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach campus is home to at least one colony of cats. In 2018, some students, with the support of faculty and staff, formed a club to help feed and care for the campus cats. They called it the Protecting Animal Wellness Society (P.A.W.S.).
Each year I donate money to P.A.W.S. During Winter Break, when most students are away from campus, local staff sign up to feed the cats. I previously wrote about feeding the Embry-Riddle cats in 2019.
Because I would be in town during the 2021-2022 Winter Break, I volunteered to take several evening feeding times.
My first day feeding the cats was Christmas Day. I Parked my car and walked across the deserted campus to the feeding station, now located in front of Doolittle Hall. As I opened the station, the cats began arriving. I think there were seven eventually.
The first two to come were a bonded pair. They stayed close together and both allowed me to pet them. Soon, others joined as I set out the dry food.
I also gave them canned food, the number depending on the amount of cats. I also refreshed their water bowls.
Satisfied, this black and white cat washed its face each time after dinner.
I returned the next day, December 26, 2021. The same pair of cats, I think, were the first to arrive again. I got to pet them again before setting out their food. There were only five cats while I was there.
My third feeding was on Thursday, December 30, 2021. I arrived after dark so it was difficult to take good photos. Only three or four cats appeared while I was there.
I took one more shift on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. I worked on-campus that day and stopped by after work. There was a tailless cat that I had not noticed before.
Read more about P.A.W.S. from these sites:
- Daytona Beach News-Journal – Embry Riddle PAWS Helps Cats on Campus
- Facebook – Friends of ERAU PAWS
If you want to donate to P.A.W.S., go to https://givingto.erau.edu/paws.