Roc the Panther is not the only cat prowling Pittsburgh. Populations of stray cats roam the city’s alleys and steel bridges, leaving students to decide whether or not to interfere in their nine lives.

Gerald Akrie, the supervisor of Pittsburgh Animal Control, estimated that Pittsburgh’s population of strays decreased by about nine percent from 1,039 cats in 2011 to 1,026 cats in 2012. Akrie said he projects this year’s count — which is 834 cats as of November — to further decrease because of various spay and neuter programs.  

Akrie predicted that the number of strays will remain somewhat constant, but added that “a cat population will only grow but so big in an area.” This is due in part to surgical sterilizations within the stray population. The territorial nature of cats also predisposes them not to venture far from home. 

He added that calculating an exact number of strays in Pittsburgh, or in a specific neighborhood of the city, would prove nearly impossible.

Despite cats’ innate resourcefulness, Pitt students are taking steps of their own to improve the lives of their city’s feline inhabitants. Students have a number of opportunities to help animals with and without homes across the city.

The Animal Lovers Club at Pitt runs a variety of fundraisers across the school year to keep strays as comfortable as possible in local shelters. The club is affiliated with two Pittsburgh shelters: the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania and Animal Friends. 

Emily Smith , president of the Animal Lovers club, said the club’s focus is encouraging students to volunteer at animal shelters. 

This semester, the club is hosting a blanket drive that will run until Thanksgiving break. They plan to split the blanket donations at the end of the collection. 

The members have also collected cardboard for animal shelters in the past. Smith explained that material as simple as cardboard can be used for kitty litter scoops in shelters. 

Animal Friends, a nonprofit shelter and resource center located in Ohio Township, encourages Pitt students and faculty to donate money to Chow Wagon, a program through which the center provides pet food for poor families with animals.

The program’s goal is to alleviate the concerns of pet owners in financially tough times. 

Smith said the Animal Lovers Club was created to “help animals in the Pittsburgh area” and “give students a chance to interact with animals … when they are away from home, since a lot of [students] leave pets behind and they miss them.” 

She also said that students who volunteer help the animals as well as themselves.

Arianna Garcia, a junior psychology major, said that while some people prefer to avoid neighborhood strays, she opted to adopt one.

In August, Garcia and her roommate, Michelle Francis, also a junior psychology major, moved into their second-story apartment on Juliet Street in South Oakland. Once they settled in, they could not ignore their feline housewarming guest. 

“The weekend after we moved in, we heard the little tingling of her bell on our deck, so we opened up the back door, and she was there,”  Garcia said. “She was really, really friendly.” 

Garcia, Francis and their neighbors agreed to start feeding the cat, which they soon named Margo.

 Mark Kato, a junior political science and business major who lives in the house next to Garcia, said he and his roommates later began to suspect that another South Oakland resident adopted and later released the cat because he or she wasn’t allowed to have pets.

“She had a gimpy paw,” Kato said. “She would come and claw at the door asking for food, so she would just break my heart. We finally bought some cat food and fed her. She wouldn’t stop coming back.”

Akrie said that cats can survive well on their own. 

“Cats are very resourceful,” he said. “They’ll probably outlive any other animal that exists.”

Feline ingenuity might explain why, in the past year alone, Pittsburgh Animal Control collected more than 1,000 cats, according to Akrie. 

Kato said numerous cats like Margo loiter along Juliet Street. The strays tend to pose a problem for drivers as they dart unexpectedly into the road. 

Akrie said there are a variety of issues associated with the homeless cat population, such as disease and inbreeding. 

Strays also commit property damage, often in the same area. 

Akrie said cats’ territorial nature creates a resistance to relocating. Most homeowners take action because of past property damage, which includes a range of inconveniences from unearthed flowerbeds to rodents left on the front porch.

He added that city residents who rent humane traps from the Animal Control bring the majority of the cats they catch to the department.

Although cats can help cities deal with rodent problems, Akrie said they can also pose a danger for residents.

He also noted that people’s biggest danger currently is not the presence of the strays themselves, but that people sometimes choose to help animals that could be unstable.

While he understands that some people have “big hearts” for cats, Akrie recommended people take a hands-off approach when a stray wanders onto their street. Unless the cats destroy property, he said people should leave them alone.

“Many times that heart takes them past common sense [and] puts [people] in a danger,” he said. Feral cats could carry disease or bite individuals who try to help them. 

Garcia said she understands that her choice to look after the neighborhood cat might not be the best decision for everyone. But, she added, if residents want to reduce the number of stray cats in an area, they should take action. 

“You don’t have to cuddle with the cat — that’s cool,” Garcia said. “But at least providing something or maybe informing Animal Rescue League about it [could help].”