The UP Manila Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), in collaboration with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), is currently implementing OPCAT: Operasyon CATpon ng UP Manila, a campus-wide initiative to humanely control the university stray cat population through a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (TNVR) approach.

The program entails humane trapping of at least 90% of the campus cats to allow them to be neutered, vaccinated against rabies, and dewormed by licensed veterinarians before they are returned to their respective areas to naturally defend their territories against the entry of new stray cats.

A controlled feeding schedule in specified feeding areas is implemented by the UP Police to control their feeding source, preventing them from rummaging through garbage bins, and encouraging them to instinctively protect their colony from other cats, eluding the entry of new felines.

The program’s success depends on the cooperation of the students, faculty members, and employees of UP Manila. As such, we implore all members of the UP Community to strictly observe the following campus rules:

1. No feeding of cats. The project will implement a strictly controlled daily feeding plan to ensure that food sources will only be enough for the currently residing colonies. We implore everyone to avoid unnecessarily feeding the cats so as not to disrupt the controlled feeding schedule, which is crucial to the success of the program. Likewise, please do not destroy or take bowls from the assigned feeding areas within the campus.
    
2. No petting of cats. All TNVR-ed cats will be identified by a notch on their ears and neck collars. The UP Manila community is discouraged from petting university cats to prevent unwanted injuries and disease transmission. This practice will also protect the cats from untoward abuse.
    
3. No capturing and abandoning of cats. The university cats are the sole responsibility of UP Manila. Likewise, the campus is not a place to leave cats found outside or taken from home. Unauthorized capturing and releasing of cats within campus grounds is an unwarranted action. The incident of lost or abandoned cats should be reported immediately to the IACUC secretariat (iacuc.upmanila@up.edu.ph).
    
4. Keep the campus areas clean and trash bins closed. To prevent the campus cats from scavenging for edibles, kindly keep our sites clean by throwing our trash into the respective waste bins and keeping the lids tightly closed.
    

Read: OVCR Memo 2022-02 “Implementation of the OPCAT: OPerasyon CATpon ng UP Manila”
 

For any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to UP Manila IACUC via email (iacuc.upmanila@up.edu.ph).