CATPEOPLE STRUGGLE TO STAY SOLVENT CSUN'S FELINE-AID GROUP NEEDS STUDENT VOLUNTEERS TO KEEP NONPROFIT FUNDING.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE -- Louise Adams is on the prowl.

She waits and watches, edges closer to her target area, then backs away.

If it's true what they say -- that a cat usually doesn't catch a mouse on its first pounce -- then it is the same for Adams, who doesn't always trap a cat on her first attempt of the day.

``This is the frustrating part,'' Adams said one recent early morning after setting up a trap at the northern edge of the California State University, Northridge, football field. ``I can be sitting here for more than an hour and not one will come along.''

Such is life sometimes for a cat lover such as Adams and a crew of about six others who make up the CSUN CatPeople. The group voluntarily cares for nearly 75 feral cats that call the 356-acre campus home.

Since forming in 2002, their mission has been to practice the trap-neuter-release technique that helps control the population, maintain 18 feeding stations across the campus and educate the public about the importance of spaying and neuturing cats.

Theirs is a somewhat underground operation. Few students on campus realize the time it takes to care for the cats, mostly feral colonies that live along the edges of the campus and are unaccustomed to human kindness.

But the CatPeople operate with the support of the college and community members who understand that homeless cats need a place to call their own.

Yet the group's existence could soon unravel like a ball of yarn if more volunteers don't come forward, members say.

``The university has been very supportive,'' Adams said. ``But we are now in a somewhat tenuous place.''

An executive order earlier this year by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed states that Associated Student groups must include at least five students to be able to receive funding. Adams, who was a history major, graduated last year. Now the group includes mostly staff, faculty and one other student.

While the CatPeople has been budgeted to receive more than $1,000 in funds for the 2006-07 year, without backup from the Associated Students, the group's funding and nonprofit status could disintegrate.

The group has tried to encourage more students to volunteer and received four calls after a story about their group ran in the student newspaper. But there is still uncertainty, said Sabina Magliocco, associate professor of anthropology at CSUN and the group's adviser.

``There is no bad guy in this issue,'' Magliocco said. ``The executive order is well-meaning, because it comes down to how people's tax money is spent. But we're kind of in the middle. I'm sure they weren't thinking about groups like ours.''

Magliocco said that thanks to the group's trapping, spaying and neutering of the campus' feral cats, the population has declined.

``We've been able to control what could be a big health problem on campus for very little money,'' Magliocco said.

Because CSUN is largely a commuter campus, the majority of its students also have jobs, so student volunteers are hard-pressed to take on an extra activity, Magliocco said.

In addition to the five-student minimum, the executive order also states that the president and treasurer of the group must have a 2.0 grade-point average. But CSUN is taking the mandate further.

``Our campus has extended that to the vice president and each group has to maintain a university adviser,'' said Anna Jackson, activities coordinator for clubs and organizations at CSUN.

So far, Jackson has not heard of any of the other 240 Associated Student groups at CSUN struggling to meet the requirements.

The CSUN CatPeople are expected to meet with the Associated Students to work out how the group can continue to exist. The group also plans to meet in December to discuss how to maintain its nonprofit status.

In the meantime, Adams and the others plan to continue their work because they believe in its importance. Newborn kittens, Adams said, have only a 50 percent chance of survival in the wild.

``It's an amazing part of nature that even if we could take all the cats off campus, more would come to take their place,'' Adams said. ``But this way, the population is controlled because the cats already here are very territorial.''

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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