If you happen to be around 30th Avenue, in South Eugene, make sure to take a turn on to Ferry Street. There you will find a colony of stray and feral cats. Seriously, you can drive down the block between 30th and 31st, and you will see about 10 cats. They lounge on top of cars, scale fences and play together on the various properties on the block.

You will also see bowls of cat food or water placed on porches and doorsteps.

Homeless cats aren’t the most appealing pet, but oddly enough they find a way into the hearts and houses of Eugene citizens. And now, with Lane county’s feral and stray cat population estimated at 20,000, the need to control it is high. Whether they care for one stray cat or a dozen, Eugene citizens are taking action to control its colonies of cats.

Cities across the United States deal with overwhelming homeless cat populations as well. In New York City, tens of thousands of feral and stray cats roam the five boroughs. In Los Angeles, the homeless cat population is estimated to be in the millions.

Both cities have a “no-kill” policy, and control the cat population through adoption and sterilization of cats and kittens.This combination of methods is the most effective and humane.

31-year-old Regan Middleton-Moreland helped trap homeless cats, so they may be properly cared for, in and around the University of Oregon when she was in college. Over a year ago her passion to help cats was reignited. Regan was tired of turning a blind eye to the suffering homeless cats of Eugene, so she joined a hands on, non-profit, Eugene rescue named Life9.

“It’s these homeless cats that need intervention the most; Life9 help’s alleviate the overpopulation crisis and provide humane care for them throughout their lives,” said Regan.

In the past year Regan has helped rescue dozens of cats, but she will always remember one cat in particular. His name, Stan.

“He was rescued from one of our larger projects we did at a local junkyard. He was a 16 plus pound, orange boy, who was so sweet and we worked hard to find him his forever home,” said Regan.

That forever home is located just an hour and a half up the road in Portland.

“Stan is now living the good life, as an indoor kitty, with two kitty girlfriends and a mom who loves him so very much,” said Regan.

Since Life9 was found in 2009, 1,500 cats have been spayed or neutered. Life9 spays and neuters weekly, and provides homes for foster cats and kittens ready for adoption. The rescue has made big strides in the past year, having found homes for all their fosters. They are now getting ready for furry new residents to fill up the empty foster homes.

But where do these cats come from?

Close to campus, there are many homeless cats that survive off the food scraps tossed into dumpsters and out on the street. Often times they mingle with the students that take up residence in the neighborhood.

Marvin, nicknamed Starvin Marvin, was a malnourished kitten when he appeared on the stoops of houses on Mill Street seven months ago.

Mike Sipich, a college student living at 14th and Mill, first met Marvin at a neighbor’s house.

Marvin was skittish at first, using porch couches as a bed, bolting when owners returned. Sipich felt the need to step in and help the hungry cat. Sipich and his neighbors began to feed Marvin scraps of food, they even set out a water bowl for him.

“He was so skinny back then,” said Sipich.

Marvin has grown to make the stoops and porches of the Mill Street block, between 13th and 14th, his home. He now approaches everyone on the block. Sipich and his roommates even went to the local market, and picked up some Meow Mix for Marvin. The regular cat food doesn’t attract Marvin though, he is much more interested in what’s cooking on the stove.

Starvin Marvin (Above)

“Even though he isn’t technically our cat, and we don’t like to let him in our house, we see him so much that it’s nice when he comes to say hi,” said Sipich.

He causes quite a ruckus now, but the residence can’t help but love him. Marvin joins Sipich and his roommates while they barbecue on their porch. He is also known for sneaking into houses through cracked doors and open windows.

“The first time Marvin broke into our house, he went into the kitchen and just started to eat the food we had on the stove,” said Sipich. “I tried to move him but he just didn’t move.”

One thing is for sure, Sipich and Marvin’s relationship is love mixed with a little hate, but in the end Sipich is helping a homeless cat survive.

The neighborhoods around campus are bustling with students willing to put aside some time for the cats and kittens that show up at their doorstep – or in their kitchen. Some students go so far as to adopt.

After weeks of breaking into Sara Marcella’s summer residence, Chester, a homeless cat of Eugene, finally found a permanent owner. Chester is rather large with long grey hair, matted in some parts. He is a sociable cat and greets the guests of Marsella with a meow, hoping for a friendly caress.

Chester was passed around from resident to resident at an apartment complex on 15th and Ferry. But Chester found his way to 13th and Patterson in the summer of 2014.

“He found me. He tried and tracked me down. He was like, ‘I need you’,” said Marcella.

Chester was compared to the poltergeist, shimmying through cracked windows and bolting inside when a door opened. In the beginning, Marcella and her roommate tried to keep Chester out and ignore him.

“We didn’t feed him at all,” said Marcella.

You can tell from Chester’s abundance of compassion for complete strangers that he wasn’t in search of food that summer, but was in search of a family.

The poltergeist finally broke his way into Marcella’s heart, and as the summer came to a close, Marcella decided to adopt Chester.

“It’s been love ever since,” said Marcella.

Compassion for these neglected animals comes in many different forms. If you’re a college student in search of a feline friend, consider adoption, and if your a passionate, hands on kind of person, volunteers are always needed. Mike Sipich, Regan Middleton-Moreland and Sara Marcella show that homeless cats, as odd as they may be, are capable of being a companion when cared for.

 

Background
Nationwide there are about 30 to 40 million feral and stray cats, with only 2 percent having been neutered or spayed.

In Lane County there are approximately 20,000 feral cats. I plan to find the percentage of feral cats spayed or neutered in Lane County.

The defining factor of a feral cat is, they are not socialized and have unapproachable personalities; they hiss, scratch and bite when humans try to interact with them.

A stray cat is a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. Stray cats are more approachable than feral cats because of their familiarity with humans.

Most often feral cats are apart of a colony and are extremely territorial. In Eugene, feral cats are seen in various parts of town: alley dumpsters, residential neighborhoods and parks. They have a strong resistance to people, but still rely heavily on people for survival.

“Feral cats produce approximately 80% of the kittens born each year and are the most important source for cat overpopulation.” (Humane strategies for controlling the feral cat population)

There is a small window of hope for feral kittens. Kittens nurse for the first four weeks of life – this is where they first learn behavioral habits. Since we are able to nurse kittens without a mother cat, this is the best time to train a feral cat because food is the perfect incentive.

“The debate over feral cat control frequently hinges on the relative attributes of 3 approaches: removal of cats for adoption, life-long confinement, or euthanasia versus sterilization of cats followed by return to their colonies.” (Humane strategies for controlling the feral cat population)

Although argued, the best solution for controlling the feral cat population is trapping, spaying/neutering and returning the cats to their rightful colonies.

Locally
There are citizens throughout Eugene that put out food and water for feral cats. On Ferry Street, between 29th and 30th, there is a decent sized colony, and citizens of that neighborhood provide food and water for feral cats.

The city of Eugene has a significant amount of animal shelters and veterinarian clinics, where free or lost-cost sterilization is available.

Greenhill Humane Society, Eugene’s largest animal shelter, has a trap, neuter, release program. Once spayed or neutered, an ear of the cat is clipped so it can be identified as sterile once back in the wild.

Catch and kill is not a solution because when colonies lose a member they mate to replace them, in turn increasing the feral cat population.

The Story
Trap, neuter and release has shown to be the best way to control the feral cap population in Eugene. For this story, I want to capture the people who actively participate in controlling the feral cat population through TNR. I will also seek to capture the motive behind the care a feral cats. Why do citizens feel the need to help such unapproachable felines? There is obviously some emotion behind the motive, and I hope to capture that with at least one subject.

I will get multiple perspectives on the TNR solution by interviewing veterinarians, animal control officers, everyday citizens and volunteers.

I plan to ride along with Lt. Angie San Miguel, an animal control officer in Eugene, to explore the various cat colonies around the city, as well as getting her professional opinion on the feral cat control.

Tasha Roberts, operator of Stray & Feral Cat Rescue, will take me through the process of TNR. Roberts is well known in the community for her feral and stray cat outreach; she plays a large role in the education of Eugene’s feral cat situation.

Sources
Human Sources
1 Diana Huntington diana@green-hill.org – Diana is the TNR Coordinator at Greenhill Humane Society. She is a also a volunteer for Pro-Bone-O, a non-profit that provides care for the homeless pet population of Eugene.

2 Tasha Roberts tasha.roberts@rocketmail.com – Tasha is the operator of Stray & Feral Cat Rescue in Eugene. Her work consists of trapping stray/feral cats, sterilizing them and, if possible, training them. She has the experience of starting and running a cat rescue. She also offers training for people who wish to participate in the TNR program.

3 Priscilla Gibson 2415 Oakmont Way Eugene, OR, 97401 (541) 854-7308 – Priscilla works at Bush Animal Hospital. Her coworkers call her “The Cat Whisper”. Since Priscilla is a veterinarian, I can get her perspective on the process of sterilization versus the process of euthanasia.

4 Lt. Angie San Miguel (541)683-5748, angie.s.sanmiguel@ci.eugene.or.us – Angie is the Interim Animal Services Manager for the city of Eugene. She is well informed about the issues concerning the animal population in Eugene.

Non-Human Sources
1 Lane County Animal Resource – This is a document with an itemized list of resources for animals in and around Eugene. I can use this document to connect with veterinarians and volunteers.
http://westcoastdogandcat.org/wp-content/uploads/ANIMAL-RESOURCES.pdf

2 Life 9 Rescue – This non-profit was founded by Tasha Roberts (listed above). This resource includes contact information, background information about feral cats and education on how you can actively help the feral cat population.
http://www.life9rescue.org/

3 Humane strategies for controlling cat populations – This resource discusses the statistics of feral cats, control methods, public health concerns and the role of veterinarians in feral cat control. I can use this document in order to develop questions for interviews with primary resources.
http://www.medvet.umontreal.ca/infoGen/international/giv/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Humane_strategies_for_controlling_feral_cat.pdf

Bradford Little, was born in Canton, Illinois. For nine years he was an only child and incredibly spoiled by his grandparents. So when his first little brother, Jeff, when was born at age nine he had to make a minor few adjustments but it wasn’t too difficult. Brad said it was tough when his second brother Todd was born because the age difference was very large and the two young brothers bonded while he started his middle/ high school career.

Brad went on to attended Illinois State University where he payed his way through college through part-time jobs and a running scholarship. There he met his wife, Wendy Van Mierlo. They married, had three children in Bloomington, Normal, Illinois before they moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon.

“It was unknown but my father said, ‘if it doesn’t work out you can always move back,” said Brad.

It worked out and he has lived in Oregon ever since.

But it was when he was farthest away from his family when they needed each other most.

In February of 2002 Brad lost his youngest brother, Todd.

A serious cocaine addiction lead Todd to have a heart attack while in the shower.

“It was the saddest moment of my life, I couldn’t really talk about it until about four or five years ago,” said Brad.

Brad was mixed up with emotions. He was sad because his baby brother died suddenly but angry with him for letting an addiction end his life.

“I wish I had known Todd better,” said Brad.

Brad soon realized that Todd’s death happened for a reason and that it was because of his poor lifestyle choices of partying and doing drugs. He just wished he would have been more knowing of his brother’s situation so he could have helped or at least seen it coming.

The entire family had no idea.

It was Brad’s parents that took it the worst. They soon became alcoholics.

“I think it is a generational thing, that adults in  the 60s just drank more and didn’t know the effect it had on their health,” said Brad.

The death of Todd increased the level that Brad’s parents drank at. It went from one or two drinks at the end of the night to a significant amount of drinks throughout the day.

For Brad this kind of behavior was unfamiliar and he didn’t understand it. Due to his passion for running he couldn’t bring himself to damage his body like that. Also living in Oregon, where lifestyle choices are significantly better than the choices of Illinois, helped him break the addiction cycle.

Brad, along with his wife Wendy, raised their three children to be outgoing, athletic and aware of the harmful things in life.

“I was strict. My father was strict. But we were strict in different ways,” said Brad.

Now with two sons graduated from University of Oregon and a daughter in her last year, Brad feels that he has done a successful job being a father.

He just hopes his kids take care of themselves and not let the lifestyle of drugs and alcohol take them away like it did Todd.

An Innovative Educator

If Ed Madison doesn’t have the latest multimedia gadget you can bet your pocketbook     that it is in his Amazon cart and he is ready to share it with any interested student.

Last week Madison introduced a mini lavalier microphone, a smartphone attachment, to his Allen Hall Studios class; giving them the ability to access more interviews without the hassle of obtaining a pricy recording device.

Having opportunity and guidance at a young age, Madison was able to forge his own path in the journalism industry that eventually led back to the classroom. He is now influencing the next generation of journalists at University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.

“One of the reasons I enjoy doing the professional excellence courses, that help students with developing their skills and preparing them for the future, is that my dad was very focused on making sure his kids were well prepare to accomplish anything they wanted to do,” said Madison.

Madison is a lengthy character with a welcoming smile below a groomed mustache accompanied by speckles of freckles under soft eyes. His looks are strikingly similar to his father.

Madison’s father was the first African American to join the editorial staff of the Chicago Tribune in 1961, covering a significant amount of history. He is a well educated man who Madison says he took for granted during his youth.

“He had me doing a resume at age 12 or 13 because at his first job interview they asked him for a resume and he didn’t know what that meant,” said Madison.

Although Madison had a significant amount of resources, being the son of a known journalist had its downfalls. At age 16 Madison was rejected from an internship program at WUSA9 in Washington D.C. because of his father.

“I was devastated,” said Madison.

At this point in time the Watergate Scandal was at its peak and the Washington Post owned station posed an abundance of opportunities for Madison to grow as a journalist.

Luckily Madison earned the internship spot when one student decided they were not able to participate in the program.

At WUSA9 Madison advanced his journalistic skills by writing interview questions, scheduling meetings and figuring out what topics were most interesting. He became comfortable with the camera, learning how to successfully shoot and capture moments.

“Within months I had a desk and a rolodex, you know before we had computers on our desks,” said Madison.

After graduating high school Madison interned at Channel 5 News in Boston, Massachusetts while attending Emerson College – where he earned is undergraduate degree in mass communication.

Madison’s talent and work ethic left quite the impression on his fellow co-workers at Channel 5.
While working as a cue card holder at a local Los Angeles, California talk show Madison received an offer from a former coworker at Channel 5

He was asked to be a founding producer at CNN.

“At the time CNN was very bootstrap, we had to bring our own pens and pencils,” said Madison.

Madison noted that the job wasn’t as glamorous as it is today.

“I called the president of the company and I said, ‘Reese we have three phone lines and they’re all lit up, I cant dial out, I cant book the show,’ and he said ‘go to a phone booth’,” said Madison.

Madison was able to overcome the obstacles of a the new network. By the time he was done working at CNN he had produced multiple shows that defined the now powerhouse network.

Madison moved on to more entrepreneurial work and formed two of his own companies – Tiburon Communications, Inc. and Rustic Canyon Entertainment.

After a monumental career Madison decided it was time to take his talents back to the classroom.

Madison headed to Eugene, Oregon where, at the University of Oregon, he still teaches multimedia journalism and digital publishing. Madison also worked to earn his Ph.D at the UO, and in 2012 he received his Ph.D in Communication and Society.

Today he is a familiar face at the UO’s School of Journalism and Communication, educating the next generation of journalist as an Assistant Professor and Media Partnership Coordinator. His multimedia skills have made it possible for students to learn the tools of the trade and produce professional level work.

“Ed has inspired me in a way that no other professor has and that’s no disrespect to any of the other professors. What Ed is really focused on is personal success, whether thats getting you the job that you want after college or maybe being more entrepreneurial,” said former student Jordan Bentz.

Madison also instills in students the ethics they need to be respected and trusted journalists.

“Ed’s favorite thing to say is ‘do what you say and say what you do’ and I think that’s a great business principle and a great principle to go by in life,” said former student Maya Lazaro.

Maybe that principle is what has caused student produced projects such as Northwest Stories and OR Magazine to be nationally recognized and templates for success.

But Madison says he would like to slow down a bit, put his projects into the hands of other professors and have a narrower focus. He wants to help the SOJC influence high schools and universities across the nation.

His latest project Booklandia.tv is a staff and student created interactive webpage that puts the spotlight on books. People are able to produce their own book related segments and submit them to Booklandia.tv. The webpage is encouraging creative student work and reminding people of the importance of books.

“We are creating this consortium of other student media groups at universities and high schools around the country that can contribute to Booklandia,” said Madison.

The website is one of a kind and Madison looks forward to assisting it in its growth.

The stories Hector Tobar spoke to us about in relationship to his career as a journalist and the time he spent writing Deep Down Dark were not what I was expecting to hear. One of the first things Tobar said was, “I was shy before I became a journalist.” That was a surprising. Tobar seemed anything but someone who used to be shy. He crinkled up paper and threw it at us to show how frustrated he gets when he can’t figure out what to write, he broke the boundaries of an ordinary conference and put life into the interview. If I were to every write a profile piece on Hector Tobar I would be sure to fit in the immense amount of body language he had. He didn’t sit with a stiff, cold figure. Tobar sat comfortably in his swiveling chair to begin with but adjusted his face, hands and body with every story – if I was unable to hear Tobar, I would know how he was feeling based on his expressions. His hands moved around constantly, especially when he talked about his love for metaphors and imagery.
Tobar to me is a man built up of hard work and compassion because when he discusses his passion for writing, you can also see his concern for who or what he is writing about. “I treat my interviewees like kings,” he said. This quote, to me, goes beyond treating them like kings just to get the information he needs but treating them like kings because they deserve to be. Tobar mentioned his battle with lifelong depression and, although it is a terrible disease to battle, it often comes along with extreme sensibility to mood. I think this trait comes through in Tobar’s work because when he described his interactions with the miners, he knew a whole lot more than just the story of the incident. He took time to examine each miner and understand them as a whole instead of just that one incident. He described talking to the miners’ wives, their daily livers and what lead them to becoming miners.
I thoroughly enjoyed the responses Tobar gave and I think journalists can learn an awful lot from his process and personality.

Why are you drawn to people on the outer edges of life? Is there something in your life that has drawn you to them?

I don’t think I am necessarily drawn to people on the outer edges of life per say. The word outer edges puts them in a category often overlooked and judge harshly. I think I am drawn to people who have unique perspectives on life and are unfortunately isolated, put out from the major parts of society. Although the US is an amazing place to be and I am extremely lucky to live here, there are some downfalls. The increasing issues connected to mental health strike a nerve with me. I live everyday battling clinical depression even though I have everything I need to live a happy, healthy life. There is something to be said about that. Most of the time people don’t chose to make themselves an outcast, our society does that for them. I feel that if I can share the stories of the people dealing with mental health disorders, I can truly make a difference in the way the rest of the US sees them.
So I guess I could say I am drawn to the people on the outer edges of life because I could be one of them. If I didn’t have the support of my friends, family and mental health professionals I could very well be living on the street with little to nothing. As soon as people can see that mental illness is just as powerful at destroying a life as cancer then we can begin taking steps to treating it the way it should be. If the vast majority of Americans can see that a person with depression and anxiety deserve the same amount of care as someone with a physical illness then we will start to see change. Until then my job is to spread stories that shift a mindset that is unfortunately concrete in our society.

Ed Madison is the walking definition of a team player. As a professor in the School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC), at University of Oregon, Madison not only teaches, he makes things happen. Madison and a team of students created the school’s first tablet publication, OR Magazine, winning four Columbia Scholastic Press Awards. He also lead a team of students to Ghana so they could experience its culture and share it through multimedia pieces. I sat down with Madison to discuss where his passion for journalism originated and what the future has in store for him at the SOJC.

Your father was the one who influenced you greatly to follow the path of journalism. How has he influenced you?
My father saw a lot of history. He covered Kennedy, Nixon debate and Doctor Martin Luther King. I think I sort of took it for granted. He was really well educated and it took me a while for me to figure out the history of that. My dad had professors in high school because the African American college graduates couldn’t get hired at universities – I was used to him walking around and reciting Shakespeare.

My dad was very focused on making sure his kids were well prepared to accomplish anything they wanted to do. He had me doing a resume at age twelve or thirteen because at his first job interview they asked him for a resume and he didn’t know what that meant.

What pre college experience did you have in journalism? During college?
When I was 16… Well maybe I was 15 almost 16 but I was driving so I would have to be 16. So I went to the counselor’s office and there was a poster on the wall and it was announcing an essay contest and the opportunity to submit an essay and they were going to choose three people all over Washington D.C. to be in an internship program at the local tv station. The station was owned by the Washington Post. I got in. This was during the height of the Watergate Scandal, so a great time to be in media. Within months I had a desk and a rolodex, you know before we had computers on our desk. I had the privilege of getting comfortable with talking to people and scheduling things and writing questions and figuring out what was interesting and how to shoot things.

What did it feel like to get a job as a producer for CNN at age 22?
When people hear founding producer at CNN it sounds very grandiose and everything else but CNN was very bootstrap. We had to bring our own pens and pencils. Once I called the president of the company and I said  “Reese we got three phone lines and they’re all lit up, I can’t dial out, I can’t book the show” and he said “Go to a phone booth.”

Being an SOJC alum, what influence do you hope to have on professors and students?
I have always been an early adopter of technology. I really gravitate and keep abreast of the new things that are changing and I embrace all that, I’m not afraid of it. I am also trying to get us beta access to new software, have us try new things that are outside the box. Being around students kind of keeps you young. I learn as much as I teach, if you will. It’s not like I stand at the front of the room and have all this infinite wisdom. It’s kind of like, let’s roll up our sleeves together and see what we can accomplish.

What do you hope to accomplish at the SOJC this year? 5 years?

I need to slow down a little bit, in terms of coming up with new things because that’s its own trap. What I really want to do is establish Northwest Stories as an annual project that we do in the summer. I want establish the Booklandia tv project with Powell’s as a major point of recognition for the J school because we are creating this consortium of other student media groups at universities and high schools around the country that can contribute to Booklandia. In an ideal world we would only be producing 10% of the content and the rest of it would be coming in from other places.

Ed Madison
Assistant Professor, Media Partnership Coordinator at University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communications
madison2@uoregon.edu
324 Allen Hall
(541) 346-9140
Twitter: @edmadison
Skype: emadison3
Web: http://www.edmadison.com/

What’s your childhood dream?

My childhood dream, now adult dream, is to experience as many places as I can. As a child I was fascinated with travel in it’s entirety. I love the excitement of taking off and landing in an airplane, the conversations of a road trip and the reward of seeing something spectacular. Although I was born in Illinois, I have spent the greater portion of my life living in Oregon. When I was a child, my parents took me and my brothers to the many magical parts of Oregon and Washington – Multnomah Falls, Mount Saint Helens and the Lava Caves of eastern Oregon just to name a few. The adventure of exploring unfamiliar territory has always been a passion of mine. Later in life, when I was 20, I spent three months living with my brother in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and I took a lot of time exploring the burrows of NYC on my own. For a girl who grew up in the suburbs of Portland, the culture of the Big Apple alone was something I could spend years leaning about. The places I explore can be filled with humans or filled with nature, I don’t care. The journey of finding my own path in an unfamiliar place is a huge accomplishment for me and always leaves me thinking about where I will go next. I guess it’s a never ending dream because I haven’t been everywhere.

What is the most important thing you have done so far?

The most important thing I have been apart of was both an amazing professional and personal experience. In the fall of 2014 the Allen Hall Studios group was given an opportunity to produce multimedia pieces about poverty in Lane County – the project was called Life Below the Line. This gave me a chance to go in to the field and see what I was really made of. My group found our story with Tracy, a homeless woman who is a powerful voice in the Whoville community. For the first time I had to earn the trust of my interviewee because she was hesitant of my intentions. My group met with Tracy and other interviewees multiple times, so we could build a relationship and in turn produce a powerful piece.

What I will always remember is sharing our finished video with the rest of the Allen Hall Studios team, thinking it wasn’t what it had the potential to be yet, and getting an overwhelming response of emotion. What my team had worked on for a little over two months was a success because we took the time to create a meaningful relationship with Tracy. Our project was also a way to spread Tracy’s thoughts and show a side of the homeless community that is often overlooked. I was proud to be apart of a project that had a purpose and wasn’t just another surface scraping, meaningless piece.

Welcome to your brand new blog at University of Oregon Sites.\n \n To get started, simply log in, edit or delete this post and check out all the other options available to you.\n \n For assistance, visit UO Blogs General Help or contact the Technology Service Desk (techdesk@uoregon.edu; 541-346-4357).\n \n