Jessica Adair escorted her friend to the health center a couple weeks before spring break and heard employees talking about the danger of wild cats on campus. A couple days later, she noticed the felines’ absence around Eagle’s Nest.

“Well, they really did get rid of them,” Adair said. “No one knew what happened.”

So far, facilities services has relocated one campus cat to a barn and another to a house.

Facilities services thought the cats’ relocation to be necessary from a health and safety perspective, said Brian Phillips, director of facilities services. The felines returned consistently to bowls of food, making students more susceptible to various infections.

Phillips and his crew have been working on the cat issue for at least two months. The health center, having treated students’ scratches daily, was becoming anxious to see the cats gone, he said.

Facilities kept the cats’ protection in mind after student employees voiced their concerns for animal treatment. Animal control has not yet been called, Phillips said, since the Downey animal shelter is “high-kill,” according to the Humane Society.

“We’re trying to be creative in addressing the problem,” Phillips said, “and to remain sensitive toward students’ concerns.”

Beverly Cain, a facilities staff member, was just one of the many concerned animal lovers on Biola’s campus. Phillips allowed her to provide temporary shelter for the second cat, while seeking permanent owners for its kittens.

While three cats have been known to strut about campus, the majority of medical grievances involved the few Eagles’ Nest congregants. The cats’ aggressiveness increased as they expected all humans to generously give up their meals.

Phillips and his crew have kitty-friendly traps for such a time as this. Early on, the first cat was caught and set free at a Corona barn. The cat charged directly toward the barn upon his release, seemingly excited to dwell in such a natural, liberal environment, he said.

The lady of the pack was second to be caught, though her final destination differed significantly from that of the first. The department of facilities was anxious to find a safe home for her, away from Biola, after realizing that she had become pregnant.

Kittens are more likely to be infected and spread diseases, like the cat scratch disease, to humans, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of the disease, which comes from being bit or scratched by a cat, include fever, headache, fatigue, and a poor appetite.

Phillips’ team allowed Cain to shelter the cat for a short period of time. The feline is currently residing with a family friend, safely mothering her kittens. Cain said that her daughter is corresponding with potential owners, though none of the kittens have left their mother.

Sigma and Alpha residents may have missed the third cat for a little while, but recent rumors have indicated his return to campus. Facilities dropped him off at a Biola-owned house nearby, but efforts proved to be futile when he was reportedly spotted on campus again.

Phillips is discussing options for the cat with his team, investigating whether he belongs to a local family. Though the cat has never sported a collar, he seems to have had experience as a house pet.