Falcon Felines Back in Session

First established by the capstone class ANSC 421 (Advanced Canine and Feline Care & Management), cooperation between the Dunn County Humane Society and the UWRF Falcon Felines has allowed North Hall to house its campus cat colony since the Spring Semester of 2023. Now, almost two years later, it has undergone an unexpected change: running exclusively by student volunteers.Falcon Felines has functioned as an on-campus adoption program, fostering cats that are then socialized, decompressed, assisted in any medical needs they might have, and ultimately introduced to visitors interested in providing forever homes.

Since its installment the cat colony has been a huge hit on both the UWRF campus and in the River Falls area beyond. Without the necessary personnel to teach ANSC 421 this semester, however, the fate of UWRF’s cat colony was grim until one ambitious student stepped up.

Currently a Junior at UWRF on the Companion Animal, Pre-Vet track, Nikki Hoffar learned the very real possibility of the cat colony shutting down only just a few months prior.

She’d first begun volunteering with the cat colony as a freshman taking ANSC 121, having had hands-on experience with how much good the colony did for campus. Invested in its continued survival, she remembers thinking to herself, “Why don’t I just run it?”

Though the program originally intended to provide hands-on experience with the caretaking, socializing, and adopting of the cats welcomed during school semesters, its entire operation would now have to rely solely on student shoulders. And yet, determined, Nikki spent the past summer preparing the space and supplies for incoming cats with the close support of university professor, Dr. Kehoe.

Now that the semester has gone into full swing, her duties encompass much of what a traditional advisor would have done, such as gathering and training volunteers, routine communication with Dunn County, and providing daily maintenance.

“Basically just running like a manager of a business,” she describes it as.

Nikki also recalls the difficulty of the first two weeks of the newly reformed Cat Colony, in which she spent many, many hours with the cats when they were first brought in, as well as working tirelessly to ensure volunteers not only had access to the colony but were comfortable and capable in their expected duties.

Though supported by the guidance and resources provided by Dr. Kehoe and fellow staff, much of the burden of responsibility fell onto Nikki.

Very quickly, however, all this time, effort, and collaboration proved fruitful.

Within the very first adoption day – a set period in time in which people are welcomed to meet and play with the cats – one of the cats, Girlie, went home with her new family, just as another, Dreamer, is well on her way to follow suit.When asked to comment on this success, Nikki was enthused that things had gone much better than expected. “My goal for the [program],” she admits, “was ‘I want to get through as many cats as possible’ – which sounds crazy, [but] the more cats I can get through, the better.”

With the combined efforts of the volunteers she manages, as well as her very own contributions, this goal is well on its way to reality. Part of what fuels these ambitions is that the cat colony’s partner, Dunn County Humane Society, is not only a shelter that accepts all animals it’s presented with, but is also non-kill. By continuing the tradition of the cat colony, Nikki and fellow volunteers can help alleviate the burden of overflow by however many cats they are able to welcome at a time.

In tandem with this, the colony also boasts an invaluable advantage for UWRF itself. “Where do the Companion Animal kids get their hands-on experience?” Nikki asks, acknowledging that there are less on-campus opportunities for them than those that have the horse farm or dairy plant more applicable to their concentrations of Animal Science. “This is a big component of it, it means a lot more people get to be involved for a lot longer.”

Though she’d never imagined herself running a cattery, Nikki has ensured that one of UWRF’s pivotal animal programs continues to thrive.

It’s the responsibility of the UWRF family to support these efforts by doing their own part – donating or volunteering if they can, keeping up with the Falcon Feline socials, spreading the word, and, of course, visiting the cats!