Wild cats create problems for Brentwood school

BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KGO) -- A school district in Brentwood has a problem: too many feral cats under their buildings. A feral cat is sometimes described as a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild.

The wild cats are hanging around at Liberty High School and the adult education center.

The district says it's doing what it can to get them out, but animal advocates say they don't like the way the problem is being handled.

"There are probably, between both campuses, like 50 to 60 cats," said Julie Rasmussen.

She is a feral cat advocate, who has been keeping an eye on the cats, which for years, have made their home under the buildings and portables at the high school and the adult continuing education center.

She has taken pictures of them before. Rasmussen says Liberty Union High School District was late at addressing it feral cat problem.

She claims the cats were entombed and several died. But the superintendent says the district has documented only one accidental death.

They have installed several screens to prevent the cats from getting in and have made sure they have a way to get out.

"We've put one-way doors that we ourselves have made," said Eric Volta, the school's superintendent.

The one-way doors are made of wood. But animal advocates are asking the district to install different doors.

"The cats can go out, but can't go back in and it's clear plastic so they go toward the light and out of it," said Rasmussen.

The district says the problem is compounded by people feeding the cats. It has gotten so bad that the adult continuing education center has had a bad flea problem.

"We flea-bombed the classroom and vacuumed, wiped all the desks and so on and this morning. It was better, but there were still fleas," said Volta.

High school students say the feral cats are everywhere.

"It's kind of uncomfortable having cat problems," said student Cesar Macias, a student.

Most of these cats have been trapped, spayed or neutered and released back into their colony, so they won't be reproducing, which is a good thing for the district and for advocates.