College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

By Lauren McCarty ’26

Paws with Claws, a new student organization dedicated to advocating for homeless and feral cats on the University of Dayton campus, has helped nine cats find homes.

The group, which became an official UD club during the fall 2024 semester, began the previous semester. The club’s goal is to get homeless campus cats vetted and adopted or into a foster program and to get feral cats neutered or spayed.

In spring 2023, Cathleen Ganzel and her roommates noticed the neighborhood cat they called “Sophia” might be pregnant. She reached out to Julie Walsh-Messinger, associate professor of psychology, who is known to her students as a lover and “foster parent” of cats.

Walsh-Messinger, who serves as Paws with Claws’ advisor, was in the early stages of starting the cat advocacy club and pounced at the opportunity to help the feral feline. 

“Professor Messinger always began class talking about her cats and sharing funny photos and videos of them,” said Ganzel, a senior psychology major from Chicago. “I remembered her mentioning how she had helped a student who found a cat. She wasn’t able to come right away but she texted with me throughout the night.” 

The students prepared a box with blankets and soon five kittens entered the world. The kittens and their mother were fostered through Gem City Kitties, a community organization partnering with the club.

Gem City Kitties is one resource the group is working with to connect adoptable rescue cats with families and access low-cost veterinary services. 

“We are very excited to have the UD student group assisting campus community cats by rescuing them and helping them through their medical needs,” said Tia Bellinger, a representative from Gem City Kitties. 

Paws with Claws has helped a total of nine cats to date by tracking their behaviors, feeding them, and providing shelter before catching them to be neutered and released or adopted.

Feral cats present issues on campus and in the community because they are invasive and kill wildlife. They also struggle to find food and survive in busy areas through the winter months and can become sick. Catching, neutering and releasing feral cats helps slow the local population growth.

“One mother cat and her kittens could produce over 100 cats,” said Madalynn Skelton, Paws with Claws president and a senior psychology major from Urbana, Ohio. “Cats produce very early on. Spaying and neutering helps prevent overpopulation. We only have so many resources, so if we can limit the cats that exist we can help the ones that do.” 

Walsh-Messinger hopes to expand UD’s partnership with Gem City Kitties and connect students living in campus housing with the foster program. Paws with Claws raises funds through bake sales and jewelry sales. The group has created small cat shelters that can be placed outside houses in the student neighborhood. Students interested in getting a cat shelter can contact Madalynn Skelton or Julie Walsh-Messinger via campus email.

“Gem City Kitties is a great community partner and with their help, we have saved cats in need,” Walsh-Messinger said. “It's been fun to see the interest that students have. For me as a faculty member, it's been such a different way to connect with students. I’ve gotten to know them in a different capacity and I've enjoyed that.”