Oakland Coliseum Sees Feral Cat Population Boom – 'We Have Been Invaded'
OAKLAND (BCN) – Feral cats are a maybe too common a sight these days at the Oakland Coliseum property, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority executive director said Tuesday, calling it an invasion.
Rats are no longer the problem, said executive director Henry Gardner.
"We have been invaded by these cats," he said. "The population keeps increasing."
He said it grew during the pandemic.
Gardner has ideas for the cats and euthanizing them is not an option. He said the plan is to relocate them a few at a time to new homes.
Gardner is considering the possibility of advertising opportunities for people to adopt the cats. The ads would appear during Oakland Arena and Oakland Coliseum events, such as Oakland A's games.
"That is something I will be pursuing," he said.
The coliseum authority is working with Oakland Animal Services to keep the population from growing further. Animal services is securing the dumpsters on the property to limit the cats' food source.
"But we don't want to starve them," Gardner said.
So far, patrons have not complained about the feral felines, he said.
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