Five cats were removed from the men’s dorm Wednesday afternoon and eight more known to the residents will be captured today to be prepared for adoption at the city’s animal shelter.

Of those, three were seen in the men’s dorm and five are known to live at the thrift store.

Walter Hetzel, Temple animal services supervisor, inspected all floors in Martha’s Kitchen men’s dorm and saw no sign of feral cats.

He explained that when cats are feral there are obvious signs such as scat and spray marks by males that haven’t been neutered.

“There were litter boxes and water bowls all over the place,” Hetzel said. “Every single cat we saw was well fed and cared for. The litter boxes were large and I guess that was so they didn’t need to be emptied as often.

“We were able to pick up the cats, but they just didn’t want to go in a pet taxi. So, we will bring back traps for them tomorrow.”

The traps are designed to assist in capturing an animal without injury to the cat or its capturer.

“The problem is that the building has more than three cats, which is against city ordinances,” Hetzel said.

With headlines saying the shelter will be shut down Monday the shelter offered to take in the animals.

“I have been told that all the cats have been neutered,” Hetzel said. “There were no sign of litters and this is the time of year that kitten litters are born.

“If everybody is going to be leaving, we are just scared that the cats may be left behind.”

One of the cats, Shamus, already has a home.

Martha’s Kitchen thrift store manager Cynthia Loya has a soft spot for the cat that has been living in the store after living for awhile in the men’s dorm. Loya believed it had been mistreated at some stage of its life.

“I just have a soft spot for her,” Loya said when she asked Hetzel if she could take the cat home with her today.

“I believe animals should go to a good caring home,” Loya said. “That’s all I want for them. What is being done just has to be done.”