STOP CAMPUS VIOLENCE AGAINST STUDENTS AND CATS BY THE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
STOP CAMPUS VIOLENCE AGAINST STUDENTS AND CATS BY THE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Below is Dr. Thayer's email to the Cypress College staff and student body. Cats of Cypress College has written a rebuttal, line by line in the Q&A section to the gaslighting and outright lies of Dr. Thayer and the Director of Campus Safety, Craig Lee.
See Cats of Cypress College rebuttal below.
Office of the President
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Dear Chargers,
I am writing in response to allegations of animal abuse resulting from a recent news article and social media posts. Let me be emphatically clear: cats are not being killed on our campus and such horrendous actions most certainly would never be condoned by me or anyone in a position of leadership at Cypress College.
If we had observed, learned of, or received any credible evidence of such acts, we would have taken disciplinary action to ensure that the perpetrator would not have access to ever harm an animal again. We do not condone any abuse of any animals. We are aware of a potential planned rally on campus today and welcome community members to peacefully assemble on campus.
That said, we are a public institution and when the public asks questions, they deserve answers. We have spent the weekend and the first two days of our semester discussing and reviewing our campus protocols regarding the feral cat population. Out of an abundance of diligence, we will continue to probe every aspect of the plan we enacted in 2023.
When I became president of Cypress College in 2024, I was informed that there were two colonies of cats living on campus. I was also informed that there was a community member running a personal website that routinely posts untrue accusations against some of our employees regarding the cats on campus.
At that time, we implemented a newly designed program to care for the cats who lived on campus. We have worked diligently to do just that. The population of cats on campus peaked at 26 a couple of years ago. Thanks to our capture, neuter, and adopt program, with community partners we were able to reduce the number of feral cats living in the wild to just 15 at the current time.
Please note that Orange County Animal Care has called the college’s program a success and even looked to it as a model others could follow. Through our efforts, two cats and six kittens were adopted out to families.
For those cats who remain, the college provides clean water for the cats. For health and safety reasons, we do not feed the cats; and, for legal reasons, we do not permit anyone else to do so.
Below is an FAQ that provides neutral-language responses to some of the things we have been asked about what’s happening on campus. I hope you carefully read this document:
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER: Regarding the statement above that there are now 15 cats on campus... There are 22 known cats and kittens in the North Colony plus a litter of kittens with an unknown number of kittens in the nest which easily puts the North Colony above 25 cats. There are 5 cats living in the South Colony. That puts our total community cats at more than 30 cats. Dr. Thayer missed by 100% which is consistent with the rest of his claims in this email.
And this doesn't include the eleven kittens removed from campus in the course of one month between June 9, 2025 and July 8, 2025 by OCAC. Cypress College tells OCAC the mother has abandoned the kittens and OCAC takes the kittens away to try to find a foster home. If none are available, they are euthanized. OCAC Activity #'s A25-012023, A25-014041, A25-014515
I spoke with OCAC and they laughed about this claim and said that’s not something they would say about an organization that has adopted out only four kittens and maybe fixed a couple cats. They clarified there is no known public acknowledgement of this claim and issued a public statement as follows: From Orange County Public Records Request #25-5081: "Please note that OC Animal Care has not given any awards to Cypress College."
Cats on Campus FAQ
Q: Has the college investigated allegations of cats being killed? Why are these allegations made?
A: Yes. We have even worked with the Cypress Police Department to investigate allegations. The claims that cats are intentionally being killed is unfounded. A community member, who has worked with the college on and off over the past few years, has raised these allegations but provided an incomplete and intentionally biased view of the situation on his website to influence the outcome he desires. This FAQ provides a transparent set of facts.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER: On January 17, 2023 at 12:36 PM I observed a Cypress College employee in the maintenance yard strike a cat with a rake. The cat was sitting on the shipping container next to the workers area where they store rakes, shovels etc. Simon, the cat he hit flew about 3 feet into the air and disappeared off the top of the shipping container in a flash. The assailant, pictured in the video I published on catsofcypresscollege.com then walked out from under the canopy where the attack occurred, walked to the other side of the shipping container to look for the cat, apparently didn’t see it then walked back under the canopy and looked back up in the area where he had violated the cat.
I started filming immediately after the attack and you’ll see the assailant walking back from the area where he was looking on the opposite side of the shipping container to see if he could see the cat.
Later that evening when I fed the colony Simon showed up in bad shape. He was staggering and his hind quarter was flaring out behind him because he was losing control of his spinal functions. We learned later from the autopsy that Simon’s spine was punctured and was listed as Spinal cord damage, “likely from trauma.” By the time they put Simon to death he could hardly use his hind feet and the medial report states his hind extremities were cold. “Due to irremediably suffering and feral/fractious behavior patient was humanly euthanized.”
I asked Mr. Lee if he informed the veterinarian that I had reported to him that I was an eye witness to Simon being attacked with a rake and his reply was simply, “No”.
Had Mr. Lee informed OCAC that this was a result of a violent attack on the cat on the Cypress College Campus this would have immediately triggered a law enforcement investigation. OCAC investigates animal cruelty crimes and some trained officers have the authority to even arrest. But can also involve local PD’s and Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Because Mr. Lee lied by omission, in my opinion, this was a cover up by the school to save them the embarrassment of having an employee arrested for a felony that would have included a fine of up to $20,000 and up to three years in prison. It would have been bad press and they weren’t going to let that happen. Which is also why Dr. Thayer is putting out these disingenuous, misleading emails to students to try to shift the narrative away from the actions and crimes committed by employees under his command, and the previous administration.
Regarding the incident of November 26, 2024 where three female students and I were attacked with rocks by Cypress College maintenance employees Cypress Police Officer Allison Gonzalez (incident #25-00649) informed me in their investigation that Cypress College would not turn over the security footage from the maintenance yard from that day. She said, “what do you want me to do, subpoena them?” to which I replied, Yes. Sergeant Brian Healy was overseeing this investigation and he told me that he was trying to get the surveillance video footage but there was no guarantee and to my amazement, he said Cypress College has refused to turn over video footage to the Cypress Police Department before. It turns out California Colleges have 5th Amendment rights and protection against self-incrimination just like other criminals.
There are four cameras in the maintenance yard behind Building 34; three evenly placed cameras across the back of the building and one in the center of the maintenance yard positioned on a light pole about 30 feet in the air pointing in the direction from where the rocks were thrown.
Although Craig Lee and Dr. Thayer wouldn’t release the security footage an employee in the department told me they reviewed the footage internally and they could clearly see who was throwing the rocks. I asked if he would go on the record about this. He said he doesn’t want to risk retribution from Cypress College but mostly he doesn’t want to risk his pension. I know who threw the rocks because I could hear them talking on the other side of the fence while the rocks were being thrown at us!
So yes, Cypress Police Department has been involved but Cypress College doesn’t seem to want to share their surveillance footage with them and they absolutely did not call the Cypress Police Department when I reported to them that their employee hit a cat in the neck with a rake. I was naïve to believe that it would be mandatory for a state agency to include the local police department when they are made aware of one of their employees committing a crime, especially a felony that gets you 3-years in prison. My mistake to trust Craig Lee and Dr. Stephen Shoonmaker, Vice President at the time.
Q: Are cats a nuisance on campus? How many cats are there?
A: No. The population of cats on campus peaked in 2023 at 26. There was a recent low of 3 cats in the summer of 2024. Since then, approximately two litters of cat have been born. The recent population of cats is approximately a dozen, with a maximum of 15, based on the summer 2025 observation of the known feral colony.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
Oh boy. This is a doozy.
First, there are two colonies. One on the north side of campus and one on the south side of campus. The southern cat colony has remained consistent at 5 cats for several years. All the cats are fixed and have had vet care. This colony is maintained by two people. One person comes early in the morning. Another comes in the afternoon. And caretaker #1 comes back in the evening to make sure they have food and water because daytime employees sometimes destroy the water dishes in this area also but not nearly as bad as the south colony maintenance employee marauders.
Second, the north colony population did go down to 6 cats in July 2024.
The cat population didn’t magically reduce itself. The cats were disappeared.
July also had two cats abandoned on campus at the west end of Building 34. I fixed the female and she was adopted and the male still lives on campus. He is now the dominant male and has created several litters of kittens.
Around this time I met with Scott Thayer and asked him to start a TNR program. He did nothing and the cat population exploded again.
June 31, 2024: 7 Cats, 3 kitten litter by Little Big Mama born 6/16
July 31, 2024: 7 Cats, 6 kittens, by Gray Mama, 5 kittens by Calico mama (14 Destroyed Water Dishes) 7 cats plus 11 kittens = 18 resident cats in the north colony.
Two cats were abandoned at the west end of Building 34. I had the female fixed because she was pregnant. I was promised I would be reimbursed but Cypress College/Craig Lee stiffed me and never responded when I emailed him the invoice. The female was adopted. The male still lives on campus and has become the dominant male in the north colony and is actively producing litters of kittens. He is a Tuxedo and you can see easily the impact of his genes on the colony. My plan was to fix him at the same time as I fixed his sister but after Cypress College refused to pay for the first spaying operation I stopped taking the cats in to be fixed, which is why we still have a huge kitten problem on north campus.
August 31, 2024: 7 Cats, 7 Kittens (14 cats) (43 Destroyed Water Dishes).
Observed Tim Noriega enter the north enclosure and stab a water dish with his knife Aug. 31 and videotaped it. It is posted on catsofcypresscollege.com)
September 31, 2024: 7 Cats, 10 Kittens (17 cats) (35 Destroyed Water Dishes in September)
We rescued a few kittens this summer and many kittens disappeared.
October 1, 2024: 7 Cats, 10 Kittens (17 cats)
2 kittens: Gray Mama,
2 kittens: Little Big Mama,
2 kittens: Calico Mama,
4 kittens: Teen Tiger Mama
Dr. Thayer is just making up numbers. The kitten population for 2024-2025 was probably more like 75 kittens born each year, low ball.
Four to six breeding females producing 3-4 litters/year.
Low ball: (4x4x5=80)
4 females x 4 litters = 16 litters x 5 kittens per litter = 80 kittens but after a few months the female kittens also come into heat.
I asked Grok AI to also analyze this issue from published scientific data and he remarkably came up with 80 kittens in the first year which exactly matched the number I came up off the top of my head by observing the campus colony for 5 years. Carry this forward into a second year and it gets exponentially worse.
Q: Why did the cat population decrease?
A: The cat population decreased in 2023 and 2024 because of a focus on adoption efforts. During this period, two cats and six kittens were adopted out to families after being neutered. Two cats were taken to an animal rescue. In addition, the cat population naturally fluctuates over time.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
This answer is very misleading. Around April 22, 2023 Craig Lee trapped three transient cats and one cat that had a litter of four kittens in the pool area. One of those kittens died on May 5, 2023. I had warned Craig Lee the conditions were too unsanitary and that cats would start dying soon as a result and they did start dying which was sadly very predictable. Yes, I have photographs of all of this.
None of these cats are included in the North or South colony population count. I recognized the solid gray cat as a healthy cat that would occasionally pass through and often saw it transiting off property to the north side apartments. It was very healthy so I figured it was owned by someone in the apartments. I told Mr. Lee this and suggested releasing it after neutering it and let him go home. I suggested looking for a chip as well.
When I arrived in the room where Mr. Lee and Dr. Schoonmaker has placed the cats it was a mess. Cat shit reeked so bad it was awful. The cats had relieved themselves several times inside the traps because there wasn’t a kennel ready to transfer them into. Mr. Lee built a “cat condo” as quickly as he could and they had to bring in a “Big Assed Fans” fan which is a huge 5 foot tall fan and placed it in the hallway in front of the door to the Campus Safety office blowing it out of the hallway turned on high because the stink was so bad.
The litter boxes provided in the “cat condo” were far too small and inadequate. The cats were pooping on the artificial turf instead of in the litter boxes. There were three or four piles of feces on the astro-turf when I arrived. In the caged area where the three adult cats were held there was one tiny litter box which was constantly overflowing with feces.
As Dr. Schoonmaker said in the understatement of the year, “we were more successful than we planned for” in the trapping of cats.
They trapped the cats before they built the condo so they had to relieve themselves in the traps several times. It was a mess.
When the condos were built, one for the mother and her four kittens and one for the three adult cats. I warned that the situation was too unsanitary and that cats were going to start dying. Mr. Lee didn’t have the help he needed to manage a kennel with this many cats and run Campus Safety at the same time. I warned him cats were going to start dying because of the conditions. Someone was dumping cans of food right on the fake grass turf inside the cages in areas where they previously defecated. I knew this because I had cleaned up the poop. I assumed it was Mr. Lee because I didn’t know of anyone else that was helping.
Mr. Lee had bought some eco-friendly pine cat litter and they weren’t using it and were shitting on the fake grass. I noticed the feces wasn’t being cleaned up on the fake grass so I went home and brought back cleaning supplies and cleaned it out and sprayed it with neutralizing enzymes to try to cut the stink down. I was coming in two or three times a day to clean litter boxes and help out as much as I could. A couple students smelled the kennel and came in to see what was going on. One said she works at an animal hospital or kennel and said she would be happy to help out and donate her time. She saw immediately this situation needed more people involved. I said, please give your number to Craig, we need all the help we can get. I spoke with her several days later when I saw her on campus and she said Craig never called her.
It was getting out of control and Craig was using Campus Safety Officers to try to care for the cats until they contacted their union rep and got out this arrangement. At least that’s what they told me.
On May 5 I came in at about 9:35 AM to help the cats and was escorted in by Campus Safety Officer John Garbisch, I believe. The first thing I noticed was a dead kitten splayed out in the kitten’s cage. It was lying between the food bowl and the litter box. First photo at 9:37AM. The officer also documented this with a photo then made a call to someone. I warned them this was going to happen and it did. I opened the cage and removed the dead kitten and noticed it had blood coming from its mouth.
Shortly afterwards I cleaned up and went and bought new litter boxes with higher sides for both condos to try to minimize the cross contamination of the litter box contents with the food and water. It was especially needed in the kitten’s condo because it was way too close to their food and water bowls and litter was contaminating both their food and water. I went to Costco and bought higher quality litter with carbon to help keep the smell down and returned. The damage had been done. The stink was in the carpet.
I replaced the litter box in the kitten condo first and then replaced the litter box where the three adults were held with two new larger litter boxes with higher sides to keep the litter from being broadcast onto the floor and because people weren’t cleaning the litter boxes out regularly enough.
While I’m doing these upgrades a locksmith came by and changed the lock on the door and I was never allowed back in but I documented all this with photos while I had access.
To make this out like you had a super successful trapping and adopting mission is laughable. You may have adopted them out but the whole process was amateurish and roughly done.
Even to this day the night maintenance crew tells me they occasionally go back to this room to reclean the floors and add “enzymes to neutralize the smell” because the stink of urine and feces smell permeated the concrete through the carpet, just like I told them it would.
There was one other trapping of a very friendly lost cat that was held in the "Cat Condo" out in Parking Lot 6 in the northern enclosure. We named him, Good Boy because he was such a sweet and friendly cat he would nuzzle you and crawl into your lap. You trapped a person’s cat! I never saw posters on posts nearby indicating you had found a cat.
People with keys were paying attention and when Good Boy had gone between 24-36 hours without water someone sprung it. It hung around and I took care of it and eventually someone fell in love with him and rescued him out of Parking Lot 6. You can see his photo on catsofcypresscollege.com and a photo of him living a great life now no thanks to Cypress College.
Q: How many cats have died? How have they died?
A: Since January 2023, there have been a total of four cats and one kitten who were found dead. A fifth cat was found severely injured and was later euthanized for humane reasons because of the severity of the injury. Here’s what we know about the deaths: two were killed by coyotes (approximately 5 coyotes have been observed on or adjacent to the campus in this same time span). It is believed that a third cat death was the result of being hit by a car. The other deaths are of unknown origin. In each instance, Orange County Animal Care was involved in recovering the animals. Our Campus Safety team was also involved. The most-recent known cat death was in November 2024.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
A total of four cats and one kitten? This is so laughable. I keep records of the amounts of kittens that disappear in the north colony. I keep very accurate contemporaneous daily records. I can tell you how many ounces of wet food are delivered into the colony each day. Whether a half chicken or a whole chicken and of course they always get dry food and fresh water.
The statement that Cypress College has been providing fresh water daily is patently false. Dr. Thayer should be fired for putting out these kinds of lies to the student body. Tell us Dr Thayer. What is the employees name that is tasked with delivering water to the cats every day? I keep receipts and records. Nobody from Cypress College has been putting out water for the cats. Employees from Cypress College destroy the cats water dishes, which I record daily and those totals are also listed on this website.
FIFTY FIVE DISHES WERE DESTROYED IN AUGUST 2025
Cypress College recently put out water stations in direct sunlight on the day the students protested. Given the ambient temperature this week which has been around 95 degrees Fahrenheit the water inside the bulb of your water station is reaching somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 degrees Fahrenheit, which causes it to leach petrochemicals out of the water stations because these are built for indoor use.
This labor day weekend we noted you put water in some of them on Friday, August 29 and never returned until Tuesday, September 2, five days later. Each day they baked in direct sunlight and the water was NOT changed. I personally put fresh water out daily for the cats in open top containers, in the shade so the water temperature would never be above the ambient air temperature.
In regards to the cat you refer to “found severely injured and was later euthanized for humane reasons…”
This cat, named Simon, was murdered by a Cypress College employee. I saw him hit the cat with a rake. I documented this immediately. I started filming him seconds after he did this nasty deed. I immediately reported this to Dr. Schoonmaker and Mr. Lee.
Later the same night the cat he hit with the rake showed up to dinner like he always did. His name was Simon. He was a beautiful Siamese cat that had a twin that was disappeared before your employee hit Simon with a rake. Probably suffered a similar but more deadly blunt force trauma which was standard in the north colony. In fact, there was so much blunt force trauma happening to these cats that I started documenting EVERYTHING because I knew this was happening TO them. So, I started keeping detailed records and photos.
Simon showed up and it was clear he was losing control of his hind section. He had trouble controlling his hind legs and was staggering around. But he came to me and I fed him and made sure he had water.
This attack occurred January 17, 2023 at 12:36PM. As I previously said, I reported this rake attack to Craig Lee and Dr. Shoonmaker and documented it with video. I was naïve and believed that if I reported a FELONY by an employee of Cypress College that Cypress College would be required to report this to the Cypress Police Department or to the Orange County Sheriffs.
Mr. Lee told me it was under investigation and that he could no longer speak with me about it. I told him to look at the security footage from the back of Maintenance Building #34 and he should have enough evidence to fill in what I didn’t film but which I saw with my own eyes and reported directly to Cypress Campus Safety Director Craig Lee.
As you pointed out Dr. Thayer, a few weeks later Simon was captured in the north enclosure of Parking Lot 6 when Dr. Shoonmaker and Mr. Lee finally noticed it was circling the drain. He was dying. Mr. Lee told me it was taken to Orange County Animal Care where he was put to death, or as you say euphemistically, humanely euthanized.
Mr. Lee also mentioned to me that they had someone who wanted to pay for its medical care and adopt it. I told him that OCAC doesn’t provide veterinarian services to the public and that he would have to go someplace else for that. Nevertheless, Simon was taken to OCAC.
OCAC recorded the cause of Simon’s injury as “spinal cord damage, likely from trauma.” By the time they put Simon to death he could hardly use his hind feet. The medical report says his hind extremities were cold. “Due to irremediably suffering and feral/fractious behavior patient was humanly euthanized” with 0.30 TELAZOL 100MG/ML. OCAC MEDICAL REPORT A1802739 which I have in my possession.
What makes this doubly curious to me given that both Dr. Schoonmaker and Mr. Lee know exactly how this cat was injured because I reported it to them immediately and was told an investigation was opened by Campus Safety. None of this information was reported to OCAC. This fact leads me to believe that Mr. Lee lied by omission because if he had told the Veterinarian doing the autopsy at OCAC this cat was hit with a rake by an employee of Cypress College, there is an eye witness, and we know who this employee is, an automatic investigation by OCAC, Cypress Police Department and possibly OC Sheriff’s would have been automatically triggered. THIS IS A FELONY; $20,000 FINE & THREE YEARS IN PRISON. Covered up by Craig Lee and Cypress College.
Stephen Schoonmaker, Craig Lee and Cypress College protected this maintenance employee from prosecution for striking this cat in the neck with a rake leading to its death ultimately to protect Cypress College. This would be very bad press, which is exactly why Dr. Scott Thayer has launched this public relations full court press to deny all of this is happening on campus.
Q: Why is this coming up as an issue now?
A: Based on the community member’s website, a Tik Tok video, and an PR campaign, KTLA posted a story on their website on Friday night. This story was posted without soliciting input from the college and has since been revised because of the many inaccuracies the college highlighted for KTLA.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
I’m not sure the story was revised outside of KTLA posting that Cypress College is denying it. That’s not a revision. That’s your denial. That’s Scott Thayer covering the school’s ass which is what he is paid the big bucks for even if it means denying reality that your employees have not only harmed cats but attacked three female students and myself in Parking Lot 6 on November 26, 2024.
VIOLENT ATTACK ON ME AND THREE STUDENTS
Sgt. Brian Healy from Cypress Police Department told me that Cypress College refused to give Cypress PD the security footage of this attack, and this isn’t the first time Cypress College has refused to turnover footage to Cypress PD. Officer Allison Gonzalez with Cypress Police Department said the same… “Do you want me to subpoena them?” she said, jokingly knowing full well Cypress College won’t turn over the surveillance footage.
Cypress College protects themselves from bad press by protecting employees from being charged with crimes that would land them in jail and create a shit storm of bad publicity.
Open your records. Let’s see all your email and conversations about why you wouldn’t allow Cypress PD to view the security footage from the maintenance yard during the time they were attacking us.
I was told by a maintenance worker that their boss gave them hell and it was clearly visible who was throwing rocks at the three female students and me, an alumnus simply because we were rescuing a kitten out of Parking Lot 6.
View the video I created showing the harassment by the four employees of us in the parking lot. You can even see the rock flying through the frame in the video! Check it out here:
Q: Does the college have a program to care for the cats and work with the community on the issue?
A: Yes. The current program was conceptualized and designed in 2023 and finalized in 2024 as the result of collaborative work with interested parties and organizations. It is a “trap, neuter, and adopt” program (similar to trap, neuter, and release programs commonly known as TNR that aren’t permissible).
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
TNR programs are permissible and are used successfully on several college campuses nationwide. Locally Anaheim Feral Cat Project operates at the North Orange County Community College District Anaheim Campus. Cypress College is included in NOCCCD. Long Beach State has a successful feral cat program. Stanford University has a successful TNR program and a healthy cat population. Disneyland has a feral cat population and a TNR program. There are plenty of successful models available. Cypress College refuses to have one, it’s not that they aren’t permissible.
Cypress College used to have a TNR program. As administrations switched over it was abandoned but the cats never went away. There will always be cats on campus. Dr. Thayer thinks he’s going to trap the cats, send them off and his problem will be solved but they’ll come back and he still hasn’t solved the problem of employing employees willing to murder cats on campus. The cat killer with the rake is still working on campus and we are putting money into his pension every day.
In the south colony on the campus there are five cats. All have been fixed. There are two caretakers that visit three times a day to feed, water, then come back in the evening to replace the water dishes the staff destroys so that they will have water. This colony has been cared for 11 or more years.
Dr. Thayer is planning to capture these five cats and splinter their colony and distribute them as “barn cats” through a local agency, I’m told. This is the only world they have known. They are well taken care of and Dr. Thayer’s grand plan is to splinter them out and cast them to the wind in some barn where some dude couldn’t care less about the cat and just wants it to catch mice. This isn’t some Normal Rockwell ending. This is the slow death of a cat in the hands of stranger that will just call this organization and get another one when this cat gets eaten by a coyote or starves to death because it isn’t used to surviving by eating rodents. It is heartless. At least one cat is ten years old. That’s pretty old for a cat to be separated from his family and tossed alone into a barn in Wyoming after living his whole live being cared for in Southern California. Some cats in the north colony are 7-8 years old
Q: Who has the college worked with?
A: We have worked with Orange County Animal Control/Orange County Animal Care, Stanton Pet Hospital and Lo Alamitos Animal Hospital in Seal Beach, community members including an ad hoc committee, and others. Stanton Pet Hospital and Los Alamitos Animal Hospital also provided reduced-cost neutering services to the college.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
Stanton Animal Hospital:
Friday, August 29, 2025 I spoke with Kathy, the spay/neuter intake coordinator at Stanton Animal Hospital. She has vehemently denied working with Cypress College and in fact she stated unequivocally that she refused to work with Cypress College as a result of Craig Lee’s unreasonable demands. I remember clearly during this time speaking with Cathy when she told me she would never work with Cypress College so I was surprised you would put this lie out to the students.
In my personal notes from April 20, 2023 Craig Lee said “two campus cats got fixed today at Stanton Animal Hospital; The gray male and the ‘little kitten’. I’m still trying to verify this with SAH but even if so, that appears it would have been the last time Cypress College worked with SAH. Two cats fixed, 2.5 years ago!
My notes reflect Cypress attempted to set up a relationship to spay/neuter the colony around February 2024 but Stanton Animal Hospital refused to work with Mr. Lee and Cypress College based on the unreasonable terms Cypress College demanded.
Los Alamitos Animal Hospital:
Friday, August 29, 2025 I spoke with Christina the spay/neuter intake coordinator. She said she has never worked with Cypress College on a spay/neuter program. I asked her to cross reference Craig Lee. I knew first hand that Mr. Lee had mentioned Los Alamitos Animal Hospital because I was on a phone call with him one day when he was in the parking lot there to have his daughter’s cat, Grayson, fixed and that is the only record Christina found. An employee of Cypress College had his daughters cat fixed at Los Alamitos Animal Hospital.
Mr. Lee had his personal cat fixed at Los Alamitos Animal Hospital. And now the President of Cypress College, Dr. Scott Thayer is claiming this constitutes an ongoing relationship and a spay/neuter program with Cypress College.
Please newspapers, TV stations… do the simple research that I did. Expose these lies Dr. Thayer and Director Lee are promoting to the students of Cypress College.
It’s Labor Day weekend but come Tuesday the owners of both hospitals may make a statement because they do not want to be associated with Cypress College whatsoever. They are not happy about being included in this lie by Cypress College.
Both Kathy from Stanton Animal Hospital and Christina from Los Alamitos Animal Hospital said that I can quote them for this.
In regards to Orange County Animal Care. They come out and pick up the dead cats for you. That’s not really “working with” them. That’s using them as your dead cat disposal system, which the City of Cypress pays for with their contract with OCAC. Another way the employees in the maintenance department “work with “OCAC” is when a cat has a litter of kittens, they scare the mother off and call OCAC and lie to the law enforcement officer, telling them the mother has abandoned her kittens and OCAC takes them away. Again, “working with OCAC” by using them as your kitten disposal system. On occasion I have captured cats and brought them to OCAC when they are sick with mange and they are pretty good at giving them medicine and finding foster homes. If they can’t find anyone to foster them, they kill them.
Recent calls to OCAC:
May 16, 2025 Cypress College reports a dead cat and an orphaned kitten behind building 34. OCAC Activity # A25-009869
June 9, 2025 RP has three 4-week old kittens with mange in a box. The mom cat is no longer around. OCAC Activity # A25-012023
These were Gray Mama’s kittens. She did not abandon them. She was scared away by employees so they could sluff off these kittens on OCAC instead of having a TNR program.
July 2, 2025 RP (redacted) works at the college and reports an injured kitten behind the theater building in the corner. There is also a dead kitten in the same corner. RP will be available for contact till 4:00. OCAC Activity # A25-014041
July 8, 2025 15:09 RP (redacted) called to advise that the security guard found 6 kittens (3-5 weeks old). RP is holding them in the office and has not seen the mother as or Morning-Now. RP advised that the responding officer should park in front of building #34. ACA EO. OCAC Activity # A25-0145515
Impounded a litter of six healthy black/white healthy kittens. MT#13
This cat that they claim abandoned her kittens already has another litter of kittens. When you rob a mother cat of her kittens she immediately goes into heat again.
This dishonest ploy that the mother cat has abandoned her kittens has been used on OCAC by Cypress College employees so many times that I have asked them to RED FLAG this property to be on the lookout for the people making these claims.
These were Gray Mama’s kittens. She did not abandon them. She was scared away by employees so they could sluff off these kittens on OCAC instead of having a TNR program.
The City of Cypress paid $680,000 to OCAC for services in Cypress. Cypress College is having the city fund their kitten disposal system rather than pay to have the cats spayed and neutered and leave them alone. This has been going on for years!
On another occasion when Black Mama (listed on the website with her whole story https://catsofcypresscollege.com/injustices%3B-students%2Fcats/f/black-mama-part-2-her-death) suffered blunt force trauma and seemed to have a broken back. Then someone doubled tapped her a day later and ripped her side open leaving a square rip about the size of a rake swung sideways on her side. She had seven kittens a week earlier under the Red Cross Emergency Storage Container in Parking Lot 6. She was mortally wounded and crawled under the container and died. I could hear her kittens crying so I knew she wasn’t feeding them. I went to Home Depot and fashioned a tool that I could reach 12 feet back between the containers and called the kittens for hours. As one would come out, I would hook it with my homemade kitten grabber and pull it out to the parking lot. OCAC came out at 10:30 PM and retrieved the kittens. The officer called me at 1:30 AM to let me know he’d finally made it back to headquarters and was hand feeding the kittens. But you didn’t work with them to do this, your employees actions forced me to work with them.
OCAC Officer Joe, Activity # A-23-0016768
Q: Is the college denying cats food and water?
A: The college provides clean water the cats. This stations are maintained by college staff to provide for the cats’ wellbeing. The college does not feed feral cats and, in fact, it is a misdemeanor crime to feed wild animals. The college’s practice on feeding cats and other animals aligns with the city’s municipal code.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
THIS IS PATENTLY FALSE! Please name this employee so the press can interview them. Cypress College put out a few water stations the day we held the demonstration in front of the Bookstore Tuesday, August 26, 2025. Those were brand new water stations. Several of them were empty and just props.
I posted a TIKTOK video showing the ridiculousness of putting these props out there. As of Sunday, August 31 it has been viewed 143,200 times and it’s still climbing. And I just joined TIKTOK a few days ago.
Dr. Thayer, to claim that Cypress College “provides clean water for the cats” and didn’t just put out a few water stations because you knew ABC7 News was going to be in the parking lot covering the demonstration is an absolute fabrication. Let’s just say it. It is a lie. DR. THAYER, YOU ARE LYING and the rest of your statements in this email you sent to the Cypress College Student Body are equally reliable. Contacting KTLA to get them to post your denial and demanding NPR pull the story with your denial because you know they don’t have the resources to do investigative reporting is frankly, pathetic. Cypress College deserves a President with much more integrity. As an alumnus I resent that you are lying to the Student Body.
Further, it is not a misdemeanor to feed community cats. Your signs are misleading. It is however a misdemeanor to feed the pack of coyotes you have allowed to breed on campus at the east side of the Science building.
Q: What other feral animals are known to be on campus?
A: The college has a fluctuating population of ducks that frequent the campus pond. There are also opossums, rodents, other birds and water fowl, and coyotes observed on campus grounds.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
You left out skunks, hawks, falcons, night herons but the fact that you are allowing coyotes to breed and have a den on the east side of the Science and Math building is remarkable. What’s worse is that at least one Campus Safety employee feeds the coyotes encouraging them to be on campus. Yeah, I have video proof. I observed four adults and four pups in their den in this location. I was told there are five pups but I only documented four on video.
Students were milling about after class on the east end of the building. I had to warn a woman who had come out of class who walked right over to the area, because it is a nice area and she was looking up at the sky, when I yelled to her, “Do you see that coyote crouched down in front of you? The mother was ready to protect her pups.
The woman seemed surprised and shocked at what she was hearing because she probably didn’t know Cypress College was breeding coyotes next to the Science building. When she saw the coyote crouching down in front of her she recoiled and stepped away. I started filming and walked around. I’ll just post the video here and you can go see for yourself students walking around completely unaware of a coyote den with five pups. You’ll see the coyotes try to encircle a cat and I walk up and call the cat because I recognized it, it ran towards me, stopped next to me and looked up. I told it, “you better get out of here” and then the mother coyote circled around and started coming towards me and lunged at me. It’s all in the video.
Q: Why doesn’t the college feed the cats or support others feeding the cats?
A: As mentioned above, feeding feral animals is prohibited by law as a misdemeanor crime under Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations and city municipal code. Additionally, feeding the cats only serves to increase the population of cats — and, by extension, other animals who either seek the food or prey on the cats.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
Feeding community cats is not against the law in Cypress, California. Feeding community cats in California is not illegal. Title 14 does apply to the feeding of coyotes but it doesn’t apply to community cats. A simple Spay/Neuter/Release program is what is needed.
The City of Cypress has a COYOTE MANAGEMENT PLAN on their website. In this management plan it clearly states that if you have coyotes
1. Resting near humans,
2. Entering a yard,
3. Biting or injuring an unattended pet that you should BEGIN HAZING the coyotes to get them out of the area. Cypress College is not in compliance with the City of Cypress Coyote Management Plan. It is available to you at the link provided so that Cypress College can update their coyote management plan to come into compliance with the City of Cypress.
Q: Are there other problems with cats being fed?
A: Feeding the cats is a health issue for employees and students and leftover scraps attract bugs, roaches, ants, and flies. As a result of being fed, the cats leave urine and feces behind. This results in unsanitary conditions on work equipment in the maintenance yard and in and on open project vehicles in the automotive yard. We have received numerous complaints from students and employees about their exposure to these conditions.
CATS OF CYPRESS COLLEGE ANSWER:
I have heard this complaint from maintenance workers that the cats poop on their tractor seats. I think this is highly unlikely. Cats bury their feces. However, skunks, raccoons, opossums all deposit their feces on the surface so it is more likely one of these animals that are leaving scat on their tractor seats.
Brian who drives a lawn mowing tractor has reported this to me personally. Brian also admitted to destroying the water dishes I put out for a litter of six-week old kittens during an oppressive heat wave when the day time temperatures were hitting 105 degrees Fahrenheit. He did this every day of that heat wave, as well as many other days. I’ll let the public decide which is worse. I reported Brian’s actions to AeYoung Kim, Executive Administrative Assistant to President JoAnn Schilling’s office. They assured me this definitely is not Cypress College policy. That was about 5 years ago and these actions have metastasized to include several more employees in the maintenance and facilities department and two more Presidents.
This is my rebuttal to the email Dr. Scott Thayer sent to the student body and staff of Cypress College. I feel it is important that the public have access to this information.
I’ll close by offering my video evidence and eye witness accounts of the harassment and abuse of the community cats to the students, employees, and the community at large that gaslighting the public by President Dr. Thayer and Director of Campus Safety, Craig Lee is a bad look for Cypress College and Cypress College deserves better leadership.
Dr. Thayer closed by saying:
This is an update on what is happening, and I want you to have access to this information.
I’ll close by offering my assurance to our students, our employees, and the community that we are not abusing the cats on our campus and that the allegations you may have seen are blatantly false.
Scott W. Thayer, Ed.D
President
Cypress College
T: (714) 484-7308
Come here for information about the community cats of Cypress College