Cats of Rockwell Raises Alarm Over Removal of Cat Shelters Near Ateneo Law School

(SPOT.ph) For the past three years, the community cats around West Block in Rockwell have been happily looked after: food twice a day, medical care when needed, and a small sheltered area where they could stay safe. But recent events have raised concerns that this kind of care the cats enjoyed may no longer continue.

Cats of Rockwell, a volunteer-led group caring for around 25 to 30 community cats near Ateneo Law School, said they received an email from Ateneo de Manila University on May 25 ordering them to remove the tents, cages, and flooring used by the cats in the area in favor of a centralized system. The group was initially given until June 4 to clear the setup but the deadline was later moved to June 18.

Jamie Fournier, the advocate behind Cats of Rockwell, said Ateneo told the group it would take over feeding the cats, which would fall under its existing cat management program, ACCaP, in partnership with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). Under the Memorandum of Agreement signed in 2025, the program includes "a system of designated feeders who have been given instructions on amount and frequency of feeding. The feeding stations will also be progressively located away from areas of heavy foot traffic."

But for Fournier, the bigger concern remains unanswered: what happens to the cats after the shelters are removed?

Fournier pressed Ateneo for more specifics on how the cats would be fed, where they would stay, and what would replace the system volunteers had maintained for years, but she said no reply came.

After her repeated requests for clarification via email, Ateneo responded on June 2, saying its position remains unchanged and that it would proceed with the arrangements it had already communicated: "We do not believe that further correspondence on the same issues will be productive."

Fournier said that was the last she heard from the university.

“They shut us down without having a meeting. Just an email to say, take it out by this date,” Fournier told SPOT.ph. “It just feels like there’s no room to work together. Like, we’ve been taking care of these cats for years… At least give us assurance.”

SPOT.ph reached out to Ateneo’s Campus Safety and Mobility Office (CSMO) Occupational Safety Health Head Carl Maguera for comment, but has yet to receive a reply.

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Cats of Rockwell Makati started as Fournier’s personal effort to feed cats around the neighborhood.

What began as occasional feeding in 2024 eventually became a daily routine covering the West Block cats around Hidalgo Drive, Rizal Tower, Luna Gardens, and Amorsolo Drive. Over time, Fournier met three other Rockwell residents who helped shoulder costs for vet visits, spaying and neutering, and other medical needs.

“It has always been just to feed the cats, but I learned that it can’t just be about that. So it eventually became making sure they’re vaccinated, especially the kittens. Then we had to work on spaying and neutering them because we have to manage the population, too,” Fournier said.

As the volunteer effort grew, so did the physical setup around the cats.

The setup near Ateneo Law School came later. According to Fournier, it began in August 2025 after a community cat named Henry scratched someone at the school and was later placed in a cage without water and a litter box.

Fournier said she raised concerns over the way Henry was being kept, which led to a meeting with Ateneo. At that meeting, Fournier said all parties agreed to place a tent outside so the cats would gather in one location instead of spreading out near the school.

“Everything that we put there, it’s all our money—the flooring, the cages, everything,” Fournier said.

The need for that space became more urgent in January, when a parvo outbreak affected several community cats. It set the group back hundreds of thousands of pesos.

However, Fournier said Rockwell management eventually raised concerns with Ateneo about how the cat setup appeared to the public. She was told the tents made it look “like a wake.”

It did not help that there had already been unresolved issues between Fournier and Ateneo a few months earlier. In March, another cat in the area, Piper, was run over by a student. Fournier said she had repeatedly asked for updates on Ateneo’s investigation into the incident, including a request for CCTV footage to see what happened, but those requests were not granted.

In May, Ateneo called a meeting with Fournier on cat management. The latter said she joined the meeting thinking it would be a discussion on how they could work together, with no idea that a removal order would follow days later.

Still, Ateneo has maintained through ACCaP that campus cats are to be cared for as "valuable members of the community."

"The best way for us to take care of them is to follow the guidelines prescribed by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society. These guidelines are derived from their many years of experience with cat management. We would like to enjoin the population to follow these guidelines and other guidelines that may be released subsequently," it said in Ateneo's memo on ACCaP.

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For now, it's unclear what will happen to the Rockwell cats, but there is one immediate way to help: give one of them a permanent home. If you're interested in adopting, just message Jamie Fournier on Facebook or Cats of Rockwell on Instagram to ask which cats are ready for adoption.

All Fournier asks is that interested adopters keep the cats indoors, take them to the veterinarian as needed, and stay in touch with the group after adoption so volunteers can continue to receive updates on the cats they have cared for over the years.

Those who want to help in other ways may donate to Cats of Rockwell through the following bank account: