What would you do if you found an abandoned cat crying in a parking lot, starving to death?

Lauren Arendt, senior photo-illustration major, has one dog, three cats and three snakes. The dog was the only pet she paid for.

“My boyfriend Mike found one of our cats, Baby, crying so loud in the Dale Terrace parking lot he thought it was a little kid lost and screaming,” Arendt said.

“We were scared to even handle Baby because he was so skinny and malnourished, but he’s fat now — all of our cats are,” Arendt said laughing.

“All our animals, except the dog, we took from people who just could not take care of them anymore,” Arendt said. “I just can’t say no!”

Jeramie Selders, a senior visual communications design major, found his cat KT in his backyard.

“My roommate found her. She was probably only a week old and was covered with fleas,” Selders said. “She was so young we had to bottle-feed her for a while.

“We tried to get rid of her, but all the shelters were full and the veterinary doctor said we had to get KT her shots even before we did give her away,” Selders said. “I think I ended up taking her to the veterinary clinic about four times.”

After spending about $200 at first on KT, Selders and his roommates grew attached to her.

“KT is about 6 months old now and all my roommates love her and we could never get rid of her,” Selders said.

Jessica Long, junior communications strategies major, was surprised one mid-November night when her roommate came home with a 6-week-old puppy without asking her.

“We aren’t even allowed to have pets in our apartment, but I didn’t want to say no because the puppy was so cute,” Long said. “It became a constant process taking Jasmine outside and then watching her every second because she chewed everything. It’s a huge time constraint.”

Long and her roommate soon realized they did not have enough time to take care of the dog and by the end of January Long’s roommate gave Jasmine to her boyfriend’s family.

“When you get a puppy, your entire schedule changes, it’s similar to taking care of a small child,” Long said.

Contact social services reporter Jessica Sprowl at [email protected].