To many people, Fresno State is just an educational establishment. But for cats, squirrels and other furry and feathery animals, Fresno State is their home.

Many cats roam around campus, primarily at the University Student Union. Most of them are cautious of humans but there are a few that could not care less.

“Some of them [cats] are quite friendly and they will come up to you and ‘mew’ at you and they’ll act like they want attention,” said Fresno State’s Catalog Editor April Schulthies.

Schulthies remembered a black and white cat that used to get close to her. She named the cat “le Mew” or “Miss Mew.”

“She would come up and rub against my leg and she wanted to be petted, but she’s the only one I’ve ever known who’s like that,” Schulthies said.

Where the cats come from is a mystery to Schulthies.

She said some cats were abandoned pets, and she knew that some were born on campus. Schulthies said she bumped into a group of students once who were rounding up kittens they found on campus.

More than cats roam in Fresno State’s animal kingdom, however.

Schulthies found herself amazed by the behavior of the crows around campus.

She used to feed peanuts to squirrels and crows started approaching her for peanuts too.­ ­Schulthies said she became a recognizable figure when she started to feed the crows.

“They’ll [the crows] follow me around the parking lot for peanuts and they know my car now,” Schulthies said. “Sometimes I’ll be in my car driving home and they’ll be swooping in because they want peanuts. The crows are very cute.”

Dr. Michael Clifton of the English department recalled many animal-related experiences since he started at Fresno State in 1982.

Not all the animal sightings have been Disney-esque with animals happily cohabitating with people.

He said an ex-staff member of Fresno State’s library swore she was attacked by crows. She told Clifton the crows “ganged up on her and sort of yelled at her all the way across campus.”

Clifton said he remembers one instance of the animal food chain.

“I thought that the [sparrow]hawk was hurt because it was fluttering around in a tree,” Clifton remembered. “I realized the reason it was fluttering was because it just had caught and killed a squirrel. It was trying to find a place to wedge the body inside and to eat it.”

About seven years ago, Clifton said he had a surprising encounter with a fox on campus.

“I thought, ‘That’s the strangest looking cat I’ve ever seen,’” Clifton said. “Then I looked at it for a while, I thought, ‘The tail is wrong, head is wrong, that’s not a cat.’ Then the fox got paranoid because it saw me watching it. It was weirdly tame. It was walking around campus during the day.”

Cats and the occasional fox are not the only bushy tailed creatures on campus.

Abel Blanco, a trainee in the child welfare automation program, said squirrels always jump out and then jump away.

“They scare you sometimes when you’re walking,” Blanco said.

Blanco said squirrels walk up to people eating and act like dogs””begging for food.

“They’ll just stare at you so it’s kind of a weird experience,” he said.

Nick Durbano, a student in the business department, said he sometimes feeds the squirrels the crust of his bed.

“Sometimes when I’m eating around here they ask for food and stuff, that’s just kind of funny,” Durbano said.

Schulthies said she believes that students, staff and faculty at Fresno State are positive about the wildlife on campus and should be supportive as well.

“I think it’s good for the students and the faculty and staff because a lot of them like seeing the animals,” Schulties said. “It makes Fresno State more than just a place to come to. It makes Fresno State more like a home.”