Ringtail Cat with a Taste for Dove Chocolates Apprehended at Northcentral University

Arizona's "State Mammal" was mystery roommate.

Prescott Valley, Arizona–August 24, 2007 — Shortly after Northcentral University staff moved into their brand new 52,000 square-foot world headquarters on the edge of Prescott Valley, Arizona in May, they knew they weren’t alone.

Almost every morning, staff members came in to find knocked over water glasses and small, cat-like footprints on desks and chairs in the three-story building. All sorts of speculations were made as to what type of visitor this was, so Sondra Jacobson, Mentor Affairs IT Liaison, and Cindy Richter, IT Support Technician at NCU, decided to find out. “I’d come in every morning to find footprints originating from the little fountain I have on my desk, and I got very curious as to what was leaving them,” Jacobson said. “The prints were unusual – too small for a house cat and the wrong shape for a rodent, and it helped itself to my M&M’s,” Jacobson added.

With NCU staff alerted to help solve the mystery, there were observations of tiny footprints coming out of ceiling vents, down cubicle windows, across desks…and then there were the missing Dove chocolates. “When I saw it was going for chocolate, I knew whatever it was, it was a girl,” smiled Richter.

Because it only came out at night, had an unusual footprint and had no trouble navigating from ceilings to floors, Richter and Jacobson began to believe the visitor was a Ringtail Cat, a secretive relative of the raccoon family. “My theory was confirmed by a ranger in the Tonto National Forest last week,” said Richter. “When we knew that’s what we had, Sondra put in a call to Bryan Colby’s Wildlife Services, which specializes in ethical live trapping,” added Richter. The Ringtail Cat, while not rare, is rarely seen and is the Arizona state mammal and protected.

To Catch a Cat

Colby baited and set some traps the night of August 21, making sure one of them was in the cubical where the Dove chocolates were. “I had some in a cup on my shelf and was keeping track to see how many were being eaten,” said Rose Pannebaker, an NCU registrar. “You could tell it had been trying to knock the cup over when the supply got low.”

Early Wednesday morning, August 22, Richter arrived at NCU and began to check the traps. She found the little Ringtail Cat in the first trap she checked – the one in the cubical with the chocolate. Bryan Colby was called right away and came out to retrieve the shy animal, thankfully unharmed, except for maybe questionable nutrition. “I’m very surprised to see it in such good shape, given its diet,” Colby said. “They generally do better with insects and small rodents.”

According to an article in Arizona Highways, Ringtail Cats do sometimes find themselves in abandoned buildings, but prefer a rocky, wooded home. It is unclear how it ended up at the NCU world headquarters, because it is surrounded by open plains. Although not an ideal home, it was able to survive and even thrive for the three months before it was caught. Because they are nocturnal, shy, and more prone to a rugged terrain, Ringtail Cats are rarely seen in suburban areas, and even more rarely inside occupied office buildings.

When the word spread throughout the building Wednesday morning that the mystery visitor had been apprehended, staff came streaming out to see the unusual animal, many of whom had never heard of a Ringtail Cat, and certainly never seen one. Although clearly frightened, the cat did appear in pretty good health. “It’s time to get it out to the wild,” said Colby, after NCU staff had a brief chance to learn about their unusual roommate. Colby, who is a professional in ethical live trapping, was very knowledgeable about the cat and careful to make sure it was handled safely. “These animals are protected, and need to be given the best possible chance at recovery,” Colby added.

Sondra Jacobson had taken a personal interest in the creature from the beginning and joined Bryan Colby at the release site, a gorgeous spot at Watson Lake in nearby Prescott, which the little cat will call home. “This animal will be in seventh heaven out here,” said Colby. “The lake is full of crawdads, which they love and it will never have to leave the area for any reason. It broke my heart to think it was living all that time indoors,” Colby added.

“I’m very glad it turned out this way, that it was safely caught and released in a place it can live a normal life,” Jacobson said. “But I wonder if it will miss the chocolate?”

About Northcentral University

Founded in 1996, Northcentral University (www.ncu.edu) is an innovator in 100% online higher education, offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business and technology management, education and psychology. Their 52,000 square foot “animal sanctuary” was completed in May of 2007 on 49 acres on the outskirts of rapidly-growing Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Contact: Cynthia Jones, Marketing Manager, Northcentral University
928-771-6882