Meet The LA Memorial Coliseum's Rat-Catching Crew Of More Than 25 Feral Cats

If you're filing out of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum late enough after a University of Southern California game, you might catch a glimpse of one of the 25 to 30 feral cats that call the stadium home.

Though they're feral, some of the Coliseum's cats are familiar enough with security guard Rick Halpin that they'll let him get close, including the stadium's resident feline matriarch Sunny.

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Courtesy Rick Halpin

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That's in large part thanks to their caretaker, Rick Halpin, who's worked security at the Coliseum for about five years. He's earned a few nicknames in that time: "Cat Whisperer," "Dr. Doolittle," and his preferred moniker, "Cat-Man-Do."

"I'm an animal lover, so it's like, I got a good job here with good people at the greatest stadium in the world," Halpin told me near one of the service entrances at the venue before starting his shift. "And I got pets, too."

How the cats are looked after

Halpin makes sure the cats have a steady supply of food every day he's on site — and when he's not around, his coworkers take over for him. For a typical feeding session last Saturday, Halpin poured out dry cat food from a multi-gallon container, and it only took a few moments for the cats to come out of the woodwork and start leisurely eating the kibble.

Halpin said veterinarians come by the Coliseum to catch and monitor the cats. They make sure that the cats are healthy, fixed, and up to date with their shots, and they check on animals that might need more care, like a cat named Tripod that's missing part of his right hind leg.

Halpin doesn't mind keeping other animals around, including possums. The staff calls this one Porky.

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Courtesy Rick Halpin

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Other species also hang out at the stadium on occasion, namely opossums and raccoons. Since they get along with the cats, Halpin has no problem feeding them and keeping them around too.

And while the Coliseum sees its share of drunken visitors, especially during USC football games, they haven't presented any issues for the stadium's permanent residents. Halpin said the cats are now used to being around big crowds of people, and these days they've even started to emerge from their hiding spots before the venue empties out.

"I've never seen anybody do anything abusive to them. That would be a challenge on my job security," he said with a laugh.

The cats' job

The cats entertain visitors and give animal lovers on staff something to do in their down time, but make no mistake: They're on the clock too. Halpin said the stadium also uses other pest control measures, but having cats around keeps the number of rats to a minimum.

"I've talked to people from concessions that have been at stadiums all over the country," Halpin said. "They said the ones that don't have actual cats at the stadium, they still got rats. And we don't have many. I've never seen a rat here."

The cats are adept at taking out a variety of prey — Halpin said he's even seen one of them take down a pigeon.

And even though the cats have a steady source of food, Halpin said some of them still prefer to hunt for prey, whether it's for fun or a supplemental meal.

Tripod (left) and his sibling are just some of the cats that were out feeding and lazing about on a recent afternoon at the Coliseum.

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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist

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Meet the cats

Most of the cats spend their time in an area close to the Coliseum's northwest service entrance that Halpin calls "the jungle."

Halpin names most of the cats himself, and he said he usually gives them simple, gender-neutral names — especially since it can take a little time for him to get a close look at them.

Most cats take to "Cat-Man-Do" before long, but there are exceptions, especially with feral cats that made their way to the Coliseum from the mean streets of L.A. as adults. One such cat is a Maine Coon Halpin calls Cujo.

"She was one of those cats that was a loner, and if you got near it, it would let you know it didn't want you near it," Halpin said. "First couple years I worked here, I was afraid of her, but she's accepted us all now."

Halpin, who's adopted a total of three cats from the stadium, said he didn't mind Cujo giving him the "once-over."

But Cujo stuck around and made her home alongside the rest of the Coliseum's feline crew, like Sunny, an orange cat that Halpin guesses is the mother or grandmother of a lot of the cats on site, and C.C., a striking gray cat that he ended up adopting.

Halpin has even adopted some of the cats he's encountered at his job, including this one, C.C. (short for "Coliseum cat").

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Courtesy Rick Halpin

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And Halpin's open to new members joining the crew. He said new cats turn up from time to time, potentially because of the abundance of food and hiding places at the Coliseum.

"They got it made," Halpin said.

And while veterinarians have caught and fixed as many of the Coliseum's cats as they can, they just got confirmation that they had missed a couple — Halpin's spotted a new litter of kittens.

"We're expanding our family here at the Coliseum," Halpin said with a wide smile on his face.