{"id":26806,"date":"2026-02-24T15:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?post_type=story&p=26806"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:34:14","slug":"clark-senior-rescues-san-juans-stray-cats-using-gis-tools","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/02\/24\/clark-senior-rescues-san-juans-stray-cats-using-gis-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Clark senior rescues San Juan\u2019s stray cats using GIS tools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Creating a map with purr-pose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"student<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For biology<\/a> major Lauren Bostwick \u201926, M.S.\/GIS \u201927, a desire to help stray animals combined with her abilities in technology led her to create a powerful tool of compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bostwick became excited by new possibilities after taking Intro to GIS during her sophomore year. She wanted to explore projects that incorporated her new skill, and found her opportunity in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From June through August 2024, Bostwick apprenticed at the University of Puerto Rico in the capital city of San Juan, conducting research on seagrass genomes. The project involved bioinformatics, which, she says, is like computer coding for analyzing genomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During downtime, Bostwick would play with the city\u2019s stray cats, of which there were many. San Juan\u2019s feline overpopulation is well-documented by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health<\/a>, and with a first-hand view of the issue, Bostwick began thinking about ways to improve the animals\u2019 health. She began developing Kitty Konnect, a pilot program that employs GIS technology to address the feral cat population in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n