1,000 feral cats released onto Chicago streets to tackle rat explosion

[brooklynite]

The Hill

A Chicago animal shelter is using feral cats to tackle the city’s rat problem.

The Windy City has ranked number one on pest control company Orkin’s list of the “rattiest cities” in the U.S. for six consecutive years, as Chicago has had the most rodent pest treatments.

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In an effort to rein in the explosion of rodents, the Tree House Humane Society kicked off a program to release feral felines into areas experiencing rat problems.

After humanely capturing the feral cats, the humane society spays or neuters the animals and places them into residential and commercial settings with rodent infestations to act as an environmentally friendly rodent control.

The Tree House Humane Society says only rescued cats who cannot thrive in a home or shelter environment, or cannot be reintegrated into their former colonies, are used for the Cats at Work program. After receiving approval for a working cat, property and business owners are responsible for their well-being.

[JohnSJ]

1. I hope that covers going after republicans

[eShirl]

2. they better make damn sure nobody in the neighborhood has left out rat poison

[secondwind]

3. That's the problem I'm thinking about also.

When I read “Orkin”, I envisioned a problem.

[former9thward]

54. The city puts down rat poison in all the city alleys.

Almost every home has an alley behind it in Chicago. You can see the city notice at the beginning of the alley.

[Progressive Jones]

56. I used to collect those signs. They were on every post. They had a new design each year. nt

[lame54]

4. I've seen this before...

[marble falls]

5. Unfortunately, my money's on the rats ...

Cats Are Surprisingly Bad at Killing Rats | Smart News ...
[Search domain smithsonianmag.com] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cats-are-surprisingly-ineffective-keeping-urban-rat-populations-check-180970428/
Cats Are Surprisingly Bad at Killing Rats Over a 79-day period, feral felines killed just two rats, instead opting to hunt less challenging prey Urban cats are more likely to hunt down birds, mice...

[alphafemale]

16. Yeah. Give a few terriers a crack at it instead.

Much better at it.

Some rats are as big as cats, or nearly so.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

27. Yup, terriers are the ticket!

[dsc]

33. Not all of them

I had a mouse problem and my long legged jack russell was worthless in regards to solving it. He vastly prefers chasing birds.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

44. Mine has never come face to face with a rat...

but the way he used to attempt to go after squirrels when he was younger was proof enough for me.

He'd go after anything, birds, animals, other dogs, cats, you name it. One of the reasons he's always been a house dog. He's 15 now so he's lost a step along with some hearing and vision but he was a terror in his day.

[dsc]

67. I would have thought mine would be more competent

but he never caught one when I had mice. He does go after cats, birds, etc outside.

[BobTheSubgenius]

42. Our Cairn terrier was the apex predator around our home.

He was relentless and extraordinarily well-equipped physically. On open ground, a rat had ZERO chance of escaping. Obviously there are openings into which he cannot follow, but other than that...hell on wheels.

In a short sprint, no dog EVER beat him in his prime, and he was incredibly quick and agile. He's 13 now, and while still a gamer, he's not so athletic any more. The good news is, he still smells like the apex predator, so they avoid him assiduously.

A great breed for a housepet, but challenging, in some ways.

[marble falls]

43. Boy howdy! I forgot about terriers! Great idea!

[Ilsa]

36. Yep, Hermione knows best:

[Demovictory9]

49. video says cats aren't expected to catch the rats. cats presence will be enough

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. So long as they don't kill birds

Feral cats tend to do more of that.

[DenaliDemocrat]

7. I have never seen a cat tangle with a full grown rat

A big rat is pretty tough. I don’t this will work

I see someone up above has seen the same thing

[Auggie]

9. I've seen one -- ours.

Admittedly, I didn't see the fight or the kill, just the victory lap inside the house that included said rodent.

Lovely.

[Hekate]

19. Same here. Othello used to leave us the green wobbly bits on the front door mat...

He was a mighty hunter. When he finally crossed the Rainbow Bridge himself, the visible (and audible) rat population running along the top of the fence in the side yard increased exponentially.

However.... my grandpa once said that wharf rats could get as big as a small dog. He probably meant terrier size.

[alphafemale]

65. Our cat took one look at the giant rat hissing in the bedroom

She promptly decided it was out of her pay grade.

[HAB911]

8. that will probably take care of the

"wild bird problem" too

[ripcord]

10. So in a year or so

They will have to release 1000 dogs to deal with the cat problem.

[CrackityJones75]

24. I don't know why she swallowed the fly

[BobTheSubgenius]

45. I had a vinyl recording of that when I was very young!

[CrackityJones75]

60. Ha! Nice!

[BobTheSubgenius]

68. Somewhere, I have my original Mickey Mouse Club ears.

My Mousegetar turned out to be more elusive.

[sarisataka]

11. I'd like to place some bets

$10 on minimal effect on the rat population and $50 on unintended consequences

[BobTheSubgenius]

46. As soon as I read it, the words "cane toads!" leaped to mind.

[Hekate]

51. Oh hell yes. I grew up in Hawai'i, and those ubiquitous critters were everywhere...

Also, didn’t Australia import rabbits, to their detriment?

[BobTheSubgenius]

59. I'd have thought the cane toads were enough of a lesson.

funny/not funny Oz imported them to control beetles....unexpected consequences follow, as one might expect. It seems they have no natural predators, and the toxin they secrete is quite off-putting to a predator that might try one.

[ItsjustMe]

12. They need Terriers For Rat Issues

[Arkansas Granny]

14. Yep. Fast and efficient.

[Auggie]

20. Yes! They were specifically bred for that!

[jmowreader]

13. They would be better off releasing 1,000 coyotes

Cats are terrible for fighting rats because rats are half the size of cats. Coyotes will clean up your rat problem in short order. They’ll also clean up your feral cat and Chihuahua problems at the same time.

[Hekate]

25. Since coyotes have already been spotted in Central Park, NY City, I suspect they are in other cities

...as well. Yes, they do live on small animals and they are consummate survivors. They can jump a 6-foot chain link fence easily. However, they can’t go places that cats can go, like small holes, and they would not be allowed to slink inside buildings.

[SWBTATTReg]

37. I agree w/ you. A couple of times we've been driving in St. Louis city, and behold, a fox!

We had to do a double take, but when you saw the tail, you knew for sure that what you saw was a fox.

Obviously there are plenty of places and critters that these animals can hide, obtain food, etc.

It's such a weird but kind of nice feeling to see these animals in the highly urbanized portions of the city where I live.

[XanaDUer2]

30. I agree

cruel and dumb

[roamer65]

34. If people put a little bit of food out for them it will help.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

40. Edit to say: the new "owner" is responsible for feeding the cats.

I should have read the article.

This is just the working cat program run by Tree House. The headline makes it sound like they are mass dumping a thousand cats.

I was really surprised Tree House would be involved in a mass release. Then I read the article.

The new “owner” is responsible for feeding and providing a warm ish place to sleep. Iirc, it’s like $500 bucks to get two cats. So the owners have some skin in the game.

I know a few people who swear by this program. My old condo has been on the waiting list for years.


These two cats are part of that program. They hold court on the corner at 5 o’clock and get scritches from people getting home from work

The “owner” had to put up a sign to keep people from taking them in as strays.








Holding court at 5pm on a pretty busy foot traffic corner :

[roamer65]

62. If they get hungry enuff, they will eat it.

[roamer65]

64. I put food and have a double decker cat house out for mine.

I hear ya and agree.

2 all black semi ferals that adopted me. Also have had some wayward cats wander through as well.

They hang around my place now and usually wait in my driveway when I’m late for feeding time.

[Beetwasher.]

17. There Once Was a Lady Who Swallowed a Fly...

[CentralMass]

18. What could go wrong ?

[markie]

22. yup

[janterry]

21. Many years ago at a Catholic retreat center

in NY, the nuns had a pond built. As kids, we went to go visit a relative.

The first year, it was lovely. We swam and rowed in a small boat.

The second year, there were SO many flies, we didn't want to be anywhere near the pond.

So, the resourceful nuns brought in a few frogs to manage the situation.

The third year you couldn't swim in the pond because there were hundreds of frogs. I mean, ALL over the pond. You couldn't stick an oar in the water without hitting one. It was awful.

The forth year, you didn't want to swim, either. No frogs, anymore.

Snakes. Hundreds of snakes.

[Ilsa]

31. Then come the feral cats and rat terriers to

manage the snake population. Problem just keeps getting bigger and uglier, doesn't it?

[Hekate]

23. Cats are hunters who can go all kinds of places a dog can't.By the same token, working breeds of dog

...can go places a cat can’t and can tackle larger prey.

Our problem is we have turned all these animals into pets, and in the case of dogs, have also overbred them. Every canal boat in Holland used to have its Schipperke, whose job it was to catch rats. Rat Terriers got their name because they were used to kill rats. Dachshunds were sent down holes and into burrows — the name means “badger dog,” and a badger is a dangerous animal.

Dogs need handlers and can’t be allowed to go feral, as they are pack animals who will attack human beings if not properly trained. But in history, they always had a job to do.

Cats have been kept by humans ever since we started to grow and store grain, and their job from the beginning was to catch and kill rodents.

I am perfectly fine with a return to nature. My main concern is the poisons.

[Javaman]

26. thankfully, they were all fixed.

otherwise rats would be the least of their problems. LOL

[Wounded Bear]

28. I've seen this done before, on a much smaller scale, of course...

A rural RV park used to do that. Not sure how it will work in a large urban setting, though.

[pfitz59]

29. How very medieval we've become

turning back the clock

[Hekate]

52. From the time humans began to grow and store grain, cats were invited to kill the rodents...

...that came in to destroy our food supply. Because in case you didn’t know, what rats and mice don’t eat they widdle all over, which makes it inedible for humans. In addition, rats and mice and their fleas spread killer diseases. Oh, and rats will nibble on sleeping babies, as happens in slums in America.

For the past century we have relied on poisons above all else, and we have turned our small hunters (cats & terriers) into pets.

The rats are still with us.

[roamer65]

32. Just leave a little food out for them if they adopt you home or property.

That’s what I do for 2 I have. More like barn cats now.

[Ilsa]

35. Hermione knows best:

[SWBTATTReg]

38. I hope that they give shots/vaccines too if they proceed w/ this attempt. I don't know if it's a

good idea or not. When I first moved to STLMO, we had a big problem w/ feral cats (I guess abandoned by previous owners, etc.), and as the city economics improved, the neighborhood improved, the feral cats disappeared (either adopted, etc.)...

[ChrisF1961]

39. Pizza rat ain't afraid of no cats!

[slumcamper]

41. UMMM...this is dejavu-ish

I am preparing the orientation materials for a zoological research team I am accompanying to Port-aux-Francais, Kerguelen Islands in early December. It seems that the islands are overrun with feral cats, introduced or released by seafarers in the 19th-century for just this purpose.

My god. I'm not sure what to make of this.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

47. Did the seafarers spade/neuter the cats?

[sarcasmo]

48. Having delivered in Chicago over the years, some of the rats are as big as cats.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

50. I'm relieved that they were all spayed/neutered.

I should've expected such a sensible decision, especially there, but Republicans have recently made me question the sanity of others.

[Progressive Jones]

55. Tree House Humane Society is a top notch org. No surprise on the spaying/neutering. nt

[spinbaby]

57. Any responsible cat rescue would

I work with a cat rescue that sometimes places so-called “barn cats.” The cats are not only fully vetted and fixed, but we inspect their future living conditions to make sure they have adequate shelter and regular meals. We recently placed some in a luxury horse stable.

[tonedevil]

53. They could have used Bummer and Lazaruss..

frequently misidentified as Emperor Norton's dogs they were truly sovereign citizens of the city of San Francisco. They killed rats by the 100s making them heroes to the shop and saloon keepers around town. So much so that when the dog catcher wanted to lock them up causing such an outcry from the aforementioned shop and saloon keepers that the city declared them agents of the city. Chicago just needs some canine agents.

[sanatanadharma]

58. Everyone keep calm! The rats are gone; the kracken too...

...tomorrow the elephants will be released to deal with the giant sloth problem.

[Deminpenn]

66. Pennsylvania SPCA offers working cats, too

https://www.pspca.org/working-cats

In Pittaburgh, there have been stories in the local papers and on the local news about feral cats working in local breweries especially with the expansion of craft brewing. The owners of the working feral cats seem quite happy with them for controlling vermin.