Cats at Work

Rats (and mice) are responsible for spreading more than 35 different diseases worldwide, including plague, hantavirus and multiple types of haemorrhagic fevers, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

And with rapid urbanization, cities worldwide have quickly become rodent-friendly. 

Sure, we generously turn to poison, gassing and traps – but these are ineffective short-term solutions to a rat problem. 

In the US of A, Chicago topped pest control firm Orkin’s Top 50 Rattiest Cities List for the sixth consecutive year in 2020. The list bases its rankings on the number of new rodent treatments performed in commercial and residential spaces. 

And the city has decided enough is enough! It began to deploy more than 1,000 feral cats to fight rats. 

Through their Cats at Work program, the Tree House Humane Society have placed teams of two to three cats outside of homes and businesses as a way to keep the rodent population in check and the city healthy – calling it a “green” solution to the vermin problem. 

People apply and pay a fee starting at $165 per cat to have the animals placed outside of their homes or businesses. Tree House provide insulated outdoor shelters, litter boxes, outdoor heating pads and a heated water bowl for Chicago’s chilly winters. Property owners are responsible for providing the cats with food, clean water and medical attention if needed.

The cats do not come inside, but rather patrol the perimeter for rats – and while they do kill some of them, “often, their pheromones are enough to scare rats away”, Tree House explained. 

In case you don’t know, feral cats are cats who have either never had any contact with humans or their contact with humans has diminished over time. They are fearful of people and survive on their own outdoors. Feral cats are not likely to ever become lap cats or enjoy living indoors. For the task in store for them, these cats have been trapped, vaccinated and neutered. 

[Note: Ferals, as well as strays – both categorized as “domestic cats” (Scientific name: Felis catus) – are increasingly referred to as "community cats" or "free-roaming cats". While they live outside human homes and exhibit wild behavior, feral cats are not wildlife]. 

According to Tree House, the program also helps provide for “feral cats who wouldn’t thrive in a home or shelter environment”.

Chicago isn’t the only place in the US that has turned to cats to fight its rat problem. 

New York City’s Feral Cat Initiative helps volunteers care for “community cats”, and launched a program in 2016 with feral cats to help keep rats out.