A Chicago organization released one thousand feral cats in a desperate bid to end its reputation as the nation’s most rat-infested city.
The “Cats At Work” program comes on the heels of the Windy City being designated America’s rattiest city for the sixth year in a row by pest control company Orkin.
“Rats have taken to the streets of Chicago, yet again,” Orkin wrote on its webpage announcing its recent award to Chicago as the country’s most vermin-infested city.
The Windy City program is sponsored by Chicago-based Tree House Humane Society, which claims only feral cats are returned to the streets after they are neutered.
The group says on its webpage:
Cats are placed two or three at a time into residential or commercial settings in order to provide environmentally friendly rodent control. Property and business owners provide food, water, shelter, and wellness to the cats who work for them. In most cases, our Cats at Work become beloved members of the family or team and some even have their own Instagram pages.
“These are feral cats who wouldn’t thrive in a home or shelter environment. By placing them in Cats at Work colonies, we’re able to make sure they’re living their best lives,” the group added.
The group also says that cats also release pheromones that drive rats away even without killing them.
“While feral cats do kill rats, often their pheromones are enough to scare rats away,” it said.
Rats are not the only vermin problem facing the Windy City. Orkin also handed Chicago its top award as the most bedbug-infested city for at least the last three years.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.