Chicago Animal Shelter Releases 1,000 Cats Onto Streets To Fight City’s Rat Problem

A Chicago animal shelter has released 1,000 feral cats into the streets to help battle the city’s rat problem.

The Tree House Humane Society has been capturing the cats, spaying and neutering them, and then releasing them. The shelter has been employing the practice since 2012, according to People. 

The Cats at Work program takes cats that cannot be rehomed or reintegrated into their feral cat colonies and places them in residential and commercial settings experiencing a rat problem. After getting approved, the business and property owners are responsible for feeding the cats and making sure they have water and shelter.

Sarah Liss, who works for Tree House, says the cats actually eat many rats. When the cats first arrive, they kill a few, and then the rodents avoid the cat’s territory. 

“In most cases, our Cats at Work become beloved members of the family or team, and some even have their own Instagram pages!” says the shelter’s website.

Chicago has topped Orkin’s list of “rattiest cities” six years in a row. The list is based on where the most pest treatments occurred in the past year.