“The rattiest city in America” is getting some help from feral cats. Chicago is known to have a rodent problem. But an innovative program by Tree House Humane Society aims to reduce the rat population and help feral cats have homes.
People in Lakeview have said that the rat numbers are so bad that they rodents are running across their feet as they leave the house. So the humane society has found a way to place feral cats onto Chicago streets after rescuing them from pounds. They spay and neuter the cats and set them up with human families, but the cats continue to live outside, which is what they are used to.
It works because just the scent of cats keep the rats away from homes and the cats. The cats, having lived outside their entire lives, like to hunt them. But as they are getting food from the human families that care for them, they don’t really eat the rats (not often at least).
The Tree House Humane Society says they have placed over 1,000 feral cats since 2012.
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