Feral cats chicago rats. The effort is part of its Cats at Work program, which captures street cats, neuters them and returns them to the street. One of the city’s wards has a unique solution to its rat problem. For the second year, PAWS Chicago is celebrating National Feral Cat day by organizing 40 volunteers to help build winter-proof shelters for its Community Cats program before a potentially brutal The feral cats drive away the rats through their scent and they have been doing this in Chicago since 2012. The shelter says only rescued cats who cannot thrive in a home or shelter Chicago has released more than 1,000 feral cats onto the streets — hoping to end its long-running ranking as the rat capital of the US. Oct 2, 2024 · Chicago's feral cats are fighting the city's rat problem. The most populous county in Illinois, Cook, may have a lot of rats. In this study, our goal was to assess how often free-roaming domestic The Tree House Humane Society has placed over 1,000 feral cats onto Chicago streets since 2012. America’s largest cities may have a rat problem, but Chicago thinks it could have the answer: an army of feral cats. One of Chicago's animal shelters is using some of the feral cats it catches to help tackle the city's rat problems. To deal with the problem, the rattiest city in the country (a title Chicago has held for six years running, according to Orkin) is about to get a little more catty. The Tree House Humane Society has released more than 1,000 feral cats onto Chicago's streets since 2012 in To combat the rat problem in Chicago, one North Side ward is turning to alley cats. Through a program called Cats at Work, the Tree House Humane Society, a local animal shelter, releases feral felines onto city streets. The Chicago-based Tree House Humane Society has placed more than a 1,000 feral cats on the Windy City’s streets to hunt down and deter unwelcome rodents from commercial areas and The Tree House Humane Society's Cats at Work program is helping Chicago residents find an environmentally friendly, feline solution to handling the city's numerous rats Glenn Garner is a form By “give back” Crowder means “deter rats. An animal shelter in Chicago has released 1,000 feral cats throughout the city in hopes the animals will intimidate, catch or kill the influx of rodents. An animal shelter in Chicago has released over 1,000 feral cats onto Chicago streets since 2012 to help fight the city's rat infestation. CBS Chicago reports that Chicago's 47th Ward is working on a pilot program with the Tree House Humane Society where neutered, vaccinated and microchipped feral cats are being sent back out to the streets to try and deter pesky rodents. Monica, the cat, is winning over her Logan Square neighbors after removing dozens of rats. Mar 14, 2025 · Tree House Humane Society is pursuing a mutually beneficial solution to Chicago’s rat infestation through alternative placement for feral cats who cannot be socialized and adopted in a home. The Tree House Humane Society's Cats at Work program offers an environmentally friendly solution to sending the city's rats running from the streets. Feral cat program combatting rats in Chicago Alexis Myers 142 subscribers Subscribed Well, folks, it seems a local Chicago animal welfare group has taken a page out of the Disneyland book of pest control, releasing more than 1,000 feral cats onto the streets of the Windy City to tackle the city's latest vermin problem – an onslaught of rats. More than 1,000 feral felines have intentionally been put on the prowl in Chicago streets since 2012 in an effort to fight the overabundance of rats in the city, WGN Over the past 10 years, the Tree House Cats At Work Program has put more than 1000 feral cats to work in the city of Chicago to combat their rat infestation problem. The Tree House Humane Society in Chicago is taking feral cats that can't thrive in a home or shelter, and setting them up in rat infested areas. No, unfortunately, the But thanks to progressive feral cat policies, everyone is hoping to see that ranking and the rats go away ASAP. A North Side Chicago neighborhood is putting area feral cats to work battling its rat problem. But after the law passed, the responsibility of dealing with feral cats fell to TNR organizations: nonprofits like Cats in Action and Tree House that trap feral cats, neuter or spay them and Chicago has a rat problem, and not in the 1920s-style "gangsters during Prohibition time trying to figure out which one of their crew is working with the feds" kind of way. “In an unprecedented year, the visibility of rodents has increased, creating concern for homeowners and business owners alike. Every year for the last six years, the city of Chicago has been named the rattiest in America, according to a report from a local TV station. CBS 2's Andrew Ramos has the details of a new pilot program in Niles to control an exploding Feral cats are being sent to some of Chicago's alleys and businesses to keep rats away. Now a new report reveals that in Chicago they regularly release feral cats on to the city’s streets in an effort to combat the rat infestation that has plagued the area for a decade. In New York City, a group of rat-hunting terrier, dachshund, and mutt owners patrol the streets. These cats are on the case. . A new program has placed 3,500 felines with residents to combat an explosion of rats, which has worsened on the North Side with construction projects. At least that's the hope behind a new plan in one suburb. 00 – A realistic scene of a feral cat stealthily hunting a rat in an urban Chicago setting. An animal shelter in Chicago has released 1,000 feral cats throughout the city to combat a rat crisis. The Niles Police Department has recruited a pack of five feral cats to fight the rodent population in the village. Chicago's feral cat population is a mounting issue. A charity in Chicago has released hundreds of feral cats into neighbourhoods around the city in an attempt to conquer the area’s historic rat problems. Residents of a Chicago neighborhood decided to counter the rat invasion with natural enemies — feral cats. Through a program called Cats at Work, the Tree House H The Tree House Cats At Work Program has put more than 1000 feral cats to work in the city of Chicago to combat their rat infestation problem. For these community cats to thrive, they need our support—whether that’s by feeding them, monitoring their condition, or helping them access medical services, like spay/neuter. So over the course of almost a decade 1000 cats have been released. More than 1,000 feral cats have been relocated to Chicago streets over the past several years. There's a waiting list for the cats, and a lot of The Tree House Humane Society has placed teams of cats outside of Chicago homes and businesses to keep rodents in check. Chicago has a bad rat problem, and it gets worse when old buildings are demolished. Feral cats are just one kind of animal that some cities are embracing for their rat-killing prowess. Chicago's 'Cats at Work' program through the Tree House Humane Society strategically places cared-for feral cats to control the rat problem. Five cats named Mickey, Tom, Polo, Star and Robin, who have been getting food and … Chicago\\'s Tree House Humane Society started the successful \\"Cats at Work\\" program, sending teams of two or three feral cats into a neighborhood to kill rats. Animal shelter releases 1,000 feral cats on to Chicago streets to solve rat problem Chicago’s problem with rats stretches back to 1977, when the city offered a $1 bounty for each rat killed by Chicago is overrun with rats, and residents hope that feral cats will save the day. One of the city's cat charities hopes the program will provide permanent homes for strays. That’s probably a good thing for the cats. The latest report on the variations on the "working cats" theme is a report about the Tree House Humane Society in Chicago, which dumps feral cats outside homes and businesses on… In Chicago, an organization is trying to address the city’s rat problem by releasing feral cats onto the streets. The cats are assigned a registered caretaker who is tasked with caring for the animal. 43. 🐾 ️ **Building Winter Homes for Feral Cats!** 🐱🏠 As the colder months approach, it’s time to help our outdoor feline friends stay warm and safe. CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hello cats, goodbye rats. “These are feral cats who wouldn’t thrive in a home or shelter environment. The Tree House Humane’s society’s The Cats at Work program, created by the Tree House Humane Society, has released 1,000 feral cats into Chicago combat the rat infestation. CHICAGO — For the sixth consecutive year, Chicago has been named the rattiest city in America according to Orkin. Several cities also use free-roaming outdoor cat (Felis catus) colonies to help reduce rats, but there have been no investigations of how often these cats are exposed to ARs. It says they have released 1000 feral cats since 2012. A ground-breaking 2007 ordinance protects feral cats in Chicago that have been trapped, neutered and returned (TNR) to their neighborhoods. They use cats that have been rescued but cannot be adopted out or returned to their home colony. In Chicago’s war on rats, it looks like feral cats either lack a certain killer instinct or they’re extremely picky eaters, according to a new study from Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife May 13, 2021 · A Chicago animal shelter has reportedly deployed more than 1,000 feral cats onto the streets in an effort to fight the city's rat problem. ” Anyone interested in hiring a cat can apply for one online. Let's find out Chicago is counting on a cold winter, a bigger city rodent-control team, poison, dry ice and an unofficial army of feral cats to stem a recent infestation of rats. Image by DALL·E 2024-10-28 12. Here’s how you can easily build a cozy winter shelter for feral cats in your neighborhood! 🧡 1️⃣ **Start with a sturdy container** (like a Rubbermaid bin or even an old cooler). Progressive Policies for Chicago Cats Thanks in part to those pesky rats, Chicago’s feral cat policies became among the most progressive in the nation. The small legion of Windy City cats come from the Tree House Humane Society, which says the program will allow feral cats scheduled for euthanization to live a productive life sinking their fangs into rodents. They then have a rigorous application and approval process for the cat placements. The Tree House Humane Society kicked off a program to release feral felines into areas experiencing rat problems. All the cats they released are spayed/neutered so as a result they won't contribute to a "cat explosion" of population How to get rid of the rodents? Why cats of course. ” But Ocampo-Solis also myth-busts a common misconception about Chicago’s feral cats and her organization’s "Cats at Work" program. Rats are managed using anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in cities worldwide, but these compounds cause morbidity and mortality in nontarget wildlife. According to a report from local Chicago news station WGN9, the city has released more than 1,000 feral cats to solve the problem. Feral cat activists, who desperately would like excuses to avoid euthanasia, return time and again to the delusion that outdoor cats reduce rat numbers. The cat has a scruffy coat, alert posture, and intense gaze. To combat this issue, the Tree House Humane Society has placed over 1,000 feral Chicago’s Tree House Humane Society has found a way to solve two problems at once: they’re taking feral cats that are unable to thrive in a home or shelter and placing them into the care of Windy City? More like Ratty City. These cats are called feral cats because they live outdoors and survive using their hunting instincts. Trap Neuter Return (TNR) There are tens of thousands of outdoor community cats living in our neighborhoods throughout the Chicagoland area, playing an important role keeping neighborhood rat populations low. In its fight against an urban rodent infestation, a Chicago animal shelter has unleashed 1,000 feral cats onto the streets in the last decade. WGN Photojournalist Kevin Doellman has the story. As reported in the Spring, the pandemic-driven closure of restaurants forced rodents to With rat problems up 67%, Chicago is trying an old fashioned, low tech, solution to solve the problem – $600 cats. As The Wall Street Journal reports, an explosion in the Windy City’s rodent population has caused desperate CHICAGO -- Got rats? Meet the exterminators. Hundreds of cats are being hired and put to work at local homes and businesses,CBS Chicago reported. TNR Dec 9, 2025 · In Chicago’s war on rats, it looks like feral cats either lack a certain killer instinct or they’re extremely picky eaters, according to a new study from Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute. The 50th ward is putting to use a program called Tree House Cats at Work Project, relying on sterilized and vaccinated feral One thousand cats are now policing the streets of Chicago, deputized by a local shelter to fight the city's rat problem. Learn how these felines are making a difference and becoming the city's cat power. Since 2012, the Tree House Humane Society has been capturing feral felines, spaying/neutering the animals, and releasing them back into the city as part of its Cats at Work program. By placing them in Cats at Work colonies, we’re able to make sure they’re living their best lives. Learn about the concerns and potential solutions to this complex problem affecting the city. They didn't release them all at once. The Tree House Humane Society says it has released 1,000 feral cats onto Chicago’s streets since 2012. Dubbed community cats, they control rats, enable government to avoid the cost and perception of catch and kill policies, and provide love and meaning to their caretakers. id6fv, gmvgc, zgne, ylvs5, 2vurkz, lwmrp, iuxlk, 24pg, 3rrce, heqidm,