Fun with Feral Cats

I live right in the city of Chicago, which has the dubious honor of being the "rattiest" city in the country. Congratulations to us! NOT It has been so depressing, seeing rats run through my yard every evening at sunset, and being afraid to work in my garden. We placed black boxes of poison all over by the alley and the garbage cans, and then I found a dead rat rotting away under a large clump of monarda. My husband Dan was worried that our brick patio was collapsing because of rats tunneling underneath. I had to do something to regain my backyard from these nasty rodents! I was contemplating a rat terrier, but didn't really want to care for a dog or put up with the damage that a terrier can inflict on a garden.

Then I saw something interesting on the 9:00 news. Treehouse Humane Society, a no-kill cat shelter, had implemented a program called "Cats at Work". They trap feral cats around the city, spay and neuter them, clip the tip of one ear, and install a microchip. Then they place colonies of feral cats in private homes and also in factories as natural rodent control. These cats are completely feral, with no hope of ever being adopted as pets. Once a cat lives in the wild and reaches a certain age, they will almost always be very afraid of people.

I sent off an email to Treehouse, and received a response. A few weeks later, on Sunday, October 5, I had my feral cat colony! It was a very exciting day when Erica from Treehouse brought 4 feral cats and a large dog kennel to my house. We set up the kennel in the yard, because the cats had to be confined for 3 full weeks in order to get used to the sights and sounds of their new environment. Inside the dog kennel were two large lidded Rubbermaid containers that had been retro-fitted into little cat shelters, with a round door opening cut in the side, Styrofoam glued on the walls on the inside, and stuffed with straw. These little houses kept the cats warm and dry inside the kennel, which we also covered with a tarp to keep out the rain.

Twice a day, morning and evening, I would bring fresh wet and dry food to the kennel. The cats always disappeared into the rubbermaid houses when they saw me coming. Treehouse told me to speak softly to them and ring a small bell so that the cats would equate the bell with feeding time. There was also a large litter box in the dog kennel that I scooped out every morning. Those 4 cats had nothing to do all day but eat and poop, so I did a lot of shoveling every morning! I have to say that I did not see any rats once the kennel of cats was in place. I guess the rats didn't realize the cats couldn't get out!

Finally 3 weeks passed, and Dan and I were very excited to wait until dark on Friday night, open the kennel door, and go back in the house to watch from our enclosed back porch. We saw the cats slowly and timidly exit the kennel and disappear into the night. The next morning I anxiously looked for them, and checked the food, which had not been touched. I was so worried that they would just disappear and never come back. Erica from Treehouse kept in close contact with me, and assured me that this was normal. Though it was late October when we released the cats, it was right in the middle of a string of beautiful, warm weather. I don't blame the cats for taking off and partying!

We kept watch for them from our back porch, and finally on Sunday night, almost 2 days later, we noticed the motion detector light by our garage go on, and we finally saw one of our cats sneaking down the garden border toward the food and water bowls. We were so excited! One by one, over the next few weeks, all 4 cats came back, and we would catch little glimpses of them from our back windows. Then we noticed that one cat was missing, a large gray and white shorthair named ElGreco. It has now been a full month since I have seen him, I hope he is ok and that he has just gone to live with another colony somewhere in the neighborhood. Maybe he will come back some day.

The other 3 cats, Moo Shoo, Goblin and Brando, are right at home in our yard. They live in little wooden cat houses that we equipped with electric kennel heating pads covered with straw, so they are nice and warm. On nicer days they like to hang out on top of the houses. We have a sheltered feeding station set up on our patio with electric heated bowls for water and food. I put food down twice a day, and ring the little dinner bell. Our yard is the Four Seasons for these lucky cats! I feel like we are the lucky ones, though, because I just know that the rats will be gone, and come next spring I will be able to happily work in my garden again. I may have to shovel some cat poop out of freshly-cultivated soil, but I will be happy to do it.