Cold calling is to make an unsolicited call on (someone), by telephone or in person, in an attempt to sell goods or services. A Montana animal shelter director used ‘cold calls’ to find homes for over 120 feral working cats in a bit over a year’s time.
Cliff Bennett is the director of Flathead County Animal Shelter in Kalispell, Montana. Back in 2017 Cliff sat down and constructed a list of businesses who could use the services of a ‘working cat.’ Once the list was completed, Cliff began visiting equestrian barns, hay businesses, dairies and other businesses/farms where a free, untamed neutered mouser might be needed.
In an interview with Daily Inter Lake News, Cliff explained how the barn cat program works.
“When they are untamed, you can’t adopt them to someone who is going to have them in their house. So we had a whole new group of cats to try and help and a new group of people to try and pair them up with. It’s been a big success. That’s 120 cats that aren’t in the valley’s reproductive pool and have homes with heat and feed and water.”
Not only are the feral cats not being euthanized at the Flathead County Animal Shelter but the number of stray cats has gone down. A total of 549 cats were taken in last year and the shelter has been able to provide space for all brought in.
Between the Barn Cat Program and the Flathead Spay and Neuter Task Force, cats are alive because of the program. Cliff hopes to place 150 felines.
The businesses in need of natural rodent control are getting a free working cat that has been spayed/neutered and is vaccinated. The cats are provided an escape from the cold and are provided with food and water (because chasing rodents is ideally more of a game for cats and not a food source for survival).
To learn more about the Barn Cat Program, Cliff welcomes phone calls to (406) 752-1310.
Related barn cat articles below
Feral cats in SPCA barn cat program in NC wrote to Santa asking for a forever home
Discussion: How to successfully turn a ‘feral colony cat’ into a ‘barn cat’
Well done Cliff for being so switched on and dynamic in your efforts to save feline lives.