The CNN video tells us that Chicago has the worst rat problem in America. A lot of people think that domestic, stray and feral cats are not very effective at catching rats. It depends upon the individual cat but the important point to note here is that we are not discussing how effective feral cats are at killing rats. We are pointing to the fact that feral cats are excellent rat deterrents. Cats drive rats away from a location simply because of their presence. That’s the effectiveness of cats in this instance and which is why a cat shelter in Chicago is selling groups of feral cats and a good price to help businesses such as this brewery who were losing expensive grain to rats. If a rat breaks into a bag of grain then that bag has to be thrown away and as the guy in the video states it’s worth money and lots of pints of beer.

Another important aspect of the brewery story is that these guys like the cats being around. They add an extra dimension to the workplace. They enhance it and make it a little bit more pleasant. Obviously you have to look after the cats but this is the small price you pay to keep the rats at bay! And it is a beautiful partial solution to the so called feral cat problem; putting them to use which benefits both cats and human.

Former feral cat keeps rats at bay in brewery. Screenshot.

• Rats can be far more aggressive and courageous than modern domestic cats
• Queen should adopt a few rescue cats to keep rats at bay at her crumbling palace
• Gerbils caused the Black Death, neither rats nor cats!

TNR’ed feral cats protect a brewery from rats. Screenshot.

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