Cats Protection is currently offering the purr-fect solution to rural businesses and individuals suffering from ongoing rodent problems. The charity, the UK’s oldest and largest feline welfare organisation, has a surplus of working, feral cats on their books, desperate to get their teeth into a really meaty assignment.

According to Rhona Simms, Chief Veterinary Officer at Cats Protection, the charity’s Branches and Shelters across the UK are urgently in need of more rural employment opportunities for ferals keen to help farmers. “Feral cats are nervous of human contact. As they have been bred in the wild, they prefer the rigours of the outdoor life to a comfortable lap in suburbia. More relevant however is the wide range of benefits that they can potentially offer their human ‘employers,” Rhona explained.

A pair of working feral cats can provide a very efficient and environmentally-friendly alternative to chemical pest control. Their presence can even count towards obtaining an organic green badge for those farms working to become pesticide-free. As working animals they can also be counted as a tax-deductible expense.

Farms, stables, garden centres, smallholdings, country homes with outbuildings; in fact, anywhere where there is room to roam and rats to catch, will provide a feral cat with a suitable environment in which to live and work. However, potential owners must be prepared to provide their working felines with food, water, a warm shelter and veterinary care when needed.

Contrary to popular belief, regular food and neutering will not adversely affect a feral cat’s hunting ability. “We like to assure people that, in our experience, neutering and feeding a feral cat does not affect its desire or ability to find prey. It will not ‘go soft’ on you and become a cuddly lap cat,” said Rhona.

Cats Protection estimates the current UK feral cat population to be around 1.2 million. Left unchecked, numbers can increase rapidly and animals can suffer through a lack of veterinary care. Given the charity’s commitment to neutering as the only practical way to control the UK cat population, Cats Protection has been active in responsible feral cat management programmes for many years, developing considerable expertise in this area.

Whilst feral kittens aged up to 12 weeks can be successfully ‘socialised’ and re-homed in a normal home environment, this is not possible with adult ferals. Once they have been neutered, Cats Protection’s policy is to return them to their colony where a sustainable urban or rural one exists, or, find them a new home in a suitable outdoor environment where they can thrive and work hard doing what they like best!