Stray Cats Guard Chicago Brewery, Protect Precious Beer Grain From Rats

[Little Tich]

Source: DNAinfo Chicago, October 30, 2015

RAVENSWOOD — If you're a brewery and you've got rodents chewing through 50-pound bags of expensive grain, who you gonna call?

Ghostbusters.

Meet Venkman, Raymond, Egon and Gozer — Empirical Brewery's "Ghostbusters"-named feral cat colony, adopted in December through the Tree House Humane Society's Cats at Work program.

"If a brewer says they don't have rats, they're lying," said Bill Hurley, owner of Empirical, 1801 W. Foster Ave.

Rodents are attracted to the extremely high-quality grain that breweries stock by the truckload. To the rats, it's like a "giant block of cheese," Hurley said.

Empirical hired an exterminator to pay regular visits to the brewery, but still found itself throwing money out the window in the form of gnawed-on bags of barley.

Enter Tree House, which has moved 264 feral cats within Chicago and 130 in the suburbs, according to Jenny Schlueter, manager of Cats at Work.





Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151030/ravenswood/cats-patrol-north-side-brewery-protect-precious-beer-grain-from-rats

Link to distillerycats instagram: https://instagram.com/distillerycats/

Cats at Work factsheet: http://www.treehouseanimals.org/site/DocServer/Cats_at_Work_FactSheet_2014.pdf?docID=741

[bullwinkle428]

1. Raise a glass to working kitties every day!

K&R.

[Liberal_in_LA]

20. ..

[niyad]

2. love it

[Warpy]

3. So many stores in Boston have store cats

the public health inspectors developing selective blindness unless they were badly kept.

I'd think bakeries and breweries would be the best places to keep working cats.

[starroute]

4. I've also seen cats in places that sell animal feed

And in restaurant basements, particularly in New York City.

[dembotoz]

5. thats silly just store the grain in some pyramids like god intended us to do

[Shandris]

18. Not to put too fine a point on it...

...but did you notice the pyramid shape on the logo in the first picture? WE FOUND THE CULPRITS! Grain thieves, the lot of them!

[TwilightGardener]

6. LOL, love the Kitty Barracks in bottom pic.

[darkangel218]

7. Hehe! Cool names!

Nice cat house too. It seems the working kittens are well looked after

Purrr!

[Midnight Writer]

23. And the cat in the photo looks healthy, well fed and clean

[darkangel218]

24. 2 other kittens (well, cats, lol) are pictured at the link too.

They all look good.

[Agschmid]

8. Love this story.

[Logical]

9. Stray Cats??? The band??? Nt

[Arugula Latte]

57. They're an Australian band called Cats at Work...Big Hit: "Safety Pounce"

We can pounce if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't pounce and if they don't pounce
Well they're no friends of mine

[Eleanors38]

63. Cat Power!

[Laffy Kat]

10. Remember several countries in Europe..

You'd walk by a bakery store front and see a kitteh curled up asleep in the window right beside the baguettes. It's considered a sign of cleanliness.

[ryan_cats]

11. Do they strut? n/t

[nadine_mn]

12. I love the Cats at Work program...every community should have one

What an awesome way to deal humanely with feral cats and reduce rodent population.

Just love that this program is so well embraced

[Tab]

13. At first, I thought the headline was referring to the Stray Cats band

was expecting an interesting story

[valerief]

14. The best part is the cats get to do what they love most--hunt! nt

[SoapBox]

15. Love this story.

I'm more of a doggie type than a kitty type but am 100% in favor of any group that is saving lives...this story in particular is great because the cats are doing something they love...watching, stalking, watching some more and maybe even getting a prize.

Thanks for posting.

[KT2000]

16. our local farmer's co-op

keeps cats in their warehouse. They keep a bag of cat food torn open so they won't open other ones themselves. They keep the warehouse clear of mice and rats.
Yeah cats! - and I love the tough guy in the photo!

[SheilaT]

17. It's my understanding that cats became domesticated

around the time humans started storing grain. The stored grain attracted rats. The rats attracted cats. The rest is history.

[yardwork]

47. I've read that too.

A rat can spoil a mind-boggling amount of grain in a short time. They don't just take what they need.

[Eleanors38]

64. Some say the Nubian cities (South of Egypt) had grain which attracted rats which attracted

The desert cat into town. The desert cat can still be found wild, and is about the size of an average domesticated cat.

[eggplant]

19. One of our local breweries keeps cats as well.

They don't have to spray any poisons, which keeps the grains from absorbing any of it.

[U4ikLefty]

21. Feral cats are an invasive species in America. nt

[darkangel218]

25. Yah OK.

[U4ikLefty]

27. It's true.

[darkangel218]

28. Then go volunteer and donate to Cat rescue groups.

Complaining about it won't solve a thing.

[U4ikLefty]

30. Did not complain. I stated a fact.

[U4ikLefty]

33. Facts do not bother me.

The (neutral) fact was absolutely related to the topic.

[darkangel218]

34. And I gave you solutions.

The cats in the article were placed there by a cat rescue group.

PS: I get it. Have a great day.

[U4ikLefty]

35. I posed no problem.

The fact that feral cats are an invasive species is not a problem. The problem you allude to is a human created problem. Irresponsible pet owners suck and the poor animals suffer.

I am hopeful that those cats are kept indoors. You have a great day as well.

[Rex]

37. They been around America for 3 million years.

Sorry Charlie.

[U4ikLefty]

38. They are a non-native, invasive species.

https://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/nuis_exo/dom_cat/

[Rex]

48. That nice, but feral cats been around for millions of years.

Sorry Charlie.

[U4ikLefty]

54. They are a non-native, invasive species.

https://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/nuis_exo/dom_cat/

No Luck Chuck.

[alp227]

69. As opposed to bobcats or lynx or cougars? nt

[U4ikLefty]

70. Bobcats are a North American subcategory of the Lynx, therefore bobcats are native.

Last edited Thu Nov 12, 2015, 03:39 AM - Edit history (2)

Some Lynx are native and others are not.

Cougars AFAIK are native to the Americas.

[darkangel218]

72. Don't bother.

They are not open to dialogue.

[U4ikLefty]

73. I responded to you four (now five) times.

I am done (per post #71) because I had my say and knew the insults would come....and here we are.

Have a good evening.

[darkangel218]

74. I have nothing else to say to you.

You're flamebaiting an OP which is about stray cats who found a home, a happy ending story. You obviously don't care about the OP, and want to bring in your negative snark.

Enough said, please don't respond to me again, as I have not responded to any of your posts after you made your intentions known.

[U4ikLefty]

77. I thought you had nothing left to say to me, yet

you post three more sentences of insults...nice.

Eventually I knew someone would lower themselves to insults...congrats.

BTW, this is GD where people discuss things, even uncomfortable facts like feral cats are an invasive species. And this outfit releases cats outside as well:

Enter Tree House, which has moved 264 feral cats within Chicago and 130 in the suburbs, according to Jenny Schlueter, manager of Cats at Work. She's placed cats in factories, barns, a hotel loading dock, behind restaurants and in backyards across the city.

I shouldn't have replied but you insulted me & told me not to respond. You are worth no more of my time.

[LanternWaste]

42. Sounds almost relevant.

Sounds almost relevant.

[U4ikLefty]

59. Sounds almost like snark.

Sounds almost like snark.

[magical thyme]

44. and your point is?

[U4ikLefty]

60. My point is that feral cats are an invasive species in America.

that is my "point"

[magical thyme]

62. and that relates to the OP how?

It doesn't. Except in a tangential way, this is helping to reduce the population of feral cats over time.

[U4ikLefty]

66. If these cats are being released outside than they are an invasive species.

Cats should be kept indoors or penned in if outside.

Fixing and releasing an invasive species does little to reduce populations.

Do you suggest we "fix" feral hogs as well? How about "fixing" feral Burmese Pythons?

You know what? Never mind, this discussion ultimately devolves into emotional appeals and accusations of "cat hater".

[magical thyme]

68. neutering them prevents them from reproducing, which does reduce populations over time

and this program puts them to work, indoors or out depends on the situation. If you actually took the time to read the article, or even look at the picture, you'd see that these particular cats are indoors in a warehouse type environment.

You may think it is better to put poison into the environment to protect grain from mice and rats, but most people would disagree.

Burmese pythons and feral hogs are dangerous to humans and don't provide any service. Well cred for cats are not not dangerous to humans, and these cats are providing a valuable service.

[U4ikLefty]

71. If you read post #35 you will see "I am hopeful that those cats are kept indoors."

I read the article, it says:

Enter Tree House, which has moved 264 feral cats within Chicago and 130 in the suburbs, according to Jenny Schlueter, manager of Cats at Work. She's placed cats in factories, barns, a hotel loading dock, behind restaurants and in backyards across the city.

That looks like outside to me. Outside cats are free to roam, thus an invasive species.

Yes, cats kill mice...and birds, and lizards and small mammals (like Burmese Pythons) that are prey to native species.

People who let their cats roam freely outdoors, or feed feral cats are not helping things. I won't even talk about the assholes who dump their cats/kittens in a remote area because they are irresponsible.

I like cats and dogs. My last cat (Sabby) lived to be 19 years old. She killed many mice...indoors.

I had my say on the matter, so I will take my leave. Thanks for a respectful exchange.

[magical thyme]

79. and I wrote indoors or out, depending on the situation.

Feral cats don't necessarily make good pets, but they can make good workers. They can be left alone, to continue to reproduce, which would not be a good thing, or they can be captured and neutured, so they can't reproduce. Do a thorough enough job of trapping and neutering, and their numbers will go down dramatically.

Feeding feral cats also reduces their desire to kill; they have enough to do avoiding being prey to coyotes, coydogs, fisher cats and cars. I have 2 right now; one is tame enough to be an indoor cat but won't use a litter box consistently enough to live indoors to the shelter gave him to me as a barn buddie. The other fears humans too much to live indoors, but does come into my barn at night to eat.

Shelters I'm familiar with capture and neuter them. They then give them as much time as possible to acclimate to humans. Some end up as great indoor pets. Others simply never trust humans enough to do so. Those they give away to keep mice and rats out of barns where they don't belong, and in the woods where they do.

This program is an excellent way to reduce their numbers and put them to work. Unchecked, mice and rats become a serious health problem in cities and on farms. Providing feral cats with shelter and a job, reduces the poisons put into the environment.

One of the 2 cats I just took in will never trust humans enough to become a pet. The other one rarely leaves the barn or immediate area around the barn; he's very tame but refuses to use a litter box.

Btw, neither lizards nor burmese pythons are mammals.

Burmese pythons are not small, and they are not native species. And they are a threat to birds, coyotes, pet dogs, toddlers and endangered native species in Florida. And they don't have any redeeming qualities whatsoever.

"I won't even talk about the assholes who dump their cats/kittens in a remote area because they are irresponsible."
On this we are in complete agreement.

[Kalidurga]

78. So are humans.

[Arugula Latte]

58. So are humans. I hope you got "fixed"!

[U4ikLefty]

61. So are Feral Hogs and Burmese Pythons. Shall we "fix" them as well?

BTW, equating cats to humans =

[Arugula Latte]

65. You're right, I shouldn't equate cats with humans. Humans are far, far more destructive.

We've royally fucked this entire planet over from our invasive ways.

We should have stayed in Africa where we evolved and stuck with sustainable, low-impact basic survival.

Now the planet is melting, thanks to us.

[U4ikLefty]

67. Glad you admit that cats are invasive, that's a start.

They should have stayed in Africa and Asia where they were native, or indoors in America where they can do no harm to the ecosystem.

Just because there are things more destructive than cats doesn't mean that cats are not destructive...nice try.

[darkangel218]

75. Lolololol!!!

Humans come from Africa as well. I guess we should have stayed there too???

[Kali]

76. ...

74. I have nothing else to say to you.

10 minutes later

75. Lolololol!!! Humans come from Africa as well. I guess we should have stayed there too???

[Arugula Latte]

81. Thousands of species are "invasive." ... You have a strange obsession with cats being invasive.

There are billions of plants and animals all over the world that live nowhere near where they originally evolved.

Many men, in particular, who hate cats seem to particularly hate that they can't control them and make them obey, like dogs. Let's just say I'm glad you're not my neighbor.

[SunSeeker]

22. That tabby looks badass. nt

[bullwinkle428]

43. "I have come here to eat kibble, and kick rat ass. And I'm all out of kibble!"

[Blue Owl]

49. Looks just like my little mouse hunter!

n/t

[unblock]

26. wait -- these guys??

https://www.google.com/search?q=stray+cats+band+images&rlz=1C1ASUC_enUS567US567&espv=2&biw=1908&bih=925&tbm=isch&imgil=sJNwu0IVNVi2ZM%253A%253B1ar3tsZo9vQTgM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.mtv.com%25252Fartists%25252Fstray-cats%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=sJNwu0IVNVi2ZM%253A%252C1ar3tsZo9vQTgM%252C_&usg=__KstmiyxJeKCW3EEjh8Ud4nFH47o%3D&ved=0CDQQyjdqFQoTCOWvuvrch8kCFYLvJgodB1IC8Q&ei=9d1CVqXhC4LfmwGHpImIDw#imgrc=sJNwu0IVNVi2ZM%3A&usg=__KstmiyxJeKCW3EEjh8Ud4nFH47o%3D

[wheniwasincongress]

29. are the cats all fixed?

[darkangel218]

32. I would think so, since a cat rescue group set them up.

Rescue groups would never place a pet without spaying/neutering and vaccinating.

[magical thyme]

45. yes. vaccinated as well.

The Tree House Cats at Work Project is a “green”
humane program that removes sterilized and
vaccinated feral cats from life-threatening situations
and relocates them to new territories where their
presence will help control the rodent population.
http://www.treehouseanimals.org/site/DocServer/Cats_at_Work_FactSheet_2014.pdf?docID=741

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

36. Disneyland has a feral cat colony too

If you look you can always see them around Indiana Jones and the Jungle Cruise.

[Little Tich]

40. Check my Journal!

At Disneyland, feral cats rule

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026978819
Source: Mother Nature Network, July 15, 2015

[JonathanRackham]

41. Demacats

Good kitties.

[magical thyme]

46. "Cats at Work"...what a cool program!

The Tree House Cats at Work Project is a “green”
humane program that removes sterilized and
vaccinated feral cats from life-threatening situations
and relocates them to new territories where their
presence will help control the rodent population.
Volunteer caretakers humanely manage the cats for
the entirety of their lives with ongoing support from
Tree House, as mandated by Cook County’s “2007
Managed Care of Feral Cats Ordinance.” The cats’
presence alone repels rodents, causing them to leave
the cats’ new territory. Cats will also hunt and catch
rodents on occasion, but when they are fed regularly
(as mandated by the program), they usually won’t eat
them. Common methods used to control rats, such as
poison and traps, are ineffective short-term solutions.
Rat poison is also dangerous to children, pets and the
environment. Working cats are natural predators,
which provide a reliable, ongoing solution and a winwin
for both humans and cats!
http://www.treehouseanimals.org/site/DocServer/Cats_at_Work_FactSheet_2014.pdf?docID=741

[joeybee12]

50. Great idea...a humane life for the cats...anda useful one...

Everybody wins...knr

[merrily]

51. Unionize!

[kimbutgar]

52. That is a tough looking cat!

[BlueCaliDem]

53. Descendants of the Egyptian goddess, Bastet, still hard at work!

Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was considered to be a crime against her and so very unlucky. Her priests kept sacred cats in her temple, which were considered to be incarnations of the goddess. When they died they were mummified and could be presented to the goddess as an offering. The ancient Egyptians placed great value on cats because they protected the crops and slowed the spread of disease by killing vermin. As a result, Bast was seen as a protective goddess. Evidence from tomb paintings suggests that the Egyptians hunted with their cats (who were apparently trained to retrieve prey) and also kept them as loved pets. Thus it is perhaps unsurprising that Bast was so popular.
http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/bast.html

[Initech]

55. Even the cats know what's good!

[Arugula Latte]

56. Go Kitties!

Cats rule!

[JonathanRackham]

80. Litter boxes.

I wonder who cleans the litter boxes?

[Omaha Steve]

82. Thanks for posting

K&R!

OS