For ornery shelter cats, 2nd chance is a job chasing mice

Gary wasn't used to being around people. He didn't like being touched, or even looked at. If anyone came too close, he'd lash out.

He was perfect for the job. Because at the "Working Cats" program, no manners is no problem.

Philadelphia's Animal Care and Control Team established the program about four years ago to place unadoptable cats — the biters and the skittish, the swatters and the ones who won't use a litter box — into jobs as mousers at barns or stables.

The shelter recently expanded the program to move cats that were less-than-ideal pets into urban jobs at places like factories and warehouses as a sort of green pest control. The animals are microchipped, vaccinated and free of charge.

"Part of the reason cats became domesticated was to get rid of the rodent population," said Ame Dorminy, ACCT's spokeswoman. "We took advantage of their natural propensity to hunt and made an official program out of it."

Cats identified as a good match for the program are kept in a separate aisle at the shelter in a row called "TTA" — time to adjust. On a recent visit, a low growl could be heard from a cage housing a male named Spike, whose intake sheet listed his qualifications: hissing, swatting, spitting, can't be picked up. A few doors down, Prince was standoffish at the rear of his cage.

Just because cats don't want to be petted or snuggle on a lap doesn't mean they can't have good lives, Dorminy said.

At Bella Vista Beer Distributors, mice were gnawing on bags of chips overnight, leaving a mess and forcing staffers to throw out about 15 bags a day, said owner Jordan Fetfatzes.

They tried exterminators, but nothing worked. An employee found ACCT's program online and Fetfatzes eventually decided on Gary, a white male with one blue eye and one green that had "behavioral issues." Gary wasn't accustomed to people and would hiss from the crate. At first, Gary would stay in the office and would only go into the warehouse after hours.

As the weeks passed, he warmed up to workers and customers, and has transformed into a sweet, playful mascot with free rein of the store.

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