Working cats Sally, left, and Thomas wait for dinner in the backyard of the Juadines family home Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. The family received the cats through the Animal Foundation of Southern Nevada’s Working Cats program to manage rodents.
Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Jessica Juadines knew she had a problem when she found rat droppings on her porch.
She could have set out traps or used poison or called an exterminator. Instead, she opted for a more natural remedy — cats.
She adopted two of them from the Animal Foundation’s working cats program. It finds homes for felines that aren’t quite suitable as house pets but are happy to live outdoors or around a warehouse with limited human contact.
"From the moment we brought them in, we haven't had a problem," Juadines said.
Cats are natural hunters and even the scent of a cat can keep rodents away, said Christi Dineff, who oversees the program.
"Cats’ DNA is still the same as their wild ancestors," she said.
After dark, Juadines' cats — one male and one female — crawl out of hiding and show up at her door to eat.
They sleep inside a small cat house with blankets in her backyard.
The female cat warmed up to the family and lets them pet her while she's eating. The male is still a little shy, Juadines said.
Most of the Animal Foundation's working cats were living outdoors around buildings or under bridges before animal control officers removed them and brought them to the shelter for being a nuisance. Others might have been kept as pets but had little human interaction.
Working cat Sally waits for dinner in the backyard of the Juadines family home Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. The family received the cats through the Animal Foundation of Southern Nevada's Working Cats program to manage rodents.
In any case, they just don’t have the right temperament to be house pets and are skittish around people.
"The working cat option is our last-ditch effort to find a proper placement for these cats," Dineff said.
Working cats still need shelter from extreme heat and cold. They need basic food and water, as well as care from a veterinarian if they get sick or injured.
The Animal Foundation sterilizes, vaccinates and microchips working cats, which are are free to adopt.
The rescue group recently adopted out its last working cat but the shelter gets new strays all the time, Dineff said.
"We would love to have adoptions lined up. The less time they spend in the shelter, the better for the cats," she said.
