Best Friends Animal Society Has Cats For Hire!

Best Friends Animal Society Has Cats For Hire!

We all know cats can nap like nobody’s business. But as it turns out, they’re also some of the hardest workers around.

That’s what Karen Orawa learned one day when she visited her friend’s winery near Los Angeles and met their newest and most dedicated employees: cats. At first, Karen was skeptical about her friend’s hires. Were cats really the perfect employees for her enclosed property, or was it too good to be true?

Working cats program

Karen did some research, and after learning about Best Friends Animal Society’s working cats program, she was convinced to give it a try. She hired Pumpkin and Ash, two working cats, to keep rodents away from a barn where she stores vintage automobiles. Both cats warmed to their safe new digs. Pumpkin patrols the barn like a confident little lion, and under the hood of Karen’s cars, there’s nary a mouse dropping in sight.

“Everyone benefits from our working cats’ program,” says Liz Anderson, lifesaving and care supervisor for Best Friends in Los Angeles. “Shelters benefit because it makes more room for friendly cats who need homes, and adopters benefit because they can save their property from rodent damage without spending a lot of money.” But it’s the cats who benefit the most, she says.

Employment trend: giving cats jobs to save lives

Happily, the working cats’ trend is catching on across the nation. In Osceola, Florida, 24 cats from a hoarding situation that could not be adopted into homes were given jobs. These successful cat guardians are now protecting barns, a ministry warehouse, and the stock at a local orchid farm. Their story is truly inspiring.

Osceola County and the Best Friends community cat program collaborated to place and oversee the cats, paving the way to help felines in similar predicaments. For cats with few placement options, getting hired is a genuine lifesaver.

“That’s why this program is so important,” says Samantha Bell, a Best Friends cat behavior specialist. “There are a lot of cats at the shelters who aren’t necessarily bonded to humans at all. Every time we find an appropriate placement for one of those cats, we can go right back to the shelter and save another cat in need.”

Working cats to the rescue

Karen Orawa, a longtime Best Friends supporter, says that Pumpkin and Ash have become great employees. Karen knows firsthand that a working cats program does more than deter rodents and protect property. In fact, she’s so impressed that she adopted two more working cats for another building on her ranch.

“I really believe in this program and its potential to save lives,” says Karen. “The cats are often scared of people and hide. But when I do see them, they seem happy. And it’s a good feeling to know that I’m giving them a chance to live the life they deserve.”

Do you have a job for a community cat? Please contact Best Friends at adoptions@bestfriends.org to set up a consultation.