By CINDY LADAGE

Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Many farmers have the room, and certainly the need, for barn cats. It is difficult, though, for many farmers to obtain cats because shelters and others don’t want to hand a cat over to someone who isn’t going to offer to bring the cat into the family home.

Keeping rodents under control is a big problem – and the answer might have been solved with the new Barn Cat program that just began this August at the Sangamon County (Ill.) Animal Protective League (APL).

The program takes in feral cats caught by animal control officers. The cats then live in a somewhat wild environment until a home is found, and then a pair or two are transferred to suitable outdoor homes.

Sarah Moore, coordinator of the program, explained that feral cats are non-socialized, unfriendly to people and not accustomed to living indoors; however, they can be useful and live out their lives as working farm animals.

“Thousands of feral cats are euthanized in Illinois animal shelters every year because they are not adoptable as house pets,” she said. “APL’s Barn Cat Program will place these cats in appropriate locations like barns, stables and warehouses, where the cats will be safe, well-fed and can provide a service to their adopters by providing free, effective and nontoxic rodent control.”

For those wishing to be part of the program, the ALA provides farm families with cats that are healthy, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, treated for fleas and intestinal parasites and have been examined by an APL veterinarian. In turn, the family agrees to confine the cats after relocation for 2-4 weeks to ensure a successful transition to their new home.

To obtain the cats, the farmer must complete an application and the APL tries to match the cats to the farm. After the 2-4 weeks of confinement, the cats are released, and there is a 75 percent chance that they will remain on the farm.

Moore explained, "Cats will no longer be euthanized simply because they're feral. Now they can be transferred to safe outdoor homes better suited to the lifestyle they're used to."

This is a win-win for the farmer and the feral cat. For information about the program, call 217-789-7729 or email barncats@apl-shelter.org