Shelter cats take on new responsibilities
By Michelle Meredith
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SEMINOLE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — At Seminole County Animal Services, adopting a cat is like a job interview.
Potential adopters seek felines with the right qualities, like their willingness to tolerate humans.
So when adopters find that special cat, as Ron Culver did, you take the cat home and give them the sweetest job of all: to love you.
Culver said, “It’s been a little while by myself. So it is nice to go home to something you can have a relationship with. When you live alone, it’s hard.”
But some cats in the shelter want to live alone and are not very adoptable.
Those cats have a whole new job description: “Working Cats.” And their specialty? Killing rodents.
“From the beginning of time, this is a cat’s job,” said Chris Stronko, of Seminole County Animal Services. “So it’s not a bad environment for a cat, or a cruel thing to do, it’s what cats live for.”
Working cats get jobs with people who, for example, own warehouses, greenhouses and farms.
Their adopters must provide food, water, and shelter.
At Saddlewood Stables in Lake County, close to two dozen cats are well-rewarded for their services.
On their off time, they hang out with the horses and dogs, ride on tractors and eat like kings and queens. They’re part of the family.
The “Working Cats” adoption program is not just available in Seminole County, but also at other Animal Shelters in Central Florida.
The program allows a partnership that’s centuries old to live on.
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