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When the Humane Society Silicon Valley created its “garden cats” program a few years ago, the plan was to find a good, safe and protected home for those feral cats that just would never be lap cats.
HSSV, like other shelters, offers the cats to qualified residents who need the services of a good mouser in their barns, stables or warehouses. The new owners must pledge to care for the cats, keeping them safe on the property, keeping them up-to-date on vaccinations and bringing them to the vet for checkups and treatment when they are ill.
The cats will be loved and cared for, given food and shelter, but they will be working cats, doing what cats are so good at doing: hunting rodents.
The program started with just two cats, and because feral cats in cages are a recipe for stress, HSSV employees decided to create a special place for them outdoors.
They set up the Marilyn and Fred Anderson Community Cat Garden outside HSSV president Carol Novello’s office. The garden is enclosed with lots of hiding places for the cats.
“We decided we needed something special for the unsocial kitties,” Lorrie Sprain, Novello’s executive assistant, said. “The ones who subscribe to the ‘look, don’t touch’ philosophy and want a pretty specific ‘will work for food’ arrangement.”
Sprain took a special interest in the garden cats, spending time with them every day, tossing them treats. Then something interesting happened.
Some of those feral cats turned out to be faking it, Sprain said, pretending to be shy and unsocial “while hiding a mountain of friendly goodness” that was unleashed in return for food.
Sprain soon had gathered other staff members into Team Garden Cat. They followed Sprain’s lead, visiting the cats and giving them treats, and they discovered a few more feral fakes in the garden. Some of the friendliest cats even started coming into staff offices during the day to get some extra attention.
One such cat was Bruce Lee, who quickly stole hearts — and chairs.
“Bruce Lee spent so much time being socialized by our staff that he ended up being adopted as an indoor cat,” Sprain said.
HSSV still has plenty of real garden cats, if people are interested in adopting one. Here are some things to consider:
- Is your property near a busy road or in an area with known predators, such as coyotes? If so, it may not be a safe place for a free-roaming cat to live.
- Is anyone on or near your property using poison or bait to kill rodents? If so, find out who and ask if they are willing to stop or switch to a humane, live trap to remove rodents. Cats that ingest rodents that have been poisoned will also be poisoned.
- Is there a safe, dry place the cat can use for shelter? Cats are resilient but need a warm, dry place in cold or wet weather. Cats also need places to hide from humans, dogs or scary things like thunder and lightning.
- Will you or someone on the property be feeding and monitoring the cat every day? Garden cats need caretakers and cannot survive on rodents alone. Food, water, shelter and health monitoring is necessary for a cat’s well-being.
If you’re interested in a garden cat, contact HSSV or the shelter in your community to ask about availability.
