29 replies to this topic

[stim]

Hello Everyone,

 

We are a meat plant and have an issue with feral cats around our plant. I have seen 4 lurking around at once, but there is a revolving cast.

 

 Our pest control operator does not handle cats, and we have been told that in order for a humane society to pick them up they need to be trapped by us.

 

Does anyone have experience ridding their plant area of cats?

 

We are pretty sure someone is feeding them, they are not shy when it comes to people. We are located in an industrial park, but there are fields nearby.

[tahlyav]

We do not allow employees to eat outside and spray all edible waste with denaturant. 

[stim]

I would have a pretty tough time not letting employees outside to smoke/eat/go to their cars. :S

[tahlyav]

Our employees are can smoke and go to their cars just not allowed to have lunches / snacks / candy / etc. outside the designated break room area. 

[Simon]

Going to cars and smoking is fine...just no eating. I.e. nothing to attract Top Cat and his gang.

[Setanta]

Can you call the Humane Society?

[stim]

Management has expressed that they do not wish to be a nanny state and stop people from enjoying the weather for lunch. :S  Also I mentioned that the humane society will only pick up cats that are trapped.

 

We do not want to trap these critters ourselves due to the risk of disease, injury etc.

[Git-R-Done]

I'd call a specialist, have them come out and set traps. You would probably have them all gathered up in  a matter of weeks. 

Feral cats are pretty predictable and caught easily given the right bait. I wouldn't poison them, then you'd have to explain

the poisons in your Chemical Control Program. Trapping is best option.   

[tahlyav]

Eliminate the food source and they will go elsewhere, so if your management team has decided that employees enjoying the weather is more important you will continue to have the problem. Do you only let your employees eat in designated areas outside? 

[Mike Green]

Eliminate the food source and they will go elsewhere, so if your management team has decided that employees enjoying the weather is more important you will continue to have the problem. Do you only let your employees eat in designated areas outside? 

 This ^^^^^^^^^^^

No available food/harbourage  = (no rodents) = no cats

 

Mike

[stim]

_{Thanks for the suggestions of eliminating employee food sources everyone. We have a designated enclosed eating area outside right now, but clearly we will have to ask our workers to go offsite to eat. Problem is that our property line is pretty close to the building and there are other manufactuers in the area so I don't see us being able to extend our control of who eats where. I gather the lunch spot prior to the picnic tables was at the edge of the parking lot on the road's curb and it looks like we will be returning to that for people who want to continue to eat outside.}

 

_{The plant manger is calling in an exterminator company later this week to handle the problem.}

[Mr. Incognito]

Honestly calling an exterminator is a good way to resolve the immediate problem... however without finding the root cause and rectifying that it won't be long until a new set of feral cats takes up residence around your building.

 

Talk to the exterminators about if there is a pheromone you can use that will repel further cats from coming around your building.

[cazyncymru]

There is an upside to feral cats, they keep the rat population down!

[Mr. Incognito]

Someone had told a story once, I believe it was one of our inspectors, that they walked into a plant and there was cats all over the place.  When asked about the cats, because the inspector was like WTF, the people in the plant said they were the plants rodent control.

 

If you have so many rodents that you need cats patrolling through the factory then you have something else really screwed up

[fgjuadi]

You can buy your own trap, they are relatively cheaper than renting traps from a pest control officer, if the cats aren't dangerous.  Then call the humane society away!

 

I've never had this problem at a factory, but I lived next door to a cat hoarder, so I ended up doing this on a regular basis. 

 

There are also prevention societies / mental health orgs which will come out & spay & neuter feral cat populations so that they don't grow any larger. 

[RebeccaCave]

I worked at a meat company with the same issue. Either keep your auditors away from the area and have a low rodent count or... get a pest control company that will trap the cats.

Personally I would argue the toss of a couple of cats over the rat population!

[lytebulb]

I dealt with a similar issue in an industrial complex surrounded by farmland. We used humane traps to capture more than a dozen feral cats; your local animal control may lend them out and pick-up trapped animals for local residents and businesses. I've had the best luck with taking the cats in the trap straight to the local animal control authorities. Humane societies and no-kill shelters will likely refuse to take ferals because they rarely get adopted.

Our rodent population did increase, but I'm happy to say that after our sweep 2 years ago, we haven't seen more than 1 or 2 cats pass through since. 

[gigilex-510]

Hi , This is what I used for Cats and Dogs. It needs to be spayed on regular basis. We did every week for 2 months.

We have had no issue for the last 8 months.

It contains strong natural oils that keep cats and dogs away.

[gigilex-510]

Sorry I forgot to add the name : 

Defenders STV 624

[RMAV]

Eh, someone beat me to the punch.  I was going to say you should add them as pest control devices in your pest control plan. 

 

If they're somewhat tame, trapping should be easy.  If they're wild, a .410 and bait on the weekend, and cleaning procedures will do the trick.

 

While that would work, (and I'm not going to claim I've seen it work well, pleading the 5th Ammendment) call some animal control expert.  Like someone said above, a good one should have your cat problem taken care of over a weekend.

 

No matter what you do, get them out of there even if you have to be the Pied Piper of cats.

[it_rains_inside]

I heard about this story on NPR and it reminded me of this thread (well... kind of, the flip side of it anyway)

 

http://brooklynbrewe...ster-1999-2012/

 

While it may not be hoards of feral cats, I wonder how these guys get away with keeping one as an employee!

[Snookie]

I heard about this story on NPR and it reminded me of this thread (well... kind of, the flip side of it anyway)

 

http://brooklynbrewe...ster-1999-2012/

 

While it may not be hoards of feral cats, I wonder how these guys get away with keeping one as an employee!

 

I know it is not correct....but it is cute

[Dharmadi Sadeli Putra]

Someone had told a story once, I believe it was one of our inspectors, that they walked into a plant and there was cats all over the place.  When asked about the cats, because the inspector was like WTF, the people in the plant said they were the plants rodent control.

 

If you have so many rodents that you need cats patrolling through the factory then you have something else really screwed up

Don't forget to put a pest control badge on them

[it_rains_inside]

 

And review their performance!!

[David@sher]

Canada has a sustained feral cat population that is not going to disappear. You will not be able to completely eradicate them no matter what anyone tells you.

 

Any removed cats will be naturally replaced by new cats within days to weeks.

 

Remember that if you handle the situation in an inhumane manner (extermination or exile) you are not only acting cruelly but are also compromising your company's reputation if information and/or photos leak out to the press.

 

I suggest:

 

1. Contact the local veterinary municipal authorities and initiate a TNR (trap neuter release) program (see http://en.wikipedia....p-neuter-return). Don't release the trapped cats back onto your premises, but anywhere nearby outside of your fence. This will contribute to maintaining a controlled and constant population in the vicinity of the plant.

2. Observe strict housekeeping procedures in the yard: closed rubbish bins, no stagnant water, no junk. In other words, make sure the yard is unattractive for cats.

3. Educate employees never to feed the cats on the premises. You might promote a feral cat feeding program in a designated place in the neighborhood, away from the plant and get people involved in feeding them there.

4. Most importantly - make sure the plant is completely proofed against pest entry. As long as the cats don't enter the plant, they pose no real risk.

 

Good luck!