Falling temperatures put cats in quandary

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Photo by: MADELYN P. HASTINGS

Instead of eradicating rats, state workers now care for the cats.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Feral felines proved a perfect cure for ridding the Statehouse of rats.
Now state workers just have to figure out what to do with the cats.
Up to a dozen strays became regulars outside the Capitol about a year ago -- roughly the same time that Statehouse employees noticed a decline in the rat population of the 145-year-old building.
"The cats have done a yeoman's job. There have been no rat-sighting reports since the cats have been there," said Pat Groseck, a spokeswoman for the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Commission.
Caring for the cats, however, has replaced eradicating the rats as a task for Groseck's group and others.
Makeshift shelter
Maintenance crews put up a makeshift shelter for the animals on the northeast side of the grounds, but officials worry that might not suffice with winter approaching.
Two months ago, a state trooper found one cat with a broken leg. Jennifer Parker, a board member with an organization called Cat Welfare, took the animal to be euthanized.
Volunteers, including Parker's group, have helped feed the cats and trap them to have them spayed, neutered and immunized.
"If we hadn't stepped in, I don't think one of those cats would have been spayed or neutered," she said.
"They wanted those cats there. I think it was pretty common knowledge. My response to them is that they're your responsibility. They're your pets. You need to take care of them."