Urban rat patrols

I see a rat once in a while scurrying down Locust. But the thuggish brood of house cats that patrol the area keeps the rat population mostly relegated to the sewers.

Despite their worsening reputation for killing song birds ('Monsters that Meow' post here), cats are in some quarters being hailed as heroes of the 'hood.

Los Angeles (story here) is employing bands of feral cats for rat and mouse patrol, and are having -- okay, not surprisingly -- great success. Cops are especially thankful, since the first feral cat rat patrol experiment by the group Voice for the Animals eliminated embarrasing station house incidents like mice scurrying across an officer's desk while he's cluing in a suspect.

The real news, however:

The cats generally don't solve the rodent problem by killing rats and mice — although the cats are game for doing so if they catch them. Rather, the cats simply leave their scent. Once rodents get a whiff of feline presence, like gangsters under a gang injunction, they move on.

Plus they're so much cleaner than dogs.

(Pix: Remy escapes again.)