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Suki paces around her office before selecting a spot to sit — between two chairs, in front of the desk. Then she hisses.
Most cats in Philadelphia enjoy long days of bathing in the sunlight or watching passersby from a windowsill. Once in a while, they may even catch a mouse or two. Almost a quarter of all Philly households have at least one cat companion, with more than a half-million pet cats across the city.
But not all cats are cut out for this laidback lifestyle.
Suki is a part of the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia’s working cats program. The goal is to place cats who may not flourish in a traditional home setting in an environment best suited to their unique sensibilities: barns, breweries and bookstores, among other places.
ACCT Philly’s program has been around for almost a decade, but not many are aware of its existence, says Mikayla Allen, the shelter’s communication coordinator.
“A lot of people think about your Philly street cats, and then you have the cats you adopt,” Allen said. “They don’t think about the cats that really can’t survive outside by themselves.”
The program currently has seven working cat candidates — five at its facility on Hunting Park Avenue in North Philadelphia, and two in foster care. These temporary homes can give the cats a chance to acclimate to a more traditional living style. Not all are able to make that change, though.
Bread was rescued from a hoarding situation as 1 of 30 cats. He was brought to ACCT — the city’s only open-intake animal shelter — before heading into foster care. Feeling uncomfortable in the home environment, Bread bit his owner while being bathed and was returned to the shelter.
Melina Williams, ACCT’s community cat coordinator, says the cat then decided “he was going to waste away” in the kennel. At that point, the best option was to try to make Bread a working cat. He was crated and placed in a shed with the other outdoor cats and, after a four-week period, it seemed like Bread was a whole new cat.
“This is an actual behavioral turnaround,” Williams said, describing how the program helped Bread.
Suki, one of ACCT Philly’s working cats. (Ben Bennett/WHYY)
