Residents are ordering crates of feral cats to try and stop the rat problem plaguing Chicago

CHICAGO residents are having feral cats captured from the streets and delivered to their homes in giant crates, but it’s all for a very good reason.

Stray cats > normal rat traps.

SINCE a crate of stray cats was delivered to his doorstep, Nicolas Cuervo has been ecstatic.

“It was almost like getting a newborn,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

The 44-year-old copywriter waited longer than three months for the street cats to be delivered and even changed his work schedule when they finally arrived.

In an attempt to win the strays over, Mr Cuervo has been feeding them gourmet treats through the wires of the crate, where they have been kept for a couple of weeks.

He hopes feeding them will make the strays stick around when he sets them free into his backyard.

“I’m a dog guy, I was never even drawn to cats,” he said. “But if this is what you have to do, you have to do it.”

While this might sound a little strange, there is a very good reason for his actions — Chicago is currently in the middle of a serious rat problem.

By September, there had already been 27,000 rat complaints, which was a 40 per cent increase on the year prior.

The problem has become so bad that many residents, including Mr Cuervo, have brought in stray cats to eradicate all of the rats.

Stray kittens are seen in a cage at a mobile spay and neuter clinic run by the animal welfare group Poi Dogs and Popoki in Haleiwa, Hawaii on Friday, September 16, 2016. Conservationists are concerned about the number of feral cats roaming Hawaii because cat feces washing into the ocean can spread toxoplasmosis, which can be deadly for endangered Hawaiian monk seals. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

Paul Nickerson runs a program which finds homes for feral cats after they have been captured, microchipped and spayed.

He said the rat problem has led to such an enormous amount of requests, there is now a six month waiting list.

“I’ve been offered bribes,” he said.

The use of feral cats was first employed by Andrea Swank two years ago, when rats took over her tiny block.

Her neighbours originally made fun of her idea, despite hi-tech traps and rat-repelling frequencies failing to remove the problem.

However, when the stray successfully killed or scared away all of the vermin, people took notice.

“Two people came back and gave me formal apologies,” she said.

Owner of Empirical Brewery Bill Hurley had a similar success story, with the cats having such a “sweet deal”, they are yet to leave the location.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of those before him, Mr Cuervo said he hopes his cats stick around when he lets them free.

“I really want the cats to come back,” he said.

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