收容所的坏脾气毛再上岗捕鼠

湖北武汉 景一 编译

Gary wasn’t used to being around people.He didn’t like being touched or even looked at. If anyone came too close,he’d lash2out.

加里不习惯和人类呆在一起。它不喜欢被人触摸或被人盯着看。如果有人走得太近，它就会攻击。

He was perfect for the job now,because at the Working Cats Program,no manners is no problem.

它现在很适合这份工作，因为在这项“工作猫项目”中，猫的脾气坏也没问题。

Philadelphia’s Animal Care and Control Team established the program about four years ago to place unadoptable cats—the biters3,the skittish4and the ones that won’t use a litter box—into jobs as mousers5.

大约四年前，费城动物管制中心建立了这个项目帮助安置那些无法被领养的猫，比如那些爱咬人的猫或怕人的猫，以及那些不会使用猫砂盆（猫厕所）的猫，让它们承担捕鼠的工作。

The shelter recently expanded the program to move cats that were less-than-ideal pets into urban jobs at places like factories and warehouses as a sort of green pet control.The animals are microchipped6,vaccinated7and free of charge.

这个动物收容中心最近扩展了该项目，以一种环保的动物管制的方式，将那些不太理想的宠物猫转移去像工厂和仓库这样的地方工作。它们被植入了微信晶片，接种了疫苗，并且是免费的。

“Part of the reason cats became domesticated8was to get rid of the rodent9population,”said Ame Dorminy,ACCT’s spokeswoman,“We took advantage of their nature to hunt and made an official program out of it.”

“收养猫的部分原因是为了控制老鼠的数量，”动物管制中心的发言人艾米·多米尼说，“我们利用了它们捕猎的天性，并据此制定了一个官方项目。”

Cats identified as good matches for the program are kept in a separate aisle10at the shelter in a row called TTA,time to adjust.On a recent visit,a low growl could be heard from a cage housing a male named Spike,whose intake11sheet listed his qualifications12∶hissing,swatting, spitting,can’t be picked up.A few doors down,Prince was standoffish13in the corner of his cage.

挑选出的非常符合该项目的猫被排成一行安排在收容中心单独的侧廊中，这被称为TTA，即调整期。在最近的一次到访中，可以听到笼中传来的一只名为斯派克的雄猫的低吼声。它的领养记录表上列举出了对它的描述：乱叫，乱打，随地乱吐，不能抱起亲近。几个笼子开外的地方，名为普林斯的猫则冷漠地站在笼子的角落里。

“Just because cats don’t want to be petted or snuggle on a lap doesn’t mean they can’t have good lives,”Dorminy said.

“猫只是因为不想被当成宠物饲养或者不粘人并不意味着它们就不可能过好的生活，”多米尼说。

“A lot of these cats feel more comfortable when they can be themselves and use natural behaviors,”she said.“Then they’re more open to human interaction because they feel more confident.”

“这些猫中有许多在能独处并能自由自在活动时感到更舒服。”她说，“然后，他们更容易与人互动，因为他们觉得更有自信。”

“At Bella Vista Beer Distributors,mice were gnawing on bags of chips overnight,leaving a mess and forcing staffers to throw out about 15 bags a day,”owner Jordan Fetfatzes said.

“在贝拉·维斯塔啤酒公司，老鼠整夜啃咬薯片袋子，留下烂摊子，使得工作人员每天要扔掉15袋左右，”老板乔丹·菲特兹说。

They tried everything,but nothing worked.An employee found ACCT’s program online,and Fetfatzes eventually decided on Gary,a white male with one blue eye and one green that had“behavioral issues”.Gary wasn’t accustomed to people and would hiss from the box.At first, Gary would stay in the office and would only go into the warehouse after hours.

他们试过了各种方法灭鼠，但都没有效果。一位员工在网上看到了动物管制中心的项目，而菲特兹最终决定选择加里这只有一只蓝眼睛和一只绿眼睛的，有“不良行为”的白色雄性猫咪。加里不习惯人的存在，会在箱子里发出嘶嘶声。起初，加里会呆在办公室，只会在人们下班后进入仓库。

As the weeks passed,he warmed up to workers and customers,and has transformed into a sweet,playful mascot with free rein14of the store.

几个星期过去了，它同工人和顾客们熟络了起来，并成为了店里的一个完全行动自由的甜美活泼的吉祥物。

Fetfatzes describes himself as a“dog guy”who’s turned in to a cat lover thanks to Gary.

菲特兹说，由于加里，他从一个“狗奴”变成了一个爱猫人士。

Neighborhood kids come in just to say hi to him,and he loves to play soccer with a worker.

邻居的孩子们常溜进来只是想跟它打个招呼。它喜欢和工人一起玩足球。

As for the mice,they vanished,seemingly scared away by Gary’s scent,Fetfatzes said.

至于老鼠，他们消失了，似乎被加里的气味吓跑了，菲特兹说。

“You’re not only saving your business money,you are helping save the life of an unwanted pet,”he said.“And in this case,we made a friend.”

“你不仅节省了生意钱，还帮助挽救了一只被人嫌弃的宠物的生命。”他说，“并且在这种情况下，我们交了个朋友。”

A number of shelters around the country have working cat programs.One of the first,in Los Angeles,launched in 1999.Many focus on placing unwanted cats into barns15and stables16. Chicago’s Tree House Humane Society places unwanted cats at apartments and suburban backyards. Pennsylvania’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals puts its cats to work in all kinds of jobs,from barns to wineries.

全国各地的一些收容所都有工作猫项目。最早的一批中有一个在洛杉矶，于1999推出。有许多项目是把被遗弃的猫安置在谷仓和马厩里。芝加哥树屋保护动物协会把被遗弃的猫安置在公寓和城郊居民的后院里。宾夕法尼亚防止虐待动物协会则把被遗弃的猫安置在各种各样的工作场所，比如谷仓或酿酒厂中工作。

Todd Curry wasn’t exactly sure what was inside the dumpster next door to the Emerald Windows showroom,but it seemed like a free buffet17for rats.

托德·库里不知道与翡翠窗陈列室相邻的垃圾箱里有什么，但那看起来像是个给老鼠提供免费自助餐的地方。

“It was almost comical,”he said,comparing it to a scene in the animated film“Ratatouille”with seemingly hundreds of rats streaming out of the dumpster.

他说，相比于动画电影《料理鼠王》中成百上千的老鼠涌出垃圾箱的场景，“这简直太滑稽了”。

“Traps didn’t work,”said Curry,so they brought in Shelley from ACCT’s program.

“捕鼠陷阱不起作用，”库里说，于是他们通过动物管制中心的项目把雪莱带了出来。

Soon,rat bodies started appearing.Now the rodents just stay away.

不久，被肢解的老鼠尸体出现了。现在这些啮齿类动物刚刚离开。

And Shelley,which was given to the shelter after biting her family’s kids,has come out of her shell,craving petting and attention,Curry said.

库里说，雪莱是在咬了饲主家里的孩子之后被送到收容中心的。它已经重新活跃起来了，并且渴望爱抚和关注。

“The only reason she was here was for the rats,but it has turned into a lot more than that,”Curry said,“adding she functions as a workplace stress reliever.”

“它到这里的唯一原因是老鼠，但理由已经不再只是这一个，”库里说，“还包括可以缓解职场压力”。

“It’s nice to see these cats put to use,not put down.”

“很高兴看到这些猫能派上用场，而不是被执行安乐死。”

Notes:

16.stablen.马厩；牛棚