When the Flathead County Animal Shelter launched its barn-cat program at the start of last year, Director Cliff Bennett was unsure whether the service, which spays, neuters and resettles stray cats, would gain traction.

However, it’s been a year since the program launched, and the shelter has managed to resettle 120 “working cats” — a number triple that of Bennett’s original goal.

“It’s been a big success. That’s 120 cats that aren’t in the valley’s reproductive pool and have homes with heat and feed and water,” Bennett said.

Bennett started brainstorming for the program in late 2017.

He sat down and constructed a list of equestrian barns, hay businesses, dairies and other structures throughout the valley he believed may benefit from a free, untamed, freshly spayed or neutered mouser. He then proceeded to cold-call the properties.

A few months later, his list of prospective clients launched the shelter’s barn-cat program, which essentially acts as a pairing resource for people in need of rodent-control to cats in need of a job.

Bennett said the program has filled a much-needed gap in cat adoption services in the valley.

“When they are untamed, you can’t adopt them to someone who is going to have them in their house. So we had a whole new group of cats to try and help and a new group of people to try and pair them up with,” Bennett said.

He said over the years the shelter has, at times, been inundated with stray cats — most of which were in need of being spayed or neutered. However, the program has helped keep the number of stray cats at bay and has found homes for a good percentage of those the shelter has taken in.

The shelter took in 549 cats in 2018 — a number that has sometimes placed strain on the organization’s seven employees, as the majority of those cats taken in require spay and neuter services. He said regardless of the area’s lack of city or county ordinances for stray cats, the shelter plans to continue providing space for all those brought in.

Bennett pointed to other successful services in the county, such as the Flathead Spay and Neuter Task Force, which he hopes the Barn Cat Program will continue to provide a helping hand.

After the program’s successful first year, employees are somewhat concerned the shelter may have saturated the local market for those in need of a good mouser, assuming there are only so many structures in the county that could benefit from a barn cat.

Regardless, Bennett’s hopes remain high. He has set a lofty goal to resettle 150 felines.

“It’s a great deal for everyone involved,” Bennett said. “You get a free working cat that is spayed, or neutered and vaccinated and the cat can escape the cold and be part of a loving home.”

For more information, the shelter can be reached at 752-1310.

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4439 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com.