There is hardly a personal the face of the planet that does not know what Disneyland is, and many people make it a point to visit Disney at least one time in their life. As a matter of fact, it is often called by the name “The Happiest Place on Earth,” as it is the home to many cartoon characters, including Donald Duck, Cinderella and goofy. Of course, we would not want to forget Mickey Mouse as well!
Although most people know about Disney, they have a secret that is unknown to almost all, including regular visitors. When the lights go out at night and the people go home, there is an army of killers on the prowl in the park looking for dinner. They tend to hide out of the way of the park during the day but it night, the park is open season.
Okay, I may have exaggerated a little but in reality, Disney does have nighttime visitors in the form of feral cats. This is the true story of how cats care for the happiest place on earth.
Disneyland certainly is a magical place where people can visit from anywhere in the world.
Many animal characters have come about as a result of Disney, but the most famous have to be Mickey and many males.
What many people don’t know, however, is that hundreds of wildcats roam the grounds and most people never see them.
It is thought that the cats were there when the park opened in 1955. Most parks tend to attract a lot of feral cats and Disneyland wasn’t different in that regard. They discovered the first cats in the main castle while Walt Disney himself was planning a walk through.
There is no doubt that Walt Disney was clever and he realized that the conventional methods of removing cats was going to be unpopular in the public side A.
He also knew that there were a lot of rodents who were waiting in the wings to move in and take advantage of the endless food available from vendors in the park. In fact, Disney was already beginning to have a rat problem.
Walt realized that cats were excellent hunters so he allow the feral felines to stay in the park to manage the rodent population.
The cats are still cleaned up by the staff and if medical care is needed, it is provided.
Feeding stations are also discreetly placed in the park to help supplement the diet of the cats if hunting is not enough for them.
Feral cats tend to shy away from humans but there are also many hidden areas provided so that the cats are limited to potentially dangerous interactions with park visitors.
Approximately 200 cats live in the park. A few years ago, they partnered with FixNation, a nonprofit that provided birth control for animals. They would trap, neuter or spay and return the animals to the population. It did not have a significant impact on the cats.
If the cats begin to socialize with humans more than normal they are put up for adoption. If any kittens are born in the park accidentally, they are also put up for adoption.
Disneyland doesn’t officially publicize the feral cats but they do have their own website as well as a page on Instagram. There also some T-shirts available as well.
We live in a world where many big companies take less humane actions to handle feral cat problems. Disney, all the other hand, has done things in a very humane way and they even care for cats wonderfully. The next time you have the opportunity to visit Disney, keep your eye open and see if you can spot any of these elusive felines.
Via: Wimp
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