We orignally got our cats Tasha and Daisy as part of our overall pest control program a few years ago. We had quite a bad wood rat problem, and after catching tons using traps, we wanted a better long term control mechanism. It's also convenient that the kids always like a new pet in the family. Thankfully the weather here is so mild, they both live outside all year round. You can always count on them to show up promptly around dinner time for their food. Funny how that works.