Chicago has a lot of great things to offer. It's super windy, freezing in the winter, scorching in the summer, the homicide rate is off the charts, and there are legions of rats roaming the streets.

At least the deep-dish pizza is good!

To solve the rat issue, Chicago has decided to release a ninja-army of 1,000 feral cats:

Yep, Chicago was named "rattiest city" by pest-control group Orkin for the sixth year in a row.

"In an unprecedented year, the visibility of rodents has increased, creating concern for homeowners and business owners alike," said Orkin. "As reported in the Spring, the pandemic-driven closure of restaurants forced rodents to find new food sources. Without food waste to consume, these pests were seen scavenging new areas and exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior. The presence of rodents became so relevant that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Rodent Control guidance on ways to keep rats and mice out of homes and businesses."

How fun!

The small legion of Windy City cats come from the Tree House Humane Society, which says the program will allow feral cats scheduled for euthanization to live a productive life sinking their fangs into rodents.

Here's what I imagine that release looked like:

For anyone who's still worried about these fluffy-but-soulless killing machines, the Humane Society has partnered the cats with neighborhood caretakers who will provide them outdoor shelters, food, and water. The cats have also been vaccinated against rabies and other diseases.

Another solution would be to introduce New York City rats to kill the Chicago rats... but then they'd be stuck with an even worse nightmare.