We have a varying number of feral cats that are abandoned in our area .. we live pretty far out in the countryside .. and we feed and water those who come by as long as they want to stay. Those remain completely feral, front claws and long snarly teeth .. you know, like a saber-tithed tooger. The oldest we've had here was a female who probably made 10 years or so, and a couple of big .. and I do mean BIG .. males who made it to 13 or so.
I try to tame any kittens that are born on the porch, getting them spayed/neutered, and findings friends and neighbors who are looking for a kitten/cat. It's up to them if they want to declaw them, but, as some have come by to visit our feeding site, most of them are probably indoor/outdoor cats. They still have their claws, but will come up to me and want to be cuddled.
Until we started feeding the local ferals, we had a little bit of a mice problem, but that has gone away (as have the snakes and toads that used to hang around the front porch). I've also seen a decrease in the number of jackrabbits that were digging in the yard.
One thing that I have seen lately that I hadn't seen before: the local bluejays, cardinals, and mocking birds will come onto the porch and eat the cat kibbles out of the feeding bowls. The few times that I've seen one of the older cats try to mess with them, the cat was chased off the porch wailing. Those particular birds don't take any crap off of any of these feral cats.
I’ve also seen a decrease in the number of jackrabbits that were digging in the yard.
We have had an increase in mole activity since the roaming feral and indoor/outdoor pet cats were eaten by the coyotes. At one point we had a bunch of mountain beavers which are like jumbo moles and actually weaken fir trees by chewing on their roots... I think the cats took care of them also. But the large number of cats we had attracted the coyotes and when after the cats disappeared so did the coyotes. Now the cycle is starting over with lots of squirrels, moles, mice, rats and bunnies doing their destructive work.
So I actually look forward to our neighbors getting new cats and letting them roam free once again. But I wouldn’t argue that my neighbors are being responsible pet owners. If cats were allowed to choose whether they wanted a short exciting life roaming the streets and woods around here with their claws intact, or a long boring life shut up inside a safe house without their claws removed... probably most would choose to live life in the fast lane. Our wienerdog seems very content to sleep most of the day when she is not barking her head off through the window at squirrels, cats and people passing in front of our house.