The cat was not feral. It was my next door neighbor’s cat that hung out in the shrubs between our houses. Homes are very close together in the city. I politely informed her of the city ordinance that requires cats to be confined to their own yard. Her response was to bell the cat (which doesn’t work) and to stop speaking to me.
The cat was very well-fed (fat) and kept indoors only at night. It killed birds for sport. The cardinals were mangled, not poisoned. How am I so certain? I saw the cat pounce and bite one of the birds with my very own eyes.