People who like cats need to keep the bloody things inside, since you can’t fence them like dogs. Cat owners need to pay for licenses, just like dog owners. The strays need to be trapped and sent to the pound. If they are adopted, great. If not, so be it.
I’ve got a cat. She stays inside, where she can’t destroy the native bird population. She’s spayed, so she’s not spitting out unwanted kittens. When we first moved here, there were bobwhite quail, and turkeys. Then imbeciles built below us, and dragged in 3 cats that ran loose. Flippin’ things reproduced and eliminated all of the grounddwelling game birds in the area within 5 years. Cats target the baby birds that follow their mothers. It’s been 4 plus years since I’ve seen a turkey and 9 years since I’ve even heard a bobwhite. Years ago, I opened my door and there was a flock of 12 or more turkeys in my front yard.
I like cats, but they have their place. We have laws controlling dogs, and we need similar laws to keep cats from decimating game species, not to mention songbirds.
Tons of laws are already on the books, but my lib neighbors in Minneapolis paid no heed. Kitty just had to get outside.
I had to pull my feeders as their cat killed three cardinals in as many days.
I have almost an acre in the far flung burbs today and no cats around. This is dog country! LOL I've never experienced such a wide variety of birds, or a higher feed bill. LOL
We had two cats for almost 20 years. They were my babies and they were indoor cats and fixed. The incidence of feline leukemia and other causes of early death is great for people that let their housecats roam. Of course, I'm talking densely populated inner-city.
Farm cats have always had a good role.