[I normally try hard to stay out of the dreaded "cat thread", but this 
time I'm giving in.]

Leslie,

You say that no one is willing to take action. Somebody is taking 
action. The action happens to be on behalf of the feral cats, which are 
wild creatures, just as birds are. If a person wants to establish a 
wildlife preserve on private property it's their business. Furthermore, 
great effort is made to trap and neuter the cats on these preserves, so 
that the feral cat population is not increased. That is preferable to 
simply allowing feral cats to wander all over the place and breed 
indiscriminately.

Many birders seem to be in favor of rounding up and killing every feral 
cat simply because cats prey on birds. Are we to round up and kill all 
accipiters, snakes, raccoons, etc. because they prey on smaller birds 
and their eggs?

Yes, there are too many feral cats. That's why allowing coyotes to cull 
the population naturally and using neutering and colonies to reduce the 
population over time makes sense.

June Tveekrem
Columbia, MD
A card-carrying member of Alley Cat Allies and proud of it.
________________________________________________________

Leslie Starr wrote:

Feral cats
OK, I'll throw the match: There is a county-sanctioned feral cat colony 
in central Calvert County, on a property otherwise described as a tree farm.
[SNIP]
This seems to be so politically connected that no one is willing to take 
action.

Leslie Starr
Port Republic