As a cat lover, I had to read this article….
It’s extremely interesting and thought provoking. It’s about the effects of feral cats on the ecological system- not house pets.
This makes it even more clear: Everyone must spay and neuter your cats and dogs! It’s just irresponsible not to do so….
Here’s an excerpt from the article., by Kiera Butler, in “Mother Jones” with a link to the full version:
A little black cat lives in the crawl space under my house. Some weeks I see him every day, darting back into his burrow as I pull into the driveway. Then he’ll disappear for weeks at a time, and just when I’m sure that he’s found cushier digs, he comes back, like the cat in the old children’s song. He’s not much of a charmer—skinny, mangy, limping, and so feral that he bolts at the mere sight of people. But I can’t help feeling sorry for him, so a few months ago I began leaving out cat food. I congratulated myself on this great solution: He’d get a square meal and maybe keep the mice away, too. But when I told an ecologist I know, she was horrified. “Basically,” she said, “you’re subsidizing a killer.”
Lost in the 21st Century 
I’m subsidizing one killer, and I adopted her from the Cat Clinic. She’s spayed and darling and gets PLENTY of food. I can’t change she enjoys the “thrill of the hunt”, but she’s not reproducing any more. Then there’s Big Head Ed Wood, of unknown origin, who hangs out w/BrowBrow. He is in tact and quite scuzzy-looking. We have made friends, sort of– and he gets food when he shows up. I have attempted to take him in for a check up and the surgery, but I can’t get him into a carrier. He disappeared for days when I brought the Hav-A-Hart home from work. So I’m subsidizing yet another “killer”!! There’s a huge debate about trap-and-release programs. I know of a case of RABIES that was brought into our clinic by a client who believed he could rehabilitate ANY feral he met. The rabies case required at least a dozen people (including the clients 3 year old child!) to receive the dreaded treatment.
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We keep talking about adopting an outdoor feral type cat because the rats and mice are getting out of control in our neighborhood due to all the cats being inside cats. It’s all about keeping it all in balance-and being sure to keep them spayed and neutered!
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