I have finally trapped a cat that has been nabbing birds off of my feeder for, well, months. I would like the opinions of some pootie-loving Kossacks as to what to do with this cat now.
I trapped Coonces--named for the very raccoon-like stripes on her tail--back in March so that I could do a TNR (trap-neuter-release) on her. Feral cat fans do this a lot as it has been shown that if you remove a cat from an area another will come on and replace it. My veterinarian couldn't do a spay on Coonces for for another week, and rather than leave her in the trap or try and retrap her I released her into my bathroom, which is tiled and warm and has high places for scaredy-cats to cower. She didn't ever like me to get too close to her but she seemed alright in the bathroom; she would leap up onto the shower divider wall to stay away from me, but she ate well, used the litter box and seemed pretty content with the blanket-lined basket I placed in the tub for a bed. I released her into the house on the fourth day and immediately after that she began pooping on my bed. I had an old quilt on it so it was easily cleaned up, but it was apparent that this was going to be Coonces's habit and method of showing her discontent about being in the house. Perhaps sensing her immediate future, she escaped while I was bringing groceries the day before her spay appointment. I have been trying to catch her again since then and, until Saturday, she has been too wary. Of course the vets were all closed because of the holiday weekend so I couldn't even take her in so they could keep her in a kennel until the surgery. She's been fed and watered and the wire mesh trap moved as she soiled the grass so she wouldn't get too stressed by the conditions of her forced imprisonment, and I have kept her covered at night and up away from raccoons.
Here is my dilemma. I have argued about feral cats a bit in diaries before, and I am not going to release Coonces back out here or anywhere there is a bird feeder because I have seen the absolute finality and swiftness of her attack. Studies have shown that feral and domestic cats have a devastating effect on bird populations. Some of these studies are cited in this NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/...
Now, I'm not a great fan of outdoor cats. Cats were toted along during human migration and development as rodent catchers in farm areas, where they still play a great part in keeping populations of rodents under control. But as their use as mousers and ratters has dwindled, their population has skyrocketed. Some folks contend that their numbers have little to do with plummeting bird populations, and granted, over-development, pesticide use and deforestation have a major impact on birds all across the globe. But when I have attempted unsuccessfully to keep a single feral cat from killing at least three birds a day at my feeders I know what I see--that this cat does indeed have an impact on the birds in my immediate area.
Where then, do I release this efficient bird-killer who is at this moment glowering at me from her sunny prison? All of my neighbors feed birds--some shoot feral cats. I am in a farming-ranching area adjacent to open prairie. If any of you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Coonces goes in for her spay on Thursday and the vet has graciously allowed me to "store" her in a cage at the clinic until then. After that, I am ethically confused as to what to do.