GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan) (11/14/89)
I too, feed outdoor birds (from a hanging feeder and on the ground for quail). We had terrible problems with cats in the yard. Irresponsible neighbors were feeding at least 20 cats-taking THAT responsibility and not getting any fixed or vaccinated. The nubmer that were sick or blinded was appalling.... Anyway, I checked with our zoning laws and it limits cat ownership to TWO cats per household. (check with yours). If this is indeed true in your community you should politely inform your neighbors of this and give them the option of getting rid of some of their cats, keeping them inside, or BELLING all of them, before you take the next step. Which was for us, buying a humane racoon trap from Sears. Again, I checked with our local Animal Control and ws told it was perfectly legal to trap cats IN OUR YARD. We probably caught about 15 in the last two years and they were definately feral (wild), unaltered or sick. Then they were sent to the pound. One of the obvious results of this was that the coveys of quail that came through the yard increased from about 10 to 60. For us, it was the only answer. But then I had seen enough sick/suffering cats to believe they were better off euthanized than breeding around here. K. Sullivan