August 17, 2012Dear Sir,I have followed the recent story about feral chicken elimination and the accompanying stories about feral cats with interest. Many do not believe that feral cats are a problem and that their numbers are reducing based upon the Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (BFAB) intervention. Sadly that is far from the case based upon comments I have received from all areas of the Island and my own neighbourhood. The number of rangy cats around my property continues to grow and new sweet fluffy little kittens arrive every few months to soon add to the growing problem as they rapidly mature and breed. I would suggest that for every hundred feral breeding cats that BFAB spays or neuters, an equal number or more are missed.We have a BFAB feeding station in our neighbourhood but I have yet to see a feral chicken there, which can probably be explained by the number of unwanted feral cats. What upsets my neighbours and I’m sure many others around these feeding station sites, is the lack of native wild life we now see. Large lizards, once common, are a rarity and small ones are often found badly wounded and dying as a result of “cat-play”. These cats stalk our bird feeders and bird baths and we find dead birds on our lawns, including our colourful species. These cats also defecate anywhere and make no attempt to bury their waste, which contains pathogens dangerous to young children. Even when neutered, Toms still spray our garden furniture and we are welcomed outside by the stench of cat urine. We also endure the regular sound of cat fights in the night, which disturbs sleep.Nobody around here wants them, not even the cat lovers, and if the volunteers at BFAB want them, then I suggest that they round them up and take them into their own homes and gardens. Feral cats are so far removed from our domestic pets that many can be better described as savage wild animals that have no place in Bermuda. A better solution would be to humanely euthanise all the adults that cannot be adopted and make licensing and chip tagging of pets mandatory along with the spaying and neutering of all cats that do not belong to registered breeders or owned for show.CAT-ASTROPHEPembroke