Are Feral cats a major problem in the rural US?

[daniel craig]

Feral toms are nasty. I've had them kill full grown chickens, whoop the hell out of pets and ruin $4000 worth of porch furniture.

Sorry but releasing feral cats, neutered or not, is the pinnacle of irresponsible. I love cats and have had them all my life. I would be aptly described as a "cat person" and decidedly not a "dog person". However, ferals should be exterminated with extreme prejudice. Once they stop being a pet, they should not be tolerated. I have greater affection for native species than for unwanted pets. Feral cats and dogs should be treated like feral hogs, pythons, iguanas and exotic birds. Shot on sight.

The impact they have on already fragile native populations is something a lot of people underestimate. 1 single cat can impact an entire ecosystem from bottom to top.

People don’t realize that cats carry diseases and microbes on them and in their poop that aren’t often found in natural environments. These microbes not only impact humans (brain parasite yay) but other animals.

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10073

that’s a good write up from the UK

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.no...eb5c5aae-d596-552f-995d-6dfbe87ce68f.amp.html

This article makes the claim thay feral cats have caused the extinction of AT LEAST 63 other species.

Lastly, a well written and cited article on the impacts of Feral cats in Nature magazine (widely regarded as one of the best scientific periodicals).
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380

 

[Mn Fats]

I didn't read through this. We found "Feral cats" in our barn. Kittens. Thier mom bailed. We put them on the porch with a little bowl of milk. 2 out of 6 are still here. So we took the two sisters to vet for shots. Still here after 6 years. Zero mice.

Cats get a bad rap. They kill for fun. I've had mice, bird, even dead snakes on my front door.

 

[Kevin Keith]

We have had feral cats around since we built this place in 1972 and there are 4 or 5 that hang around now. They probably hang out at other people's property too, but I know they live under our barn. We still see all kinds of wildlife like squirrels, cottontails, coons, possums, song birds, roadrunners...but what we don't see are mice or rats. Or snakes. I approve of feral cats. Hawks help too I guess.