Feral Cats

I am a cat-lover. The photo is of my Zoey, sleeping in the sun on the porch, using part of a broom and my flip-flop for support. When I see things like this, I melt.

When I moved to Fergus Falls, I learned that feral cats are a huge problem here. There are lots of them, and -- like all outdoor cats -- they are devastating to the songbird population.

On a class trip to Meadowfarm Foods, we saw a brochure for an organization called "Friends of Feral Cats." I was immediately interested, and it sparked a conversation between some of us. To my great surprise, a classmate -- who is vegetarian, does yoga, has pet cats, and seems quite liberal -- said she shoots feral cats whenever she sees them.

I can't begin to tell you how shocked I was when I learned that this practice is not uncommon -- shooting feral cats! Yes, they are a problem as a prolific invasive species... they kill birds... but they are still cute, adorable kitties, aren't they? Don't they at least deserve the same respect as cats in a shelter? I know in many shelters cats are killed, too, but I would guess much more humanely, with an injection. Shooting cats seems downright cruel and barbaric. But maybe I'm just a closed-minded city girl.

It poses a moral quandry. I could look at this habit from an anthropological perspective, remaining somewhat detached, open-minded, and observant... Or I could let my instincts guide me and try to "save" feral cats from such a horrible death. But what would happen to all those "saved" cats? Certainly, many would not be adoptable. Could they be humanely euthanized? If so, who would pay?

Like many people, for now I am trying not to think too much about these emotionally-disturbing moral issues... but it's weighing on me.