Plum Crazy

Indecent and cruel? I'd say that describes the people who let their cats (and dogs) roam loose, free to breed and run wild. I don't know how much of a problem it is in New Yawk City, but I've lived in the country and had to deal with feral cats and dogs, usually dumped by some erstwhile owner who was tired of taking care of the animal and figured it could live on its own in the wild. Many don't, ending up as road kill or falling prey to other animals - including wild packs of feral dogs or, here in Florida, to alligators - or starving to death, so you're not doing them any favors there. Those that do adapt and survive usually do so at the expense of wildlife or farm animals - I've seen the carcass of a calf brought down by a pack of wild dogs, and lost hens to feral cats, as well as seen wild birds' nests raided. Besides that destruction, they are a health hazard, both cats and dogs being excellent carriers of rabies, as well as fleas and the diseases they can bring. I've trapped cats and dogs and turned them over to animal control until I'm blue in the face - there is a steady stream from people dumping them and uncontrolled reproduction - and they keep coming. What happens to the ones I trap and turn over to animal control? Most of them are completely wild and unadoptable, so they get a lethal injection. I could accomplish the same thing with a .22 hollow point to the brain pan, just as painlessly.