By Gregory B. Hladky 2:20 PM EST, December 27, 2012 Nobody knows
how many are out there or how much damage they do. They are
stealthy, nocturnal predators; often diseased; sometimes
despised; living and breeding in dumps and abandoned buildings,
by apartment dumpsters and barns; avoiding humans, even those
trying to help them. We're talking about feral cats, and by some
estimates there could be as many as half a million in
Connecticut alone. One expert calls the issue a "clandestine
problem" because most people never even see these furtive
creatures, or if they do spot them, just assume they're
somebody's domestic kitty out for a stroll. There are birding
enthusiasts who'd like to see every last feral feline rounded up
and killed to stop what ornithologists believe is the wholesale
slaughter of our native wildlife. Feline lovers are equally
fierce in defense of feral cats, lobbying against federal and
state regulations or laws they fear might justify mass
euthanasia, arguing that "managing" the problem throug