While they were once called strays, they are now called feral. Feral cats have become one of the largest invasive species in the United States, including even in Great Bend.
According to Wikipedia, a genetic study in 2007 revealed that domestic cats are descended from African wildcats in the Middle East.  According to Scientific American, cats are the most popular pets in the world.
While we would not recommend banning cats, feral cats have become a problem in Barton County, too.
While feral cats keep down the mouse population, they kill billions of other tiny rodents and mammals, including chipmunks and meadow voles.. Apparently, they don’t kill the Norway rat which grows to the size of a rabbit.
They kill as much as 15 percent of the total bird population, according to author Pete Marra, an animal ecologist with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.
Dr. Marra and his research team estimates a feral cat kill between 23 and 46 birds and between 129 and 338 small mammals a year.
According to Dr. Michael Hutchins of National Geographics News Watch, cats are a non-native species. He estimates there are 30-60 million feral cats in the U.S., not counting house cats that are allowed outdoors.
Dr. Hutchins also said the numbers of rabies cases in feral cats appears to be increasing, as well as typhus, hookworm, and toxiplasmosis.
Solutions would include requiring domestic cats to be monitored while they roam and limiting the number of cats in a household. We can also help by not feeding the feral animals.
Run-off from cat litter in land fills and feral cat colonies near coasts lines has resulted in the death of marine mammals most likely througth diets of anchovies and mollusks. They are also spreading feline leukemia to the endangered Florida panther, according to Dr. Hutchins.
One New Zealand economist called for the abolishment  of pet cats to save native birds, some of which are on the point of extinction in that country. According to Time Newsfeed, they have contributed to the extinction of nine native species in New Zealand.
It’s time for cat owners to sterilize their pets and not feed the feral cats.