You are very kind to take them in. I hear you about the inconvenience. My yard used to have the most beautiful birds, chipmunks and rabbits until my neighbor got two killer cats. My beautiful gardens became littered with dead animals. It was such a horror to see every day! I asked her if she could just keep them inside. Her answer was, “No, they will just drive me crazy.”

So I am the one that ends up heartbroken and suffering. She is happy as a lark because they don’t leave the dead animals in her yard. Why should this be allowed to happen?

Cats can be a real problem. When we lived in Portland, at our last house, we had three cats which we kept inside. Outside, there must have been a sign on the curb as there were about a dozen who at night lived on our side porch. These would come as they knew we would feed them, Kate could not stand to see a hungry cat, or a cat she knew should be hungry. We fed these cats until we left Portland. When we left Portland, we had the three mentioned and one more, a small cat we called Chutney, who was pregnant, when Kate brought her into the house. Chutney had three kittens that thrived, losing one. We kept these, so we moved seven cats. The three kittens, I have no idea how, but were part Maine Coon. These three were the sweetest, friendliest, nice cats. It can be problem keeping up with all the care and medical bills for these cats, but I would have it no other way. They are the reason Kate is doing as well as she is. They are her entertainment, they give her lots of love and fun. Money is really tight, but I would not have it any other way.

You're doing the best you can and that is commendable. It's more than most do. There is nothing wrong with setting a limit. You financial and emotional well being is important. You're doing good and that's good enough.

Sadly feral cats breed like rabbits. Unlike rabbits, which the cats often kill the babies, the cats in suburban areas seldom have predators, the “natural” form of birth control. In some areas, coyotes do take some out, but that tends to get people all upset too. Sadly, no matter how many you take in, no matter how many are adopted, there will always be more kittens born than there is room for. Back in my dad’s days, on the farm, they used to just put them in a weighted bag and toss them in the nearest creek or pond. As cruel as that sounds, they didn’t have the money to spay and neuter every stray animal that showed up on the farm. Not in anyway suggesting this as an alternative either. I could never do it myself!

If you care you suffer, that is life, sadly.

But at the same time, even if we make mistakes, the chances are that if we truly care, then we will still end our lives in the credit side of the balance sheet. And to die hurts no creature, it is the living who suffer, so i think that the religious moral judgment,which says that we can not kill, even in mercy, is as mindless as all other religious judgments, but the legacy of it still lingers in our culture and makes us feel guilty even when we are kind. But kindness is never wrong.

So thoughtful