"Bob Muncie" > wrote in message
...
>

>
> Seriously though, feral cats as far as I am concerned are on the same
> level as "bob cats", just smaller, and more likely to be hawk food. But I
> do believe they have their place in the chain since some of the other
> small predators are no longer around, or are slim in numbers. The voles,
> moles, and ground hogs are not. I know as I am trying to kill a few of
> them right now myself.
>>

Nope. Feral cats are domestic cats gone feral out of need and survival.
They are not the same as any wild cat native to the US. Domestic cats came
from wild cats that are native to Africa. And maybe India, and I think
there's one species in Europe, but I think most of their ancestors were from
Africa. Domestic cats are just relatives to lynx or bobcats, and are much
smaller. If the feral cat population went back to what it should be, the
real predators of moles, voles and other small animals would be food to
sustain owls, hawks, and the real predators of these prey in the US.

I have a formerly feral cat as a pet. She started out just as wild as if
she was a raccoon or a squirrel that you tried to take in. But somewhere in
her DNA is what we humans did to her species to make them tame, but stronger
still is what her own species did to survive, which is to be wild. You
can't hold this cat like you could a cat that has always been with people.
But she has her very sweet side and after 6 years, she's learning. I'm not
expecting her to change for me.