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Hi folks
Well, it seems I opened a polarized can of worms. Currently, people are about evenly split between supporting and condemning my rant about cats.
A point or two in contention:
—Is this business of hunting down stray cats justified?
—Is the presumption that cats do no harm based on bad information? 
First of all, there was a bit of a nod and a wink when I implied that we should just leave them alone. If I truly believed that, then why did I assist and share in the expense of getting most of a large group of them fixed and into good homes?
They multiply so rapidly that they become invasive, eventually exhausting their own resources. So, naturally, colonies of feral cats are problematic. But sneaking up and traumatizing a lone cat that’s minding its own business ….huh? 
And it’s because someone called and complained. In my case, it was almost certainly a self-righteous busybody neighbour in a huff. 
There is, however, something good that might happen as a result, but it’s a bit of a long shot. 
Rooney lived for 16 years in a cat house made from plastic bins. It was insulated and had a heating pad (designed for pets) that was operational during the winter months. She was fed good premium cat food and had access to a heated water bowl. She refused to come inside my house. 
I always accepted that when the time came, she would go off by herself to die, naturally, as cats will do. I had to go away for a while, and I asked Cathy Jones, my wonderful cat whisperer who feeds them every day when I can’t, to keep an eye out for her. She would email me each day with a negative report.
So on a whim, when I got home, I checked animal control, and Rooney was there. To free her, I had to promise that she wouldn’t go outside. This debacle has forced me to go through the agonizing process of getting the old girl used to living in the house. 
Tomorrow it will be two weeks that she’s been gated in the spare bedroom. And she’s still pissed. It may be that she’ll be angry and depressed for all of the few years she has left. 
But if she does adapt, even just a little, her golden years will be a welcome combination of warmth and safety. That would be the good that comes of this. 
Any thoughts?