September 27, 2011Dear Sir,I applaud volunteers and we would be a poorer country without them. I do however have a problem with volunteering when the efforts negatively impact the enjoyment of my own property. I wonder how many volunteers at the Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (BFAB) feed these hungry cats close to their own homes. We have a feeding station about 100 yards from our home and feral cats have taken up residence on our property. This is what we endure from a regular bunch of a half dozen or so feral cats:l Our lawns, flower and vegetable gardens being used as toiletsl Working in our gardens and coming up with our hands or gloves covered in cat refuse. (Fortunately we don't have small children anymore).l Routinely smelling the aroma of cat refuse and having our garden furniture and walls sprayed by toms which adds to the aromal Being woken up in the middle of the nights by cat fightsl Our lizards and wild birds being targeted as a supplementary food sourceWe have at least one new family of cats every year, so they are not all neutered or spayed and I very much doubt the overall numbers are declining as is hoped by the BFAB. We tried to get someone from BFAB to trap yet another young mother and her two kittens this spring. We were given a name but nobody contacted us. We caught one kitten and took it to the SPCA. The mother is still around and the remaining kitten is growing but I don't know if it's male or female.Before the hate mail starts, a friend from BFAB who did contact us knows our name and also knows that we loved our own cats, the last of which lived to be over 20 years old. What we object to is feral cats being forced upon us and we don't see why we have to suffer from the unending problems associated with them. The kittens are cute but they don't stay that way long. If the BFAB members want to help them then why don't they all set up feeding and capture stations in their own backyards? I'm sure their neighbours will be supportive.This morning I was welcomed to my back porch by a fresh pile of unburied cat refuse in a flower border I'd weeded and dug over on Sunday. Am I alone or are others equally fed up with feral cats? If I'm not alone, what can be done to minimise their negative impact on the lives of those who have no interest in them?I'd rather smell flowers and watch the lizards and birds.GARDENERPembroke