I've taken more than one putty-tat from a deer-stand, possibly messing up a chance at a deer.
At one time, the state of Wisconsin law was well publicized that all feral housecats be shot on sight. A study done there by their fish/game department alleged that one house cat eats some 100 songbirds per year. They further estimated a farm/ranch/feral housecat population, statewide, of one million.
A .243 up the south end of a northbound feral cat is, er, devastating. Gratifyingly so.
A leftover cooked dove or quail wired to a bush, surrounded by a sprinkling of bulk catnip available from your local Hoggly Woggly or pet store, is good bait. It works on mountain lions, also.
, Art