Just an interesting note for this thread. I may be repeating myself,
as I think I've told this story once before.
When I lived in Pensylvania, I owned a really cool cat.
I worked graveyard shift, and when I left for work, I let the cat out
for the night. I'd come home in the morn, call for the cat (he'd come
running) and the cat would come in, eat, sleep, and hang around with me
'til I left for work again.
I often found a "gift" of his hunting prowess by the door, usually a
shrew or mole that met their demise by his claws.
One day it was a pile of red feathers. Had to have been a cardinal.
This is when my one neighbor mentioned how free roaming cats ruin the
songbird population.
Never mind the fact that the mole population declined, there were no
more skunks digging in the yards for grubs, or the squirrels seemed to
have moved on to easier-bird-feeder-raiding grounds. Never mind the
fact that my cat was indoors during the day, when the bird feeders were
mostly visited. Never mind the fact that I placed my bird feeders well
clear of anywhere that the cat could have used as an ambush point.
Never mind the fact that the red-tailed hawks in the area picked off
more songbirds.
No, sir... my cat was THE cause of the declining songbird population.

I guess I don't understand some people's reasoning. What if the pile
of feathers had been from an sparrow (an introduced species) or a
nasty, noisy starling, or an illigitimate ******* blue jay instead of a
pretty red cardinal? The cat would have been a hero, I suppose.

Anyhow, to end on a humorous note, I once found a "gift" by the door
in the morning consisting of a dead squirrel minus the head. I wondered
at the time where the head might have gone, possibly tucked into boss
squirrel's nest as he slept as a "godfather" type warning, or could it
have been used by the cat in some secret cat ritual of building a small
bonfire and dancing around it with painted-cat-body and squirrel head
on stick?
All I know is I didn't care for the cat to lick my face after
that...LOL

Ron