Letter: Don't allow cats outdoors

Sands Point Village Clerk Randy Bond is obviously a humanitarian in caring for these stray cats, but it does cats no favor to allow them to stay outdoors ["Ban cat abandonment," Letters, June 18].

The goal in helping outdoor cats is to eventually bring them permanently indoors. Domestic cats outdoors face disease, car strikes and attack by wild animals. Domestic cats are a danger to birds, especially those that nest close to the ground and hunt for food on the ground, such as thrushes.

The solution is to put outdoor cats up for adoption after they have become acclimated to humans. The Town of North Hempstead, where Sands Point is located, has a trap, neuter and release program, so the cats can't reproduce. But that does not improve the cats' health or the lives of many birds.

I suggest that North Hempstead provide a shelter for cats. Those that are adoptable may find homes with people who will promise to keep them indoors.

Peggy Maslow, Port Washington

Editor's note: The writer is the vice president of the North Shore Audubon Society.