Tired of neighborhood cats using my lawn as a litter box, I began live-trapping them with the consent of the local animal-control officer, who then delivers them to a shelter. (I had tried other methods of repelling the cats and had spoken to my immediate neighbors.) These cats are either homeless or have bad owners. Either way, I say the cats are better off at a shelter. My wife says I am heartless. You? JOHN GOLD, BIDDEFORD, ME.

I am not a cardiologist, but your cat-trapping is at best premature. First, speak to your neighbors, and not just those next door. Describe your plans and note that there are good reasons to keep cats inside. As Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, puts it, “Cats are at risk of disease, being hit by cars, running afoul of people with evil intentions who will harm them, dog attacks, rabies and more if left outside.”

Next, before consigning a cat to a shelter, give the cat’s owner a chance to retrieve it. (This might mean posting fliers around the neighborhood.) Contrary to your assertion, cats may be better off at a shelter only in the sense that in this vale of tears we’d all be better off dead — such is the fate of many animals left at shelters without a no-kill policy. You must learn what your shelter does with a cat that is not promptly adopted and also confirm that the shelter screens adopters. Shelter cats have ended up with laboratories or with individuals who subject them to cruel fates.

Image Credit... Christoph Niemann

Better to consider gentler deterrents: electronic gizmos that repel unwanted animals, a dog or perhaps a gigantic rodent. The capybara, the world’s largest, can reach 140 pounds, a hefty rebuke to any wandering cat and an attractive herbivorous lawn ornament.