Ask Real Estate is a weekly column that answers questions from across the New York region. Submit yours to realestateqa@nytimes.com.

Feeding Feral Cats

A neighbor leaves bowls of food around the neighborhood for feral cats, even placing some on the grounds of the Russian diplomatic mission at the end of our block. I’ve asked her to stop, and I remove food when I can, but to no avail. The cats treat my garden like their litter box, track mud over my car and wail and moan when they fight or mate. Worse, the food attracts skunks. A neighbor’s dog was sprayed twice and my shuttered window was sprayed, filling my house with the stench. Another neighbor and I trapped seven skunks to be released in Pelham Bay Park, but there are more. What recourse do I have?

Riverdale, Bronx

New York City is home to tens of thousands of stray cats roaming the streets, parks and backyards, according to the NYC Feral Cat Initiative program. They are a mix of lost or abandoned house cats and their feral offspring. These cats spray, fight and mate, producing another generation to rummage through your garden and scale your car.

It is legal to feed these freewheeling felines, so you might have trouble persuading your neighbor to end the movable feast. You wouldn’t have much luck suing her for creating a nuisance, if it came to that, because she is not breaking the law.