Doing Something About Stray Cats

IN MY SMALL TOWN SQUARED American town there seems to be, shall we say, a thriving population of stray cats. I say this because having lived there ten years, on four different occasions kittens have strayed into my yard, evidently looking for food, shelter, and love, and each time I have adopted them, or they have adopted me.One at a time, they showed up in my yard, obviously stray, hungry, lonely, and frightened. it seemed to me that they thought of me as a desperate last chance, a last chance for protection and love; either that, or a life as a wild animal that might not be worth the effort. It was as if these kittens innately sensed that I was a potential protector and care giver, like a big, ugly momma cat. Now I pray that no more show up; it could become a problem for me, I'm such a sucker for homeless kittens. I have now found cats to be amazingly intelligent, warm, and affectionate, each with a different personality, a perfect companion for humans, it seems to me .My assumption is that strays cats will live their lives hungry, cold, scared and unloved, and will generally die young. To me, this isn't acceptable. Estimates are that there are tens of millions of feral cats in America, and presumably the same situation exists, to one degree or another, in much of the human occupied world. I recall hearing that in Rome, near the ancient coliseum, there is a large stray cat population, which is deliberately allowed to thrive, much loved and assisted by people, who like the absence of a rodent problem. Scientists estimate that if stray cats suddenly did not exist, there be a major impact on the environment, with billions more rodents and birds surviving each year, which may or may not be a good thing. Maybe stray cats are a vital part of the ecosystem worldwide, and should be kept stray. But that's kind of hard to believe. I'm in favor of capturing as many as possible, spaying, neutering, and vaccinating them, then, if homes cannot be found for them, letting them get back to their stray cat lives, instead of killing them, which is done in much of the United States. What about good hearted American suburban and urban dwellers volunteering to be "cat sanctuaries", putting out food for area strays, and so forth. If that idea sounds crazy, it shouldn't. Above all else, we shouldn't ignore the cat situation, because cats, trust me, are about as human as we are.