I live in the middle of a little village (500 people) in the middle of the vines, in the south of France. It's the summer, and there is a REAL cats invasion. By the way, very few people have a garden in those old villages, and I do have one. We had a cat when we moved in there, but it died of cats aids a few months later, because of fighting with other infested males.These past years, we started planting strawberries, mint, ... the cats shitted everywhere, digged in the compost, pissed over the mint that died ... they slashed 3 swimming pools over years. Now I've made a little closed wired area for mint and herbs (aromatic, not be smoked ), we've built a " hard " swimming pool too.
But there're more and more cats, fighting, looking for a bf at night (and screaming), marking their territory. In the upper village, there're a bunch of old morons feeding " wandering cats ".
Of course, the matter is a matter of mentality. Here in the countryside, cats used to be some kind of assistants, helping vine growers to fight rats, and all those kinds of pests. Still, the mentality today, is to not sterilize cats, nor will people ever bring them to the vet if the cat is sick : it dies, there're plenty other. So, mostly, those cats are not " pets ", but it wouldn't change the situation if it was so.
I'm not in the 80s, when I saw my grandpa grab his gun to shoot a few of them or kill young born cats by throwing them on the wall (true). I tried pepper, we run after them everytime we see one. I don't want to poison those cats (even if, I have to admit it, when angered, I imagine it with satisfaction), I've bought a sling but I would feel bad by hurting them. The mayor knows about the problem and says we're under invasion.
Did anyone ever find a working solution ? My last idea is to buy a trapping cage, run 20 kilometers, and free them somewhere else, but considering the number, I'll have to fill in my car's tank several time.
Don't talk about " giving responsibilities " to owners, when they exist, they won't be fined (and I don't know if it is possible). My wife is saying it's maybe the occasion to have a dog that would hunt them by the way, but I told her that even if we'd like to have one, it would be a bad way to welcome it at home.