Should cats be allowed outside to play?

We don't have a cat, but we have a garden and it is extremely distressing when cats from houses nearby come and kill the birds, some of which are my friends and I get to know them very well as the sames birds visit every day, sometimes for years. The owners are oblivious to what their cats do when they are out "playing". It causes distress, alarm and panic to the birds when they, or their partners/mates, or their babies that they have worked so tirelessly to raise and care for, get ripped to pieces by a cat.

I also had to give up growing vegetables and give up sitting on the grass and give up on the outdoor area under a tree where we had a table and chairs in the shade, as these cats poo everywhere in my garden, it seems they want to keep their own garden clean! They loved pooing in my vegetable bed, they also poo under the trees and they also sometimes just poo right in the middle of the grass. I am forever tying to pick it up and had to buy dog poo bags especially for all the cat poos, but when it's runny and wet it just smears everywhere and then I have to get a watering can and try and rinse it away. It smells very strong and horrible, I find it disgusting and it's dangerous too as the bacteria in some cats poo is dangerous to humans and can survive for years in the soil. It makes me so depressed when I get cat poo on my shoe, or trousers, or garden tools or gloves and it spreads everywhere. Plus, I am the one who has to deal with the dead birds, which are my friends and who I love, when they are killed by cats, The owners don't have to deal with all the poo and all the dead things, and I don't think that's fair. We never sit outside anymore and I had to let my vegetable plot go wild and turn it into a wild flower area as it was impossible to do any gardening with a constant supply of cat poo being deposited on the vegetable beds.

Also my Grandma had to stop feeding birds because her neighbours cat would sit in wait for them and she kept finding piles of feathers everywhere, she lives in a town and there isn't much wild food left for the birds there as everyone turns their gardens into parking areas or puts (astro turf/artificial grass down, which in my opinion should be a punishable offence and illegal) and they also keep chopping down their trees as they don't like getting "bits" on their cars an they want "full sun" in their conservatories and they don't care about nature or wildlife. So now my Grandma doesn't see any birds in her garden which is sad. In addition, my Grandma had to stop planting flower seeds in her garden as every time she tried her neighbours cats just came and dug them up, and this made her feel depressed too as she can't enjoy her garden really.

So my opinion is that if cats are to be let outside, they should only be let outside if a way can be found (such as high cat proof fencing or perhaps controversially, GPS electric buzz or beep collars that could be programmed to "invisible" fences, such as they have been trialling with some cattle ) that would keep the cats firmly contained in the garden of the person who it belongs to. That way the owner can see for themselves all the dead birds and have to deal with their own cats poo, and people who don't have cats wouldn't be distressed and depressed by having their gardens invaded by killer poo machines. Also, the cats would be safer as less of them would get run over, go missing, or get into fights with neighbouring cats. 

We don't have a cat, but we have a garden and it is extremely distressing when cats from houses nearby come and kill the birds, some of which are my friends and I get to know them very well as the sames birds visit every day, sometimes for years. The owners are oblivious to what their cats do when they are out "playing". It causes distress, alarm and panic to the birds when they, or their partners/mates, or their babies that they have worked so tirelessly to raise and care for, get ripped to pieces by a cat.

I also had to give up growing vegetables and give up sitting on the grass and give up on the outdoor area under a tree where we had a table and chairs in the shade, as these cats poo everywhere in my garden, it seems they want to keep their own garden clean! They loved pooing in my vegetable bed, they also poo under the trees and they also sometimes just poo right in the middle of the grass. I am forever tying to pick it up and had to buy dog poo bags especially for all the cat poos, but when it's runny and wet it just smears everywhere and then I have to get a watering can and try and rinse it away. It smells very strong and horrible, I find it disgusting and it's dangerous too as the bacteria in some cats poo is dangerous to humans and can survive for years in the soil. It makes me so depressed when I get cat poo on my shoe, or trousers, or garden tools or gloves and it spreads everywhere. Plus, I am the one who has to deal with the dead birds, which are my friends and who I love, when they are killed by cats, The owners don't have to deal with all the poo and all the dead things, and I don't think that's fair. We never sit outside anymore and I had to let my vegetable plot go wild and turn it into a wild flower area as it was impossible to do any gardening with a constant supply of cat poo being deposited on the vegetable beds.

Also my Grandma had to stop feeding birds because her neighbours cat would sit in wait for them and she kept finding piles of feathers everywhere, she lives in a town and there isn't much wild food left for the birds there as everyone turns their gardens into parking areas or puts (astro turf/artificial grass down, which in my opinion should be a punishable offence and illegal) and they also keep chopping down their trees as they don't like getting "bits" on their cars an they want "full sun" in their conservatories and they don't care about nature or wildlife. So now my Grandma doesn't see any birds in her garden which is sad. In addition, my Grandma had to stop planting flower seeds in her garden as every time she tried her neighbours cats just came and dug them up, and this made her feel depressed too as she can't enjoy her garden really.

So my opinion is that if cats are to be let outside, they should only be let outside if a way can be found (such as high cat proof fencing or perhaps controversially, GPS electric buzz or beep collars that could be programmed to "invisible" fences, such as they have been trialling with some cattle ) that would keep the cats firmly contained in the garden of the person who it belongs to. That way the owner can see for themselves all the dead birds and have to deal with their own cats poo, and people who don't have cats wouldn't be distressed and depressed by having their gardens invaded by killer poo machines. Also, the cats would be safer as less of them would get run over, go missing, or get into fights with neighbouring cats. 

NAS79256 said:

GPS electric buzz or beep collars that could be programmed to "invisible" fences, such as they have been trialling with some cattle ) that would keep the cats firmly contained in the garden of the person who it belongs to

That is not recommended. Using things like electric buzz or beep collars would cause immense distress and suffering to a cat. 

Birds can fly, cats can't.  If they're dumb enough to get caught by a cat, tough. 

That's so sad. Yes, I've had problems, too, with visiting cats and I'd prefer them to stick to their own gardens, if only a safe way could be found. 

Also, birds that get scratched but not killed by cats get infected by bacteria on the cats claws and die a slow death, which can take several days, even from just a tiny scratch, and that is horrible to watch too. Just because birds are wild animals, it doesn't mean they enjoy being killed or being ill, they are sentient individual creatures all with their own distinct characters, behaviours, preferences, habits, quirks and routines, and they very much experience fear. terror and pain and they very much want to live. The lives of wild birds are as valuable as ours and as valuable as peoples pet cats, but people seem to overlook them sometimes as if they were not individuals each with their own distinct life.