We have plenty of feral cats in Aiea, and they quite clearly do not eat primarily out of trash cans, because trash cans are covered. Even in Mainland suburbia, where raccoons do eat out of trash cans, they do not eat primarily out of trash cans.

I frequently see feral cats hunting birds, anole lizards, and at least once saw one eat a large cockroach.

The Polynesian colonists brought rodents with them, yet the native birds seem to have survived them just fine. I suspect the mongoose is at least as serious an egg predator, and may be worse, at least for some species.

Cats are in no danger whatsoever of going extinct. That cannot be said of Hawaii's birds and monk seals.

So, it becomes a question of priorities. Do we want happy outdoor pet cats, or a thriving bird and seal population?

If anyone has a better solution to the cat problem than killing them, let's hear it. I'm open to any non-cruel solution. What I am not open to is more of the proven failure of TNR.