As an anesthetist in a rural practice, I made untold 30-mile round trips to my primary hospital at all hours of the night over almost four decades. This was mostly by blacktop but in extremes of ice by gravel.
At some point in those years, I considered that my headlights picked up at least one hunting cat every five miles. That’d be six cats per trip while going 60 mph (sometimes a little faster). Those were the ones who were white or in the open in the ditch — that I’d see.
They are also the most frequent road kill here.
We have a neighborhood cat that is a pet of some fine people here. But it roams and is death to birds and cottontails on our yard let alone the whole area. It is a ten pounder and I’ve seen it carrying birds to young rabbits around. Imagine a 100 million of these, 70 million of which roam freely.
