There seems to be a large number of stray cats loitering in the vacant lands around SkyDome

There seems to be a large number of stray cats loitering in the vacant lands around SkyDome. Where did they all come from, and can anything be done to help them?—Tim Deacon, Harbourfront

Cats are fearsomely amorous beasts. One feline tryst can yield an astonishing 80 million descendants in a single decade. Although precise census figures aren’t available, it’s no surprise that Toronto, like any big city, has an enormous population of feral cats. Here’s the tip of the iceberg: of the 9,311 kitties dropped off at the Humane Society last year, nearly half were strays. Just how many of these contributed to the feral herd (meaning cats born into the wild) while on the lam is not known. The burgeoning “colony” living near the Rogers Centre (née SkyDome) is one of the city’s largest, though there are dozens of others. Sadly, it’s next to impossible to domesticate a feral cat, but euthanasia isn’t the only option: should you manage to capture such a feline, for a fee of $30 the Humane Society will spay or neuter and vaccinate the animal before it’s returned to the urban wilds.