Here, Kitty, Kitty ...

(Madison, Wisconsin) Boy! Once the animal rights crowd gears up for this debate, we're sure to have a humdinger of a donnybrook. A 48-year-old firefighter, Mark Smith, from Lacrosse, Wisconsin, has proposed that free-roaming domestic cats be classified as an "unprotected species" subject to hunting by anyone with a small game hunting license. The proposal is on the agenda for consideration by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress in April.

Some believe the feral cats need to be controlled due to the devastating effect they have on wild bird populations.

University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecology professor Stanley Temple, who trapped more than 100 cats and analyzed their stomach contents during a four-year study, has estimated that between 7.8 million and 219 million birds are killed by rural cats in Wisconsin each year.

On the other side are those that believe there is a humane way to handle the feral cat problem. Cat lovers have proposed trapping, sterilizing, and releasing with the apparent logic being that they'll all die of old age and the problem will be eliminated. With the U.S. feral cat population estimated to be between 60 and 100 million, the catch-and-release option doesn't seem very workable.

It seems that the controversy boils down to the simple question of who is more likable: Sylvester or Tweety? Remember, Granny was constantly having to hit Sylvester with her frying pan or umbrella or broom to protect Tweety. So, if life follows art, today's feral cats are destined to be hit, but not with a frying pan or umbrella or broom. They'll be hit with small caliber ammunition.