Our oldest barn cat have been about 9 years. Like was said many don't make it to 3 5 or 6 is getting old. I had a few fixed more show up. Took several to the discount/ by donation spray neuter thing that showed up. They have there ears clipped to sho they have been fixed. I think we donated 50$ or so a cat much cheaper than 200 I think they paid to have my daughters cat fixed

I think there are a few around not fixed and if I see them and have time to be sure they are one not fixed I will fix them permanently. The ones fixed can stay I even like some of them but a single not fixed female = 6 to 12 more un fixed problems a year depending on # of litter they have. That compounds fast if not addressed even when 60% don't last 8 months.
They do their job well. I don't see mice in the barn except for a dead one they may be eating. Daughters cat had one dead and eating in the house a week or so back. Had not seen any evidence of having a mouse in the house yet so she must have gotten it before it had been in long.

Totally disagree!
They've been doing it for years here, and the feral cat population hasn't gone down where people are feeding them.
What happens is cat owners don't neuter or spay their pets, and let them run the neighborhood.
Their ( pet) has a litter and they post on media platforms free kittens!
If no one wants them , they just take them to the nearest feral cat colony and dump them.
If not there anywhere they can dump them and not be seen doing it.
Amish used to take cats years ago for controlling mice and rats.
They don't want anymore of them.
Only good thing about dumping them out in farm country is they become coyote food!
I remember in the 50's and early 60's wild dog packs roaming around killing sheep and other livestock.
Farmers got together and hunted them down. Hence the dog pound and licenses .
TNR has been around for 20 or more years, until people become responsible for their pet cats , the problem will never be solved.
In Ohio we have a leash law, dogs need to be licensed , and we used to have dog pounds , that after so many days the dogs would be euthanized , same with feral cats. The dog license money would cover the cost of the pounds.
Then the animal rights zealots bleeding hearts put a stop to it , and had the guts to ask the county to give them dog license money to open and run three cat shelters that are NO KILL SHELTERS !
One or more cities, towns, or villages had no loose pets ordnances , and people would catch loose cats , the police would come and issue a ticketed for loose pets.
The prosecutor for the county wouldn't except them and said cats don't count.
Sorry but feral cats are a health hazard , and they stink to high heaven.
As long as there's no law being enforced on the problem , it'll keep getting worse.
EXAMPLE THE BORDER !

I will say this, looking through a thermal with black hot, you can pretend it’s the mythical black panther! Just pretend it’s a little bigger and that tails a little longer.

Back in my teenage years our local MCLB was run by a Colonel that loves to quail hunt. He was upset at the lack of quail on the base so they brought in a biologist to see what could be done. Their response was “trap” all the ferals.
Well if you didn’t pick up on the MC of MCLB, that stands for Marine Corps. I was in good with the GW out there (Gunny) and he notified the MP’s we’d be doing a little shining at night in certain areas. Weapons were issued and we fulfilled the Colonels wish of Make Quail Hunting Great Again. Our biggest weighed a whopping 34lbs!! We literally shot so many one night we went through 500 rounds of 5.56 ammo. They had to call for another truck just to haul carcasses. Fun times!!

I don't know if it's true, but I once read that house cats kill more birds in the USA than do hunters.

Adak Island in the middle of the north pacific once had a US naval base with 6000 residents. When the base shut down in the 1990's many folks left their cats. There are now less than 100 people living there. The last time I was there about 10 years ago, I saw feral cats. There are plenty of abandoned buildings that give them shelter, and LOTS of invasive rats and wild native birds to feed them. They have become very wild and elusive.

Have found baby birds with just their heads eaten by house cats.
Found baby rabbits all killed and only one was partially eaten, by house cats.
Anyone that lets their well fed cats out, find dead animals left as presents by their cats, and think it's cute!
People are totally ignorant about a cats instinct to hunt and kill.
They hunt and kill just for the killing.
Millions of song birds are killed every year by house cats, untold numbers are killed by feral cats.

In the 70's a solid color cat hide sold for $5.00 .
There ( from what I read ) was a $5.00 bounty on cats at one time in Minnesota .
Same with Australia , that was at one time over run with feral cats.
Sorry but if a cat is running loose , even with a collar , they're feral!

I don't release stray cats I use em for or bait.

Always heard to throw tom cats up into grape vines , and set the trails going in and out of the vines.
Perfect for snares.