feral cats do not have rights under the law.
in order to generate protection for a feral cat, you must claim ownership over it - at which point you become liable for the damage and nuisance that it causes to the quality of life of human beings, through waste generation or whatever other annoyance. i would be ecstatic if somebody would claim ownership over the local cats, as i could send bylaw after them for the waste problem. oops?
the idea that we have some obligation to live in the filth of wild animals is called barbarism. and, if you do not enjoy living inside of civilization, i would gladly invite you to leave it.
i have no patience for stupidity of this sort.
...and, if it was up to me, we'd round them all up and incinerate them.