Plus the hundreds of song birds and baby rabbits that are killed.

Cats do kill birds, but more rats, mice and other vermin that are easier prey.
As for baby rabbits, who cares, they are capable of breeding totaly out of control, and turnning a fertile land into a desert/
Research Australia and out of control rabbits!
Cats do not kill as many birds as humans do, who spray insecticides without any thought that they deplete the birds natural food resources.

My cats live in a fully glass enclosed lanai....enjoying watching all the creatures that walk buy.

And the OP worries about his/her cat ripping the screen...wait till a coyote rips the screen and takes the cat away.

She wasn't on the lanai when this happened. She was in our guest bedroom on her perch. She doesn't go on the lanai unless one of us is there - the sliding doors are a little too heavy for her to push open by herself :)

You are sure you do not have a parrot? :)

Heh it's one of those carpet-covered "cat condos" with sissal sides. She never uses any part of it other than the top where she can curl up and watch the world go by or sleep, so I call it a perch.

Also to Barefoot: a coyote can rip a screen open to get inside anyone's house, if they happen to enjoy opening their glass window when the weather's nice. I don't see anyone keeping their windows closed 24/7 "just in case" a coyote happens to come by.

Down the street from my neighborhood in Connecticut there were bears and deer and coyotes, we had skunks and bats and turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks living in our back yard, and we NEVER thought even once, ever, that we should keep our windows closed "just in case" one of them decided they wanted to rip the screen and come in.

It's just not a thing. Or it shouldn't be. I won't barricade myself up in my house "just in case." People who do that are people who dig bunkers in their back yards and stock them for Armageddon.

Honestly, I never open my windows. I do that to keep the house cleaner. I have 2 dogs and an enclosed lanai. I feel they are totally safe.

Update - it's definitely a cat, it's happened a few times since then and we've seen the interaction between our indoor cat and this outdoor cat. Thankfully we were home to keep the screens from being torn again.

Just as an fyi - in Lake County (and in Sumter county) it is against the law to allow a cat or dog to be "at large." This is more clearly defined in Sumter ordinances but you can check online for the definition of the term, for anyone who wants to pick nits.

Here's the section of the Lake County ordinance that applies:

And that's from Municode Library

So - yes I can absolutely call the police and file a report - so that IF we find out whose cat it is, we can prevent further damage to our property and possibly injury to our (or their) cat.

We had a neighbor whose cat(s) were allowed to roam outside. The one would visit our patio, lounge on a settee and peer into the slider in the house and meow. For a time, we didn't know whose cat it was until we asked at a neighborhood drive-way party. The owner told us it was hers but became VERY defensive. Said if it's "bothering" just give her a call. We decided it wasn't worth a confrontation (though I think the defensive demeanor was to off-set us). The owner has since died and we haven't seen the cat in awhile but my response to people who let their cats roam is---"you are taking a chance on predidtors getting your pet". If you truly love your animal take care of it...I say that to those who let theirs roam!!

Years ago, up north, we had an in-door cat who loved to go on our screened in porch. Someone in the neighborhood let their own cat roam and it would come over and "harrass" ours. The meowing and screetching was something to behold and highly irritating. Eventually the neighborhood cat was taken to animal control and we didn't have an issue after that.

We had a cat up north who loved being outside. We lived in the country, and he could roam, catch mice, stalk birds, and do the normal cat-like thing. I think it is cruel to keep cats inside, they are not as happy and it is against their nature. We only let him out during the day. He was in at night so the risk from predators was small. We lived in an area with little traffic, and he knew to stay out of the road, so it wasn't an issue. I would probably not let a cat roam free in The Villages. There are pesticides sprayed which the cat might ingest. Traffic is an issue. And cranky neighbors judging from the comments on this board.

Our two have a glassed in area and a screened in area and we leave the sliders open a crack so they can go in and out to both except we keep them safely in during the night for fear something could get them by tearing the screen. Our cats are NEVER OUTSIDE the screened area, day or night.

We haven't ever had any cats here where we live wandering around....Or in Hadley, our previous home here in The Villages. I know there are feral cats around The Villages because I read about them and there is a group supporting spay and neuter of feral cats. Usually a neutered cat will hiss at an unknown visitor but the yelling and fighting I thought was behavior associated with mating.

I bet if the OP asked around she could find if the cat was feral or not. If so it could be picked up and hopefully neutered and adopted by someone if that is the case.

If someone is letting their cat roam, not much can be done but to call the authorities. Responsible people who love their cats know how dangerous it is for an unprotected kitty to roam here where there are all kinds of predators that can and do kill small domestic animals. Years ago we let our kitties out in an area that they could roam. I wouldn't do it anymore, here or there. My caring of kitties usually goes out to even bad and naughty ones that may have torn the OP's screen. BUT, I really, really, doubt it was a kitty cat. It just doesn't sound like a kitty cat, even one mating.

I'm not a cranky neighbor. I'm a neighbor who has had property destroyed as a result of a cat whose owner has chosen to disregard the county ordinance. In addition, domestic cats do not belong outside. They're at risk of predators, pesticides, insecticides, fleas, disease, turf-wars with other cats whose owners have no regard for their pet's safety, traffic. And their owners are at risk of insurance claims (or lawsuits) against them if their cat is -caught- picking a fight on someone else's property that results in property damage. Both are at risk of losing the cat permanently to the humane society or a shelter for re-homing, once it's determined that the owner intentionally and purposefully allowed their pet to be outside.

Anyone who thinks that a domestic animal *should* be an outdoors animal - does not deserve to have a cat.