The pandemic reduced animal-control efforts, exactly when COVID-stressed pet owners began to dump unwanted cats on street corners. The cats bred quickly, moving into back yards and looking for food. That is why spring is somewhat more quiet this year, said cat-protector Christine Gruber - feral cats eat songbirds. She monitors six colonies in the Dayton’s Bluff area of St. Paul, but said she can’t keep up with rising tide of unadoptable cats. “It’s becoming harder,” Gruber sighed, “for me to even make a dent.” When the pandemic forced a statewide lockdown in March 2020, the animal welfare system was a casualty. Minnesota’s network of veterinarians, spay/neuter clinics and 66 cat-rescue groups were forced to shut down, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.