You're right about that. It's really unfortunate. If it were safer to let
cats outside, we could let them keep a lid on the rodent population,
rather than relying on poison.

I know someone who wasn't allowed to adopt a cat from a shelter because
she rented an apartment in the city, and wasn't able to say for certain
whether there were rodents in her building and whether anyone was poisoning
them if there were. Even if she were to keep her cat inside her apartment,
so the cat wouldn't be able to get at the rat poison directly, a poisoned
rat or mouse could get into the apartment where the cat could eat it. And
if you're living in a large apartment building, you can't always be sure
what your neighbors are doing.

Joyce

And that could poison all the customers of the oriental
restaurant, too.

I know this is a joke BUT keep in mind that it is not a good idea
for
cats to eat mice.  People put out de-con and other mouse poisons
(I do
in my storage shed) and if a cat eats a mouse that has eaten
poison this
could poison the cat.