Cats are now used by merchants, common folk and sailors alike to protect food stocks. But they've become too numerous and risk becoming a problem themselves! People could adopt them to regulate their number, or, as butchers suggest, those "unemployed" cats could be slaughtered for meat—as they do for cows who cannot produce milk. What's your choice?
People might enjoy having them lying around all day...
The meat's modest and stringy, but the commoners aren't fussy.