A FERAL cat rehabilitation centre at Longford is attempting to prove that the pests can be tamed and found new homes.
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Big Ears Animal Sanctuary has captured more than 50 feral cats and found homes for 12 of them in the past six years.
It is the only feral cat rehabilitation centre in Tasmania.
Sanctuary owner Jacqui Steele and her husband Brett use possum traps baited with cat food to capture the pests.
Mrs Steele believes many of them can be turned back into loving house cats with the right care and management.
‘‘We saw that there was a huge feral cat problem in Tasmania and we were in a great position to do something about it,’’ she said.
Mrs and Mr Steele spend between $300 and $400 on food and maintenance for the cats each month.
The cats are housed in five unique shelters on the couple’s 10-hectare property, which are fitted with scratching posts, beds, chairs and framework on which to climb.
The pair acknowledged there was a need to cull the animals, but they were confident their no-kill approach was doing its bit to ease the situation.
‘‘What we’re doing is not a long-term answer and I don’t know what the long-term answer is,’’ Mrs Steele said.
‘‘But our cats here are living proof that feral cats can be tamed and they can become great pets.’’
Anyone interested in sponsoring a feral cat at Big Ears Animal Sanctuary can do so by emailing bj2103@bigpond.com.