Sharon Earl has been rescuing and re-homing cats for 17 years and currently has ten living out of her Westbury home.

She was among the attendees at the Evandale Cat Show on Sunday, and said stray cats in the community are often misunderstood.

“People see them roaming around and assume they are a pest, but most of the time they are just looking for a home,” she said.

“There have been plenty that I have been able to tame, desex and then re-home.”

The self-employed mother of two was 16 when she got her first kitten, a pet that would mark the beginning of her care of the animals.

She would develop her passion into a community service of sorts, helping cats find homes and alerting the RSPCA when they required further assistance.

Ms Earl’s two daughters, Mia and Lucy, have assisted with the management of the animals, with the former having already nursed four cats back to health.

The 11-year-old affiliation with the animals has extended to her wearing cat ears wherever she goes, taking them off only when she goes to sleep.

Ms Earl said she been able to educate other children about what is involved in looking after cats through her job.

“I run a day care centre, into which I was able to incorporate a pet care program,” she said.

“Hopefully, it will give the kids a better understanding of what is involved in being a cat owner and they will be able to recognise situations of neglect.”