Miracle Kirribilli Cats

Miracle Kirribilli Cats that live with the possums Animal Rescue group 'CatRescue' has rallied it?s supporters to find homes for a small group of stranded cats that are living in a colony in Kirribilli.

"We took the call last week from a Kirribilli resident who has been managing the cat colony for some time" said Derek Knox, spokesperson for CatRescue. "But we were in for a big surprise when we got there."

Going completely against most environmental viewpoints this colony exists in tandem with local possums feeding, playing, and living together at the back of a large block of units.

"The cats are being cared for by a local resident, however they are moving overseas in August, so we need to quickly desex the cats and find them new homes, time is short." Said Mr Knox

"Cat colonies exist throughout Sydney, and are the subject of much controversy" Said Mr Knox. "Put simply, cats who don?t have owners run the risk of being trapped and euthanased".

Extermination of free-living cats to preserve our wildlife is appealing to those who dislike cats and see them as the number one reason for loss of native populations, but this colony proves that this is not always the case.

The future of the Kirribilli colony looks promising, with CatRescue making immediate contact with Council to discuss a potential solution which is in the best interest of the community, and the cats. This involves rallying together volunteers and supporters to help trap, desex and care for the cats.

"We will desex all 10 cats immediately and then focus on rehoming. We don?t want to run the risk of any additional kittens being born into the colony during the upcoming breeding season." Said Mr Knox "We would ideally like to responsibly rehome all the cats to kind people in the local area. Our army of volunteers will be busy this next couple of weeks putting up posters and signs all through the North Shore to raise public awareness of this important community activity" Said Mr Knox.

We intend on placing these cats into our network of vets and trained foster carers, but as the cats are older and timid, socialising them for rehoming may take a little longer.

Surprising to most, CatRescue was a project started by a group of corporate workers to save a group of 100 cats in January.

"We took IT, marketing and project management skills and applied these business learnings to the world of animal management, as a result we have developed a humane and sustainable model that works" Said Jackie Thomas, from KPMG "Councils are beginning to talk to us, as we offer sensible and ethical methods that help them save lives and money. It is good that a forward thinking council like North Sydney is involved, as this gives us time to plan the best solution for both the cats and the community" said Mr Knox

The general public can help CatRescue by visiting it?s website at www.catrescue.com.au and finding out more about our programs.