But what about the kittens - could any of these be brought into loving homes where they wouldn't have to scavenge for food and live outside in all weathers.

This is the story of Bobby, one such kitten who's whole colony had to be moved when their food source was taken away. Bobby, a 5 month old white tabby male was "trapped" by Sarah, one of the RSPCA Volunteers who had been busy ferrying the cats to the vets and then on to their new homes.

We had been lucky with most of the cats and found new areas on farms and smalholdings, after all, these wild cats were too big and used to the outdoors to become pets. With Bobby, so named because of his white socks, however I was up for the challenge.

Taking some advice on how to integrate a "wild" cat into a home environment, he was put into a large dog cage in one corner of my dining room where he observed from his igloo cat bed the comings and goings of our other cats and our big German Shepherd. He didn't come out for 4 or 5 days when we were around, but eventually gained more and more confidence in his surroundings and newly acquired friends!.

After quite a few weeks I felt confident to let him out to explore further and then came his big day when he went outside in the garden for the first time, with me worrying all day if we would ever see him again.

To meet him now you'd never know he was once totally wild and had to fend for himself, he has a lovely sweet character, very quiet for a cat but very loving. It is difficult to decide if his best friend is the black burmese or the big German Shepherd and he has not quite made it to sleeping on my lap but who knows as he gets older and less playful he may come round. We all love him to bits.
                                                                                   - Sarah, Volunteer RSPCA Vale of Mowbray