Just like their domesticated counterparts, it turns out feral cats can’t resist playing with a dangling feather boa.

“Although we need to remember, feral cats in Australia - while they are very different behaviourally to pet cats in most senses, they’ve never seen a human before and they’re terrified of our presence - they are still at the end of the day the same species of cats we have at home, so they’re going to play when they have the opportunity,” Alexandra says.

Alexandra explains that, while the feather boas were most effective in Tasmania at attracting feral cats, a meat lure could be just as effective on the mainland.

“There’s research out of the University of Tasmania that cats and devils avoid each other - so if we start putting meat in front of our cameras to lure cats to see if they are there, could we actually be shooting ourselves in the foot because devils are far better at finding meat than cats are, so what if we’re actually just attracting devils, and in that sense, deterring cats?”.