By MIKE MATHER in Rotorua
A "monster" cat is dead after attacking a man who thought he had trapped a possum - but instead found one large and very angry feline.
The Rotorua possum trapper had an alarming encounter with the huge cat - which was bigger thanthe trapper's dog - after finding it caught in a trap in the Okataina Scenic Reserve.
"I walked around the side of the tree expecting to see a possum and instead I saw this monster cat coming at me," the trapper, who did not want to be named, said.
"Even though I was much bigger than [it] he did not want to back off at all. He was quite happy to attack me."
The trapper shot and killed the cat, which was 85cm from nose to tail.
He photographed the cat to show how large the animals grew in the wild.
"Trappers are catching them all the time and they are just getting bigger and bigger. I have seen them stalking peacocks and turkeys and this one looks like he had been on a diet of possums and God knows what else."
Environment Bay of Plenty animal pest co-ordinator David Moore said feral cats were becoming a major problem in the district's forests.
"They are a considerable threat, firstly because of the degradation to our wildlife and secondly because they have been implicated in the spread of bovine TB," he said.
"They will scavenge and eat anything including birds, invertebrates, lizards, everything.
"People who own domestic cats have to be responsible and control them to the best of their ability by feeding them regularly and keeping them in at night.
"Cats have only got into the wild because people abandon cats and leave kittens in remote areas."
