Hunger flushes them out of their hideouts to doom.

Civets, jungle cats and fishing cats are being caught and sometimes beaten to death across the city and its suburbs ? thanks to the real estate boom and excessive felling of trees.

?Nearly 50 civets have been rescued in the city this year. Some have been killed by the people,? Rathin Banerjee, deputy conservator of forests (headquarters), wildlife, said on Sunday.

A jungle cat and four fishing cats, too, have been rescued since January.

The cats are being spotted everywhere ? Golf Green, Jadavpur, Behala, parts of central Calcutta, Salt Lake and other areas.

A jungle cat has recently been rescued from the Raj Bhavan compound.

?Random felling of trees has led to a decline in the number of birds. Earlier, the civets used to come out of their hideouts, which were almost impossible to locate, and catch the birds,? explained Banerjee.

Now, the cats look for food in the garbage dumped in the city and its neighbouring areas, and get exposed to human beings. ?They can now be spotted during day, too,? the official pointed out.

Earlier this month, an entire family of civets had been caught at a house on Elgin Road.

The residents were terrified on seeing two adult and as many baby civets scouring the lawns for food and even entering the rooms.

They called up an NGO, whose representatives trapped the cats and handed them over to the forest department.

Civets have also been spotted on nearby Justice Chandra Madhav Road and Allenby Road. ?In these areas, there are several buildings that are vacant for almost 20 years. Multi-storeyed buildings are coming up in their place and the wild cats are losing their habitat,? the forest official added.

In a bid to stop people from catching or killing these animals, the state forest department is planning an awareness campaign.

?A number of NGOs and nature clubs will be involved in the campaign. People must know that the animals are absolutely harmless,? said V.K. Yadav, deputy chief wildlife warden.