A Kern County ranch will become home to hordes of wild cats that have been roaming the spacious grounds of the Mobil Oil Corp. refinery in Torrance.

The estimated 75 to 100 cats living at the refinery will be moved to a new cat habitat at the LIFE (Life is For Everything) Foundation Morningstar Ranch in Inyokern.

Mobil officials hope that the plan will end the controversy that erupted a year ago when the refinery began trapping and removing the cats, citing safety concerns. Some employees and area residents objected after four cats were destroyed, prompting Mobil to search for a new home for the cats.

The company settled on the Inyokern ranch, where construction of a 4,000-square-foot cat habitat has been completed recently. Wild cats from another company have already moved in, and the Mobil cats are expected to follow in a few weeks. Volunteer trappers could begin rounding up the cats as early as next week.

Mobil spokesman Barry Engelberg said he does not know if any other oil refineries have relocated stray cats, but he said wild cats are a widespread problem.

"This problem is not a just a Mobil problem. It's a countrywide problem," Engelberg said.

Mobil officials have said the cats must be removed because they could pose problems with refinery machinery. For instance, officials said, a cat could come in contact with high-voltage switching equipment that could kill the cat and cause a power outage.

Mobil has donated $25,000 toward building the Kern County cat facility and caring for the cats. The oil company is donating 200 containers to be used as igloo-like shelters for the cats inside the habitat.

The habitat has indoor and outdoor areas and plants such as mint, which cats enjoy eating, Cross said.

Operators of the habitat hope that residents will contribute money, food and items such as old towels and sheets and cat toys for the cats' benefit, said Barbara Cross, executive director of LIFE Foundation, a nonprofit environmental group that owns the ranch and specializes in animal care and safety.

Cross said caring for the cats will cost about $200 annually per cat--or $20,000 for 100 cats. Project officials say funding will come from corporate support, other fund raising and volunteer activities.

All cats will be sterilized before they leave for Kern County.

No one is sure exactly how many cats are roaming the refinery grounds, said Ed Cubrda, president of the Los Angeles SPCA, which is assisting in the cat lift. "We just don't know for sure. . . . You could be counting the same cat."