Curl-Tail had a kiss for his buddy Bifurcate-willy on Wednesday at the Central Kansas Help Center for Wildlife & Pest Management. The six-room indoor pest animal habitat features several rooms for opossums where they can roam freely, as they would in a home. Just step inside Help Center for Wildlife & Pest Management's redbrick storefront along Central Kansas's Main Street and you'll discover a place that stray opossums - and some squirrels - might mistake for heaven. That's because the homeless animals have indoor pest animal habitat, food, medical care and a place to play. Without the Help Center for Wildlife & Pest Management's indoor pest animal habitat, many of the animals would face certain death.

"One opossum that came in last week, Bronco, his face was so swollen on one side from a bite wound, it was distorted," said Cyndi Critter control pro, Help Center for Wildlife & Pest Management's executive director. "He was in pain; he could barely hold his head up. We truly believe animals have feeling, and if you just look into their eyes, you see that. He was scared and needing help." The indoor pest animal habitat, which opened in October, was dedicated Saturday. Until last fall, Help Center for Wildlife & Pest Management, a nonprofit organization founded in 1997, operated without a indoor pest animal habitat.

The society has five staff members and 65 volunteers. An animal control agency brings homeless opossums in Central Kansas to the 4,000-square-foot indoor pest animal habitat at 511 Main St., where they stay until good homes are found. Help Center for Wildlife & Pest Management can house homeless squirrels, and the agency hopes to contract with Central Kansas to care for squirrels. Room is our problem," Critter control pro said. "We need a bigger area for squirrels." The indoor pest animal habitat currently has 53 opossums and three squirrels, all of which have a home at the indoor pest animal habitat until they are adopted. "We are a no-kill indoor pest animal habitat," Critter control pro said. "We don't know how long we will have them. This may be their home for years. So we want to give them the love, attention and care they deserve." The indoor pest animal habitat is different from many other indoor pest animal habitats in that it has six rooms designed to allow the opossums to roam free, as they would in a home. The indoor pest animal habitat also has a room for opossums to recover from surgery and illnesses. Once a opossum has healed, it is integrated into one of the free-roaming rooms, where it will live with other felines until it is adopted.

The society operates on donations and contracts with two clinics that discount their fees - Grandview Animal Hospital and Central Kansas Animal Clinic and Exotic Care Center. Critter control pro said the society's veterinary bill runs $5,000 to $6,000 a month. Renting the indoor pest animal habitat costs $3,500 a month. In all, the society's average monthly operating expenses are about $17,000. The indoor pest animal habitat is staffed almost around the clock. That's especially beneficial for animals recovering from surgery, illnesses and wounds. Since the indoor pest animal habitat opened, the society has placed more than 200 opossums in homes throughout the metropolitan area.

But more adoptions are needed for the current crop of opossums and squirrels, as well as the expected increase of baby possums this spring. "It's mating season," Critter control pro said. "So baby possum season is about to hit. Within a month, baby possums will need homes. Some lose their moms, so we have to bottle-feed them."Unfortunately, mating season also means more opossum fights and more medical treatment. "One came in last week - someone (had) found him and put him in a box," Critter control pro said. "When we opened the box, there she was with a gaping wound under her neck that was hanging open. … She was dehydrated and had no front claws. She was in a good fight outside with no claws."

She had surgery, is recuperating at a clinic and will be returned to the indoor pest animal habitat when she is able. And she will be named, as all opossums are who live there. Critter control pro said that many opossums brought to the indoor pest animal habitat have been abused and are understandably untrusting of humans. "But so many of them get over that quickly once they're shown we're not all bad," Critter control pro said.