How to lure a trap-wary community cat
Eighteen months ago, a female cat showed up in our neighborhood. No one knows where she came from. Since then, she has had three litters with nine surviving kittens. The neighborhood has pitched in to give homes to seven of the kittens; the current two are still not weaned.
The kittens were easy to catch using traps rented from the Humane Society. But the mama cat won’t go into the trap. We tried not feeding her, but she was starving herself to death. Can you connect me with someone who can help? We just want to catch her, get her spayed and maybe find her a forever home.
Victoria
Dear Victoria,
How nice of you to help this cat — and what wonderful neighbors to take in so many kittens from her litters.
Fixing her is definitely the next step. You can learn a lot about TNR from the wonderful volunteers at the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition. They have informational videos online and stepby-step classes on how to do TNR. Just call their help line at 210-877-9067 or visit their website at https://sanantonio feralcats.org/ for more
information.
In the meantime, here are a few tips on how to trap a “trap-wary” cat.
Cover the trap with a towel or blanket to make it look safer to her.
If she is savvy and knows how to step over the trigger plate, place a stick or wooden spoon in front of it so she has to step over that and onto the trigger plate.
If she circles the trap, try placing two traps next to each other but with the cage doors facing opposite directions. If she doesn’t enter one, she might enter the other.
Ditch regular cat food and entice her with wet cat food, jarred baby food, unseasoned cooked chicken or canned mackerel. Put a teaspoon of food just outside the trap door, and then create a food trail by placing half a teaspoon of food every few inches up to just past the pressure plate in the trap.
If all this fails, try a drop trap. Prop up the trap using a stick or water bottle so it hovers above the food bowl; there will be no trap for her to walk into. The downside is that you must trigger the trap manually with a long piece of rope or string when you see her eating.
If you are an inexperienced trapper, you might find this trap harder to use, but many experienced trappers use these for “trap-wary” cats. The SAFCC can teach you how to use them.
Pet tip: Tie a knot or two on your dog’s nylon leash that you can grab onto when you want to manage your dog’s reach to other people or animals. It’s much faster and easier than just pulling on your dog’s leash.