While you might need to stay out of sight for a cat to enter a trap, you should always be close enough to see or hear when the trap is triggered. An animal left outside in a closed trap is vulnerable to attack by other animals with no way to escape. So, as soon as you have trapped the cat, the trap with the cat should be brought inside into the
pre-surgery/post-surgery recovery room that you've already prepared.
You can use an old sheet to cover the trap. All sides except for the door opening should be covered while the trap is set up to catch the cat as well as after the cat is in the trap. This helps keep the trapped cat calm. Keep the cover on the trap while transporting the cat to the clinic and while the cat's recovering.
Bait the trap with food that is very appealing to cats and has a strong odor. Fish-flavored canned cat food, tuna fish, Kentucky Fried Chicken, sardines, etc. make excellent bait. Place the food at the back of the trap and make sure all sides of the trap surrounding the food except for the door opening are covered so that the cat can't get to the food through the sides or back of the trap.
Try to trap the cat during the time of day that you would normally feed the cat. The hungrier the cat is, the more likely the cat is to get into the trap. Some cats will get into the trap without withholding food prior to trapping. If you set the trap, but the cat doesn't go in to eat the food that's in the trap, do NOT give up and do NOT give the cat food outside of the trap. Sometimes, the best way to get a cat into a trap is to withhold food for a day. Try again later that day or the next day, but don't withhold food for longer than this. If you start trying to trap on Friday and the cat doesn't get in or eat by Sunday morning, feed the cat like normal, reschedule your appointment, and try another method.
Once the cat is in the trap, make sure to provide food and water (unless it's after midnight on the night before surgery or the morning of surgery).
If the cat is already used to eating in a large enclosable area such as a porch, garage, etc., set the trap in this area. Make the opening to this area as small as possible so it can be easily and safely closed or blocked off once the cat enters this area, allowing you to trap the cat in the large space, making it more likely that you'll be able to get the cat into the regular trap. Make sure the only food source available is in the trap so that when the cat gets hungry, the cat will get into the trap. Make sure to block off any small spaces where the cat could get stuck and to remove any objects which could be harmful to the cat.
If you have a little more time before your appointment, another method is to get the cat used to the trap before actually trapping the cat. Prop the trap door open so that it can NOT close with the cat inside (Zip Ties work well for this). Cover the trap so that the door opening is the only uncovered side. Start off by putting canned food at the opening of the trap so that the cat doesn't have to go inside the trap to eat. Over the next week or two, move the food a little further back into the trap each day until it is all the way back and the cat is used to eating inside of the trap. As long as the trap is propped open and you're sure it can't close on the cat, you can leave the trap unattended. When it's time to trap the cat for your spay/neuter appointment, unprop the door so that the next time the cat enters the trap, the door will close. Do NOT leave the trap unattended once the door can close and trap the cat.
Even if you've been able to touch or pet the free-roaming cat in the past, do NOT try to get the cat into a carrier, trap, or other enclosure by picking up the cat. Always use traps to catch feral cats! This is the safest method for you and for the cat.
Petting a cat and picking up a cat are very different things. Cats that are not used to being picked up often react very badly to leaving their feet. They can scratch, bite, and thrash wildly until they escape. This situation will likely result in you and/or the cat getting seriously injured, and it will make it VERY difficult for you to get the cat to voluntarily enter a trap later after the trauma of this incident, if the cat even comes back. Please do NOT try to pick up a free-roaming cat - use a trap.
For more information on how to trap and care for feral and stray cats, tips on how to catch cats that won't get into the traps, and what to do in different situations that may arise with nursing moms and kittens, please read through the following guides and websites:
If you still have questions or need help trapping, contact
CSTAR,
PET SAVERS,
STAF, or
BCAA. Or, for a more personalized, hands-on learning experience, please contact Animal Welfare Association at
clinic@awanj.org about their free Feral Cat/TNR Workshops.
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