Trapping and Care Procedures

TRAPPING

If you have never held or picked up the cat you plan to catch – USE A TRAP! Do not try to put the cat in a carrier. You risk injury to yourself and if you are bitten or scratched, the cat will have to be quarantined for ten days.

When you borrow a trap from CARE we will instruct you on the proper use of that trap and give you advice on how to go about trapping your colony cats.

  • You must have an appointment date before you call to reserve a trap. Traps are usually available for pick up 3-5 days before the appointment.
  • When picking up the trap, a CARE Trap Loan Form must be signed with the following information:
    • dates you will have the trap, number of traps, and trap serial numbers
  • Put newspaper in the bottom!!! (Newspaper is required by OCAS in all traps.)

There are many sites with advice on how to trap a feral cat. Several links are given below to help you learn what the issues are and how to deal with them. If you have a hard to trap animal let us know and we can help.

Dusk and Dawn are the best times for trapping feral cats.  Establish a routine feeding time and place. The more exact you can make it, the easier your trapping will be.

  • Place the trap in the feeding area for one to two days so that cats become accustomed to seeing it and the smell of any other cats previously trapped in it.
  • Set the trap so that it is open but will NOT close when triggered. If you have an unmodified automatic model tie the main door open with a bit of string. (Be sure string is trimmed short so that cats do not play with it or eat it. String can be very harmful if eaten.)
  • Begin feeding the cat/cats within the trap as far in advance of your appointments as possible. One week or as close as possible is best.
  • Even if there are several cats in the colony that have been fixed, all of them should enter the trap to eat. If you leave any food outside, it is impossible to control which cats enter to eat and which do not.
  • Skip one feeding prior to your first trapping attempt. Missing one meal is not at all unusual for a hunter and will not hurt them at all.  It will however make them all more likely to show up on schedule for the nest feeding time.
  • If this is the first trapping event
    • And you don’t care which cat is trapped, provide one to two servings of a more tempting than average food into the back of the trap.
    • Remove string and make sure trap door is functioning properly. Set the trap to automatically trigger if that option is available. Collect the cats that enter and take them for the appointment. (remember to contact Care as per the instructions you have received to confirm your appointment and successful trapping)
  • If this is a colony in progress
    • And some cats have already been neutered, you will need a manual trap to catch specific cats.  Fill the trap with quite a lot of food to be sure there is enough for several animals to enter, eat and leave.   Wait until one or more of your target animals has entered and pull string to close door.
  • As soon as trap is closed cover it and remove from feeding area to holding area. Holding area should be as far from feeding area as possible to keep other cats from being spooked.
  • Difficult to trap cats:
    • There are some cats that are highly suspicions and totally refuse to enter the trap.  The first thing to try is a more enticing food. If cats are accustomed to dry food, try canned.  If they are accustomed to canned, try tuna, sardines, baby food,  fried chicken or other strong smelling meats.
  • You may also need to try several different types of traps to find what it is they are avoiding.  A wood trap is larger but holds more smells than a metal trap.  The shiny metal may make them nervous on one types of automatic trap but they have no qualms about entering a brown painted metal trap.
  • We have a few large drop traps available for the most wary of cats if all else has failed. However, they do take two people to operate.

 Links from the Ally Cat Allies Trapping Feral Cats

Day in the life – a review of daily habits of a typical colony.  Great information for caretakers and those starting a new TNR project to determine the best feeding and trapping times!

Tips and Tricks for catching those hard to get cats.

 Tips on Hard to Catch Cats

Building traps. There are several different types of traps. the best opinion is http://www.floridacatnews.com/box_traps.htm

Drop Trap Design Bank - Includes several drop trap designs.

If you are bringing in more than 1 cat/kitten in a single trap, it IS NECESSARY to bring empty carriers for each additional cat/kitten. Cats/kittens are placed back in the trap or carrier after surgery for recovery. This makes it easier for clinic staff to monitor the animals following surgery and to avoid problems caused with half awake animals moving onto another that is still under and suffocating it.

  • Cover the trap immediately after trapping the cat.
  • Do not try to remove the food used to trap the cat.
  • Do not trap more than 2 nights before your SCHEDULED appointment.
  • If by NOON (12pm) the day before your appointment, you have been unable to trap the cat(s), please call the CARE line, 407-522-2617, and leave a message in the appointment mail box so your appointment(s) can go to someone else. You must reschedule your appointment(s).

PRE-SURGERY PROTOCOL

  • Adults (4 Pounds and UP): No food or water after 11:00 PM the night before the appointment.

AFTER CARE

  • All cats are given shots to wake them up from anesthesia. Males usually recover more quickly than females.
  • IMPORTANT: If you notice extreme lethargy, minor bleeding or other problems, bring the cat to Animal Services the next morning at 8:30. If the cat appears in serious trouble or critical condition following surgery, take them to the nearest Veterinary Emergency Clinic. CARE does not cover the cost.

RELEASE

  • Do not hold feral cats for an extended period of time, which will increase their stress and impede their recovery.
  • Females should remain in the trap or confined for at least two nights. If they were pregnant at the time of surgery, keep them in at least 3 nights. Males should be confined overnight.
  • All cats, male and female, should be alert, able to stand and move about normally and eating before they are released.
  • After 8:00 pm day of surgery, do not feed more than a tablespoon of food at a time. Instead of water, give them an ice cube in a dish or bowl, allowing it to melt, which will give them small amounts of water at a time. This will help them avoid being sick.

See also Surgery Recovery Instructions from Alley Cat Allies

WE RECOMMEND ALL friendly cats and young kittens be placed in good homes and NOT returned to the streets. Friendly cats, who were abandoned by their previous owners, have the most difficult time surviving on the streets. They are not accustomed to searching for their food. They trust people, even those people they shouldn’t. There are some people who truly hate cats and will harm them. These are the cats that desperately need to be placed in a new home.

Feral kittens under 8 weeks may be socialized and tamed. Alley Cat Allies website has information on taming feral kittens. The younger they are, the easier and quicker it is to turn them into loving, purring balls of fur.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU CONTINUE TO FEED THE CATS YOU RELEASE and MONITOR THEIR HEALTH. TAKE THEM TO YOUR VETERINARIAN AT ANY SIGN OF INJURY OR ILLNESS.

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