Need suggestions on trapping

We live on a farm in rural Indiana. This has been a dumping spot for animals for a very long time. Sometime in the past 6 months, someone dropped off three Siamese cats. One has since disappeared... but there are two remaining. The one took a little patience but I was able to get her to come to me... she is around 10 years old and had obviously been someone's pet, she just needed a little time to trust. We named her Lily and have adopted her as a member of our furry family. She is very affectionate and is a wonderful kitty.
But it is the smaller Siamese we are having trouble with. I borrowed a humane trap from the neighbors and so far have only caught a possum and a raccoon. I saw the Siamese yesterday and got close enough to almost touch and then one of our horses made noise and she (NO idea of the sex... just referring to the cat as female) ran off. I saw her twice later in the same area so I moved the trap to that area and set it with a can of food inside. I just checked it this morning and no kitty.... and I haven't seen her back in that area.
I really need to catch her because she is so skinny and appears to be suffering from an upper respiratory infection. I have the time to work with her and socialize her once I catch her.. I just need some suggestions for how to catch her!

But it is the smaller Siamese we are having trouble with. I borrowed a humane trap from the neighbors and so far have only caught a possum and a raccoon. I saw the Siamese yesterday and got close enough to almost touch and then one of our horses made noise and she (NO idea of the sex... just referring to the cat as female) ran off. I saw her twice later in the same area so I moved the trap to that area and set it with a can of food inside. I just checked it this morning and no kitty.... and I haven't seen her back in that area.
I really need to catch her because she is so skinny and appears to be suffering from an upper respiratory infection. I have the time to work with her and socialize her once I catch her.. I just need some suggestions for how to catch her!

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What type of bait are you using?? A lot of feral cat trappers swear by warm KFC without the skin. Also, try some of the suggestions below:

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/hardtocatch.htm

Katie

I have been using canned cat food... 9 Lives I think it is.

Try a really strong smelly type bait. KFC or tuna fish. Go luck and let us know if you catch her.

I use burlap sheets and strips to break up the outline of my traps--much like a hunter would use a Ghilly Suit. I try to set the spring release as delicately as possible and place a fishy bait--anchovies work very well--so that the cat can't get at it without stepping on the release plate. That's worked quite well so far....

Well, I had the trap set, trying a few suggestions. I just caught a kitty in it, but not the Siamese as I had hoped. This other kitty was here the beginning of the year and had disappeared. She showed up again today and was the first to end up in the trap. I've got a room set up for each of the kitties that I need to catch and I'm making appointments for the vet so that they can be spayed/neutered and vaccinated. The Siamese I still have to catch and this brown tabby that I caught today will stay here and will be members of our furry family once tamed, vetted and made sure they are not carrying any contagious diseases.
Unfortunately our neighbors shoot feral cats, so the ones that end up here we want to do everything we can to help them. We've decided to keep the Siamese and this girl we caught today provided contagious diseases are ruled out at the vet (otherwise they'll live in a heated/cooled shed that we're setting up for any cats that for any reason can't live with our indoor cats). Any other cats we trap will be vetted, tamed, and found homes for.

What sweethearts you are for rescuing these cats! We ended up getting involved with TNR when a) we first figured learned there was a feral cat problem in the RV Park in which we were staying and B) we found out they were going to put out poison for the cats! Fortunately, they were agreeable to letting the cats live there if they were sterilized and fed.

As far as trapping... try sprinkling loose dirt or kitty litter or sand or something over the bottom of the trap. Anything that you can just lift up the trap and it will sift through - but so the cat doesn't have to walk on the wires. That helps.

Camoflauge (sp?) works well too - the burlap is a good idea. Leaves and sticks on the burlap is even better (make sure you leave enough area so you can pretty easily see the trap though).

Use a really stinky food. We've used canned tuna in a paper bowl. Herring (no sauce) is almost no-fail (to get something in the trap anyway. Thankfully we never trapped a skunk, but for a while there the number of possums and raccoons we were trapping outnumbered the number of cats).

It really helps if you've got a feeding schedule going. Food out from 7:00pm to 9:00pm every day. Something like that. When kitty is regularly showing up to eat - set the trap as described above, and put the stinky food in there.

If you don't have a regular feeding schedule going or don't have time to get on set because you're worried about kitty's health - just keep setting it up, putting stinky food in it, and releasing the racoons and possums.

Sending "eat the food in the trap" vibes to the siamese kitty!!!!

Hi,
I was just about to start a similar thread when I saw this one. My situation is that I have about 6-7 cats that I need to trap (have homes for them) but they won't go near the trap. I feed them on my front steps each nite and though they usually start coming for dinner about 6, when I put hte trap out they avoid coming anywhere near my front steps til I remove it when I go to sleep 5 hours later. I can't leave it out over nite as it might be stolen (i live downtown), could catch a mother cat that I don't want to catch til I can find her kittens, and there is a fox about. I'm also worried about trapping one in front of the others as I'm worried they won't go in if they see one of their mates trapped. I'm getting really worried because there has been a fox by for dinner in the cat dishes 2 nights in a row! Please help. You can find out more about my kitties and see a video of the fox on my website http://www.kittiesinthehood.com
Thanks so much,
Naomi

Originally Posted by Naomih

Hi,
I was just about to start a similar thread when I saw this one. My situation is that I have about 6-7 cats that I need to trap (have homes for them) but they won't go near the trap. I feed them on my front steps each nite and though they usually start coming for dinner about 6, when I put hte trap out they avoid coming anywhere near my front steps til I remove it when I go to sleep 5 hours later. I can't leave it out over nite as it might be stolen (i live downtown), could catch a mother cat that I don't want to catch til I can find her kittens, and there is a fox about. I'm also worried about trapping one in front of the others as I'm worried they won't go in if they see one of their mates trapped. I'm getting really worried because there has been a fox by for dinner in the cat dishes 2 nights in a row! Please help. You can find out more about my kitties and see a video of the fox on my website http://www.kittiesinthehood.com
Thanks so much,
Naomi

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Naomi,

Sounds like you need a drop trap.....there is information on a drop trap here:

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/hardtocatch.htm

Katie

Thx so much...I now have some good tips to try.
I'm still worried though about the others seeing when their mates are trapped...is it really important that I don't let this happen? So far I've been careful, but they often come 4 at a time at night which is making it really hard.

Thanks again,
Naomi

Still no luck with the Siamese yet. I didn't leave the trap set overnight, as I didn't want to trap her and then she'd have to sit in the trap all night. I went into the barn around 10 am to feed the horses, and saw her sitting on a bale of hay. She meowed at me but didn't offer to run away. I talked to her while I fed and she was obviously hungry... she wanted the horse food.... but she wouldn't approach me. By the time I was done feeding, she had disappeared. I took the trap in and set it in the area that she was at. I've checked it once and no kitty yet. Hopefully I'll have her by the end of the day!

UPDATE!!

It took a shorter amount of time than I thought it would. I went out to check on the trap around noon and the little Siamese kitty was in it. I knelt down to talk to her and she didn't flip out. Since it's gonna be a couple days until we can get into the vet, I released her into a large wire dog crate, with a litter box, food and water. I feel bad caging them, but after they are vetted they'll have their own rooms to be released into.. I just didn't think I'd be able to catch them again so soon to get them to the vet. The tabby that I got yesterday has finally settled down, and I was able to get her food and water changed this morning with no problem. She's still kinda hissy and growly when she sees me, but much better than yesterday. The Siamese will approach me, but very cautiously. I believe she has had human contact before, it's just been awhile. Like the 10 year old Siamese that I caught, I think she'll just need a little time to adjust and trust me. She wants to be affectionate, she's just scared.
My b/f is bringing the camera home from work and I'll get pictures of them both. Now I've just got to come up with names. Both are girls as far as I can tell... I'd say the tabby is about a year old, maybe a little less and the Siamese is under a year... we'll see what the vet says though.

Originally Posted by bnwalker2

UPDATE!!

It took a shorter amount of time than I thought it would. I went out to check on the trap around noon and the little Siamese kitty was in it. I knelt down to talk to her and she didn't flip out. Since it's gonna be a couple days until we can get into the vet, I released her into a large wire dog crate, with a litter box, food and water. I feel bad caging them, but after they are vetted they'll have their own rooms to be released into.. I just didn't think I'd be able to catch them again so soon to get them to the vet. The tabby that I got yesterday has finally settled down, and I was able to get her food and water changed this morning with no problem. She's still kinda hissy and growly when she sees me, but much better than yesterday. The Siamese will approach me, but very cautiously. I believe she has had human contact before, it's just been awhile. Like the 10 year old Siamese that I caught, I think she'll just need a little time to adjust and trust me. She wants to be affectionate, she's just scared.
My b/f is bringing the camera home from work and I'll get pictures of them both. Now I've just got to come up with names. Both are girls as far as I can tell... I'd say the tabby is about a year old, maybe a little less and the Siamese is under a year... we'll see what the vet says though.

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Congratulations!!!!

Katie

I got pictures last night.

Here is the Tabby I caught.... I took the picture right before I cleaned up her cage... she's using the litter box but is sooo messy about it.



And the Siamese, which after looking at her more closely I'd say maybe a Siamese mix? I don't know really.

They are cute. Give them time, once they are free to explore the house, and have their bellies full, they will settle in and start to calm down. (offcourse living outside they had to be alert for danger 24 hrs a day, so being safe inside will help them calm down)