Need Vibes for Trapping Preggie Feral

Last summer, the neighborhood momma cat had a litter of kitten in my apartment complex. That's when I met my littler Merlynn who showed up at my door singing me a song to let her in and be her mom/servant. I gave in and she is the sweetest little thing in the world. My neighbor was always talking about catching the momma cat and having her fixed, so I assumed it had been done. It has been almost a year and I noticed that Mrs. Momma Cat is very round...I spoke to my neighbor and found out that she has not been able to catch this little rascal and therefore she has not been fixed. So this leads to the obvious conclusion that she is pregnant again. Poor momma.

So I borrowed a cat trap from a friend yesterday and set it out in front of my door to the side (where little miss kitty comes by to relax and eat - my neighbor feeds her and I started giving her a little food the night before last). This morning I saw her come up and go "around" the trap to the back to try and get the food. She couldn't get it and was smart enough not to go into the trap.

I have been reading hints online and will set it out again tonight at dusk with some tuna juice leading into the trap with a little bit of food inside at the back. There is a thin lining of newspaper in there for any poo/pee she will have to make. I just hope I can catch her before she has her babies.

Any advice or supportive thoughts would be GRREEAT!

Thanks!

The tuna juice trail is a very good idea. The staff that leads the TNR program at our Humane Society also recommends liver sausage. We've had some success with covering the trap with a blanket or towel so it looks less threatening. I've also heard suggestions of using some twigs or leaves to disguise the trap so that it blends in with the surroundings a bit more.

Good luck!

Lots of caretakers that I know use warm, deboned, deskinned KFC.

Sometimes a little catnip works.

Katie

Cardboard cut to fit the floor of the trap has advantages over newspaper: it's more comfortable to stand/sit on, since the cat won't feel the wire floor, and it won't blow around like newspaper will when it's windy out. Flapping newspaper can spook a cat. The main advantage of newspaper, as you've said, is that it's absorbent. The best thing is if you can use both, since once she's in the trap the newspaper will very likely get bunched up and torn to shreds, leaving her sitting on the wire floor of the trap anyway.

Remember to check the trap every few minutes, never leave it unattended for longer than that. You'll want to cover it with a towel as soon as mama cat goes in. That will help lessen her stress.

You're doing a wonderful thing - I wish you the best of luck!!! Please let us know how it's going.

You've gotten some great tips here, so no advice to add. Just wanted to send I'm sending lots of trapping vibes. You're doing a wonderful thing for this cat. Good luck!

All I seem to catch is preggie ferals I guess they get pretty desperate for food since they're eating for 6 or 7!

Just make sure nobody else is feeding her, and she'll get desperate enough to go get the food.

We cover ours with a dark towel so it looks less threatening.

Awesome suggestions.

I almost got her today...she walked in just enough to streeettch and get a tiny bite of tuna and then she very carefully snuck out of the trap and sat in the hallway.

I'll see if I can get my hands on some cardboard and cover it with a dark blanket. Oh and catnip. Yes, I did read that somewhere else too. Will try that too.

And that warm chicken sounds good to even me. I have some chicken breast defrosting in my fridge today so I can cook some up just for her. I'm hoping that third time's the charm!!!

Thanks again. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wishing you good luck - here's to successful trapping!

Good luck trapping her - sending lots of vibes her way!

You can also try sprinkling potting soil (no chemicals added) over the bottom of the trap. Then it's a familiar feel, and the trap just lifts up and the potting soil filters through.

Laurie

I must say that the vibes definitely paid off! I got home last night and set the trap. I put in a thin piece of cardboard on the bottom, a small bite of tuna, sprinkled some catnip around the trap and covered the trap with a blanket, leaving the entrance open. At 4am I heard the trap set and went outside to see my little momma in the trap. yay!! yay!!

I made sure the blanket covered her up nice and good so she could relax. She wasn't very crazy, just hissing.

I was so pumped with adrenaline that it was hard to fall back to sleep, but I did. At 6am I got up to check her and she was okay. A little hissing, but she was laying down. I called my friend at the Cat Network and let her know that I had the cat and would be by at 8am. I dropped her off and will be picking her up on Sunday.

I'm so very happy I caught that little girl. She is so cute. I should have taken pictures! Darn! Oh and she is the mother of my little Merlynn (I probably mentioned that earlier...oh well) so I have a soft spot for her.

What a relief. Thanks so much for your great suggestions and trapping vibes. They must've really helped last night!!!

That's awesome! Congrats on successfully trapping her!

Wow...that is great news. Also, each spayed feral means that more cats/kittens in the shelters find homes.

Katie

Well, the little lady came back yesterday and she is doing just fine. I am very happy I was able to catch her and spay her. She was definitely pregnant so we were able to save those kitties from a life on the street.

Oh! And I found out that this little lady actually "belongs" to someone in my apartment complex. So they, what, just let her roam around all day and don't feed her. Let her get pregnant and don't even care!

That REALLY gets me! I hope I never find out who they are.

But I am glad I could do this for her. She was spayed, given a rabies shot and given some anti-parasitic treatment.

And she's been eating. I've been treating her with some canned Wellness and a few treats. What a cute girl.

Sorry I couldn't get pics. I'm having technical difficulties with my camera. But she is a cutie. White with orange and gray patches. I guess calico would be the correct term...

Thanks again for all the help!