Really smart cat wont go in trap for nothing.

keith p

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I'm feeding some strays, and all are male except for their mother. I just got done catching the moms 3 newest kittens for the year and hopefully soon they will be up for adoption. I want to end new cats being born, and if mom is spayed I can get the 3 males fixed and that will make all the strays fixed and no more new cats.

I want to catch her and get her spayed and vaccinated. I have been trying to get her for 2 years and not once has she ever went into a trap.

When it was just her I wouldnt feed her for a day or two (only water) and then I would put tuna in the trap. She loves tuna and is a great eater, but she wouldnt go in the trap for nothing.

Now I have 3 other cats in the yard with her, so if I dont feed them all for a day or two (they all eat at once) and I put food in the trap, I will have 4 hungry cats trying to get in, and chances are someone else will go in before she does which isnt any help.

How am I supposed to catch her? It's not only the fact that she wont go in, but I have a 1 in 4 chance of her going in and not someone else, the odds are stacked against in this situation.

What can I do?
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Mom of 4

Trap the ones you can and put them in a large dog crate for a few days, just to keep them out of the way.
Then try the water/food plan you mentioned.

Good luck and thank you taking care of them.
I had to do that to trap one of mine once. But I put the cats in my garage so that they had some room to move around. They didn't try to escape as I kicked the door a few times to scare them away before I went in.

Some cats just don't fall for traps. Most are female and usually the "matriarch" of a colony. Therefore they have babies year after year after year.

You might look into a drop trap. They will work when all else fails. I made one for the humane society and they caught a few cats that they alluded them for over 4 years. Here's a picture of the one that I made. It is rough, but works like a charm. One side is raised up on a stick tied to a rope. You can be pretty far away from it and just pull the rope when they are under the trap. The door on the corner is used to transfer them into a regular humane trap.
 

prettyboy

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wow that drop trap looks amazing ! i have never heard of or seen one.
thanks for posting that picture.

where do you get them ?

and i don't get how you transfer them into a trap ? do you just line
up the two doors and hope the cat walks into the regular trap ?
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Prettyboy

wow that drop trap looks amazing ! i have never heard of or seen one.
thanks for posting that picture.

where do you get them ?

and i don't get how you transfer them into a trap ? do you just line
up the two doors and hope the cat walks into the regular trap ?
I've never seen them in a store. I made that trap out of 2x2's and chicken wire.

The transfer door was made to the exact dimensions of a humane trap. When you want to transfer them, you first cover the door end of the trap with a blanket so they can't see you. You open up the human trap and hold it next to the drop trap door. You then slide up the trap door. Someone on the far side of the drop trap then "scares" the cat towards the humane trap opening. Once inside, you close the humane trap.

The transfer door is placed near the corner for a reason. The cat will naturally run corner to corner in the drop trap. If that door is in the middle, you aren't guaranteed that they will enter the humane trap.
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Prettyboy

wow you should look in to getting that pattened. its a great idea !!
They are actually fairly common amongst rescue groups that do a lot of feral TNR. Someone on this site mentioned one and sent me a picture of the one that their group uses. I just replicated it from materials that were laying around in my barn. The trap cost me nothing to make.
 
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keith p

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Some cats just don't fall for traps. Most are female and usually the "matriarch" of a colony. Therefore they have babies year after year after year.


I bet thats the one I feed, she is the only female i've seen in 2 years, and when she is in heat all the males on the block are around for a few days.

All her kittens have survived and are strong, her oldest male cat (now 2 years, almost 3) is always challenged by other males, so mabye your right about his mom's status. And she has had 3 litters when ive known her, one per year. Mabye more before I knew her.


A drop trap looks like it would work possibly, if the area is not enclosed she will go by it, and I can be in my yard when she eats now, so with that said I think your onto something. She is a good eater just very smart. As for the rest it could also work.
Trouble is I have no drop trap.

Do you know where I can find plans on how to build one, such as measurements and supplies needed?

Getting one into a carrier looks tough though.
 
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