Trapping vibes!

We're trying to trap our first cat...long story short, I work at a very busy public campus in Chicago that is located inside a park. For two weeks, we've seen a cat skulking around. She has a hot pink collar on, so I thought she was somebody's pet -- but turns out she's been around for at least two months. It's Chicago: it's getting cold, we have coyotes on campus, and between the busy streets, train tracks and dogs, I fear for her.

We borrowed a trap from PAWS and are on our second night trying to catch her. We're setting the trap where we saw her last and checking it between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. before pulling it for the night. The trap is nestled into some juniper in an area that isn't directly viewable from public paths, so we feel safe leaving it there.

Do you think she'll be turned off by the smell of people around the trap? Is there anything we should try besides really smelly wet food (Tiki Cat mackerel and sardine), a towel and newspaper over the cage floor?

Desperately hoping we catch her...

First of all, thank you for doing this for her!

I don't know how difficult this would be for you, but we've found that washing the trap before using it really helps. I think the smell of other cats and fear is probably more of a problem than people being about. Also, you can buy a bag (or dig one up) of dirt, and pour it over the bottom - the trap lifts right up through it.

Also, if you have Feliway or know someone who does, spraying the trap with Feliway (a "friendly" scent for cats) wouldn't hurt.

...and last but not least, you might want to try using some chicken (no bones or skin) from KFC. It seems to really lure them in!

Good luck! Please keep us posted!

Thanks for your response! We live in an apartment without a yard; we can't bring the trap itself into our unit because our first cat came to the shelter after being caught in a trap. She's highly skittish and will probably keel over if she sees a cat trap again! So, washing it is a bit tricky -- however, if you think it would work, we could spray it with a vinegar-water combo and let it dry?

How about chicken from the grocery store? There's no KFC near us, but the store sells fried chicken that we could debone.

The Feliway is a GREAT idea. Thanks!

No luck tonight. We'll keep you posted.

I'm guessing fried chicken from the store would work just as well. And spraying with a light vinegar solution is probably a great alternative!

If she's not used to a regular feeding schedule at that spot, that does make it more of a challenge, so I hope these little tricks will help lure her in if she's around. Hopefully the chicken will do the trick.

Has she been spotted at all?

!!!

Not in the last few days...but this seems to be her pattern. We are hoping we can try this for a couple of weeks and get her at some point. The chicken didn't work last night. Sigh.

Well, if she's not around to smell it, it won't help.

she comes back! I wonder if she has a home, and she goes for extended wanders.... Either that, or she's just got different territories.