How do you trap?

I have a question for you experienced trappers. I have been trapping for about a year now, with somewhere close to 25 caught/spayed/neutered so far. I am asking for others to tell me how they do it. I mean what time of day do you find you are the most successful? Where do you set your traps? Do you cover them? How much food do you use? Any and all info is helpful.

Barbara and I set 10 traps last night and caught 2 adult males, 1 male kitten, 1 male already fixed and 2 mongoose. I know that 3 is still way better than none, but I would like to try and have 10 out of 10 traps filled. If I have all fixed cats, then ok (because that means that I don't have anymore I need to catch and fix, right?), but I want to up my success rate.

Thanks for any advice. I am going to be trying for another momma and kittens next week, so hoping to get them asap!

Terri

Terri:

With 25 cats already trapped, I'd say you were pretty experienced!

I use Kentucky Fried Chicken or something similarly stinky for bait. Make sure you put the bait at the back of the trap, past the trip plate. I don't always use a bowl for the bait - sometimes, you can actually place the trap on top of the bait, so the cat has to tug at it to get it. Helps him/her forget about the trip plate.

I have a friend who ties the bait to the top of the trap, just above the trip plate. The cat can't avoid stepping on it to get to the bait.

If possible, leave the trap in place for a few days. Tie it open, so it doesn't spring, then feed at the same time every day (dusk is good). This works well with trap savvy cats. They get used to the trap and less cautious around it.

Keep up the good work. The world is a better place because of people like you!

I can't say being very experienced, but as it is similar to hunting really...

Daytime is not too good, imo. Sunrise is when I see most of ferals here, now at the summer sunrise is bit after 3AM while sunset is after 10PM and there really is not very dark during the midnight so between sunset and sunrise is the time +1 hour before sunrise and after sunrise.

So for me it would be to have trap ready at 2AM to 4AM and 9PM to 11PM, that is mostly when ferals seem to move.

Location should be near they regular routes, here on my property there are 3 main locations where they come and leave, it can be any of those locations that they arrive or leave but there are then few locations that each of them visits, best place for trap is naturally location all of them visits or very near it.

Placing trap for open is not best possible way, having trap put next to some object, wall, large rock, tree etc. is better, even better is to make trap covered with long grass, leaves or similar natural material which creates impression for cat that it is kind of bush with cave like area which is the trap, cat likes to hide, so having both ends of trap open, but covering rest is almost sure way to lure cat in.

For bait I have used a tuna in oil, it is smelly so that they can pick it further distance and trap masking and location is making them to trust the trap.

For trap bottom cardboard or newspaper is good, trip plate I mask with bit longer piece of cardboard so they have to step on that, there is no other way to get the bait.

Baiting itself I have done so that there is tiny pieces of tuna leading into the trap and bigger amount of tuna attached to back wall of trap and piece of cardboard between the trap and tuna so they can't get it from other side.

Also no touching the trap with bare hands, always with gloves and always cleaning trap after use, so that there are no odours to get cat suspicious.

For trap itself then, there are good traps and there are bad traps, trap should be enough long that even the tail gets in before cat sets trap off, also it should have some mechanical lock with prevents simply pushing or pulling door open, my trap has metal bar that drops so that door is impossible to open even for a human unless metal bar is pressed down same time as door is opened, there is even a latch that drops on metal bar so that metal bar is not able to move unless latch is first moved. With simple drop door trap they can escape, cats are surprisingly strong and clever, they can lift door up and even spring loaded door is something they can open even it would be difficult to open for human, I have experienced that.

Knowing where cats move is the tricky part, I have used video surveillance to get to know their routes, of course it is not necessary part as they do look around for food if they smell it, but it is faster to catch one with better trap placement.

Works with every hunting, of course when hunting for really wild animals at woods there is no so good way to take video from them, there it helps to know animal habits and ways they think, that of course is true with cats also, pretty much same works for humans, if you are a bounty hunter, just need to know bit more from person and his/her preferences and adjust accordingly, also with humans no trap as device is needed, but some companions is good to have

They like quiet, something that is providing cover from wind, also anything that provides them clear view of area yet hiding themselves is what they do prefer.

Sounds like you are already a seasoned trapper . I usually put the trap out in the same vicinity and right next to my feeding station where the cats are already used to going to eat. I leave the trap unset for a couple of days and only put food in the back of that trap, so the cats have to go in and out to eat. By the third day, they are real comfortable with going in and out. I also cover the back half of the trap with a large, dark colored towel. On trap day, I just put a more enticing food in the trap like sardines or tuna and in they go. I have had great success with doing it this way each and everytime.

Do you think that if I put out one "junk" trap out and tie it open that it would serve to get them used to them again enough that when I returned a couple of days later with several "live" traps that they would be ok and go on in?

I have a group of cats that have really gotten wise to the whole trap thing. There are a couple who aren't fixed and won't go into the trap and then there are several who have been fixed and go into the traps all the time because they know they will just be released!!! Can't say they are stupid, but they are taking up time in a trap that I need for the others! Wish cats could read, I'd put up a sign that said, "If you are fixed, do not go in. No food in here! If you aren't, then common in!!!" hahahaha

I hadn't thought of using tuna in oil for the extra weight of the scent, that is a great idea. Honestly, it is cheaper than wet cat food too! I'll try that next time...wonder it it will help keep the mongoose out too.

As for my technique (and please give me suggestions/comments to help make it more efficient) is:
1. About dusk I head out and put traps close to bushes/buildings/something that will make it seem "hidden" and cover it with a large towel.
2. Put a bowl of food at the back (apparently I have been using too much food, so I will be scaling that back. I used to use almost a whole bowl of crunchy and about 2 TBS of wet, but will be using only wet now with some at the back and some placed along the inside of the trap until they step on the plate.)
3. Leave
4. Come back a couple of hours later and check traps. Release those that are fixed, and reset trap or take the ones that need to be fixed back to my carport for transport to clinic the next am.
5. Check traps first thing in am before I leave for clinic and pull every trap that is empty or has a fixed cat in it.

My friend will sit and wait for cats to be caught, but I don't have the time to be able to do this. The traps are all in a safe place where there are no wild animals that will get to them and I have other people in the location who have agreed to periodically check on the traps, so I'm not worried about their safety. But I think she was a bit perturbed when I told her that I wasn't going to go out and stay out all night waiting for the cats. Am I mean and wrong for that? I just don't see the purpose in me sitting and "waiting to see the kettle boil" so to speak. I thought that if they were in a trap in their own location that would be less stressful than being transported to someplace brand new, new spells/sounds/etc than waiting for me there at their own location prior to the TNR. Ideas or comments?

Thanks and for any more suggestions and comments, I greatly appreciate it.

One thing about cats, they can get in panic mode and then they don't feel the pain, it is fairly possible for cat to scratch so furiously of trap that it will get all claws broken, that is what my Mauku did, after that did fail she did try to ram trough end of fence so hard that her forehead did bleed and it was not hours in uncovered trap.

There was nothing left from thick cardboard that was at bottom of trap. Of course it depends from the cat, but they do get bit stupid in panic mode.

That is of course just causing bit longer recovering perioid, cat without claws can't be released as it is as helpless as human without hands, so if such happens one must wait

Drop trap is good for selecting cats, but really wild ones might not enter the area if they find out there is a human nearby.

A very experienced rescuer recommends putting a mirror at the back of the trap to help entice trap-savvy cats: the cat sees and responds to the movement of the "other" cat.

We used to leave the trap out and get them used to eating in it, but found no benefit to doing that. Dawn/dusk we've always found to be the best times.

For trap savvy cats, other suggestions:

Wash the traps with an unscented soap and your hose. Get the smell of other cats and fear off of them. Spray them liberally with Feliway - get the "friendly" scent on there.

Pour dirt over the bottom of the trap - they lift up through it, and the cats don't have to walk on the wires.

Spray/sprinkle a little catnip on the dirt in the back (inside) of the trap.

Use stinky food - tuna, herring, KFC, whatever. Just put a little in a paper bowl in the back of the trap - once that trap snaps, they're not finishing the food. So leave enough to entice them, but not enough that when they freak out, they make a mess with food everywhere.

Tape a mirror to the back (outside) of the trap.

Disguise the trap by putting branches/leaves on top. Or put it inside a large cardboard box, or large empty feed bag.

Leave trail of small bits of tuna leading up to and into the trap. We put a little just outside, and then a little bit in the middle of the trap (middle being between the opening and the trip plate), then put the bowl at the very back, so they can't stretch head over the trip plate, they have to take that step...

Another recommendation of very experienced trapper: put out a pile of birdseed a day or two before you want to trap near the location you plan to trap. It'll get the birds coming/going and kick in the prey instinct of the cats. Then set and bait the traps. You can pick up what's left of the bird food (if there is any) when you use stinky food to attract the cats if you're worried about the birds.

Oh, in answer to your other question - if there were a requirement that you sit and wait for the cats to go into the trap, there wouldn't be much trapping happening.

What IS important is that if you leave traps unattended they have identification and contact information of some kind on them.

All the traps I use have ID on them. Name and phone number. I also always line the traps with a good bit of newspaper, so they aren't walking or sitting on the metal of the trap. The first time or two that I trapped I had a couple of cats who banged their faces up pretty bad because I didn't know to cover the trap. Since I have been covering the traps I have only had 2 cats to beat themselves up like that again. And those two only did it after I came to get the traps. So, it seems like the towels covering it helps a lot to keep them calm.

I've never seen a cat that was so feral that it tore it's paws up before! Yikes! I really hope I never do either.

Also, what is a "drop trap"? I use the ones that have an opening that they come in and there is a plate at the back that springs trap door that they came in and they can't get back out.

Drop traps:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=207240

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=204306

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=222374

Basically, they're a great idea for normal trap savvy cats - but a person has to pull the rope to make the trap drop, so they have to be "attended."

I agree with what everyone has said (and, picked up a few tips myself).
For every trap, I use two cans of cat food, empty; a five-oz one, into which I place a 3-oz can. (I use to just put a 3-oz can in the trap, but the feral cats I feed are smart, and with their paw and without tripping the plate, moved the can towards the opening of the trap and ate it all up.) In the 3 oz can I put TINY bit of MASHED UP mackerel and cat nip. Mashed up is important; otherwise, my trap savy cats will pick up the food and run.
Course the extra special food may make the cats suspicious, in which case I would use what ever wet food you're feeding the ferals (mashed of course).
Put some leaves and twigs on the floor of the trap--or, whatever matches their environment.
I trap in the early morning hours, beginning around 4 a.m. (although based on what another poster said, I may start earlier). I'm inclined to just leave the trap(s) out overnight (with proper identification); I haven't had a lot of success recently except for a young kitten.

What Ritz says about cat stealing food is very true, that is why I tie bait to piece of cardboard that is at back of trap so that trap wire mesh is between bait and the cardboard, also placing it bit high requires them to take that last step, no matter how well they can stretch their necks and surely they can do that.

My mauku still does the paw clawing thing for food if there are any big hunks, even she is fully indoors now, also grabs big part of food from bowl and takes it to hideous location where she eats, that is why small bits or tied bait is working best.

Originally Posted by Nigelguy

I also always line the traps with a good bit of newspaper, so they aren't walking or sitting on the metal of the trap.

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We did this too. But you were asking for tips to trap cats that are trap savvy. The scent of newspaper is quite strong, so not using newspaper is one of the important tips for trapping cats that are trap savvy.

Originally Posted by LDG

We did this too. But you were asking for tips to trap cats that are trap savvy. The scent of newspaper is quite strong, so not using newspaper is one of the important tips for trapping cats that are trap savvy.

Click to expand...

I have heard that brown cardboard, one used for boxes, has something that cats like and I have found when making toys for cats from such material that they love it, also when I throw piece on floor soon someone is resting on top of that, it has worked well for my tiny amount of trapping, but I don't know how it would work with those trap aware beasts.

i live in brooklyn, so most of the cats i trap are used to newspaper and other non-woodsy stuff. so i've never had a problem lining the trap with it. if anything, covering the wire bottom of the trap seems to help them feel like there is less danger entering it.

the longer i do TNR, the less experienced i feel! every situation is different, so the best advice I could give is try to assess the 'personality' of the cats you're trying to get. the last trapping i did, we had 8 traps set up around a back yard, we ended up catching 13 cats and kittens total. but all but 2 of these were caught in the same spot! apparently one trap was in a place they felt very comfortable so one by one they got trapped there, we would run out to remove the trap and replace it with another. i wish they were all so predictable!

Originally Posted by LDG

We did this too. But you were asking for tips to trap cats that are trap savvy. The scent of newspaper is quite strong, so not using newspaper is one of the important tips for trapping cats that are trap savvy.

Click to expand...

Oh girl, I am asking for any and all suggestions, so please throw them my way. I am not in the least afraid to try a new and different way, trust me!!! I'll give it a whirl with the leaves/brush/dirt idea.

Jimmylegs also had a good point, knowing the personality of the cats you are trying to get. Unfortunately that is something I can't do because I trap where ever I hear that there are stray/feral cats. My neighborhood is in maintenance mode now (everyone has a notch in their ear) and I have moved on to other neighborhoods for now. But fortunately I have been able to round up assistance in those places from the residents!!! Yeah!

I will be trapping this coming Friday since there is a spay/neuter clinic this coming weekend so I hope I can get that Momma and kitten that I tried for last week and missed.

Keep the suggestions and the discussion coming, I am learning a ton! Thank you all!

Any suggestions for trapping in really hot weather; at midnight, it was 89 outside, not taking into account the feel-like tempeatures. I was planning to trap in about a week but there is another heat wave forecast (Washington, DC area).
Trap at 2 a.m. when it's coolest? Would you recommend setting out a trap all night? Can cats regulate their temperatures in extreme heat/cold?
I don't even attempt to trap when thunderstorms are a big possibility. If it is windy, I lay branches on top of the newspaper (covering the floor of the trap); otherwise, the newspaper flapping will definitely scare away the cats.
If possible, test the trap using different weights (what a cat might weigh): I have one trap that trips too easily, another that will trip only if a large cat enters the trap.
Thanks.

Cats do regulate their bodytemperature from their paws and yes, you can smell it if you are curious about it, also they regulate bodytemperature via mouth and tongue but only when they are really really hot, that is what I have been told and learned.

They reduce movement and seek cool places when they are experiencing hot, inside the bushes that are at shadow is great place for them to find cover from heat, also their senses are quite good so they can find cooler spots, some spots that are bit lower than surrounding area and where is plenty of bushes, as inside of large bushes alone there is lot cooler than at open shadows.

They probably don't go eating/hunting until it is cooled a bit as even their prey is probably going to be less active during hot part of day.

They are however quite capable to adapt, so if heat is typical for area, cats can adjust to that.