Trapping a sick feral cat that was previously TNR'ed and leery of the trap

For several days one of my colony cats has been drooling from the mouth in excess. He is roughly 8 years in age. There are 3 other felines

that are members of the colony. Attempts to trap him the past several days have been unsuccessful rendering one of the other cats and a

healthy raccoon.  Traps have been staged with tuna. Any suggestions  are most appreciated as to trapping this ill feline. He needs to be vetted

as soon as possible.

First, thank you for taking care of the community cat colony. Sometimes it is a thankless, frustrating task.
This is a recent thread that may help you.
Has this cat been trapped before? You could try putting out the trap, unset, so the cat(s) will get use to it although I understand time is of the essence. Use really smelly treats; some experienced trappers swear by Kentucky Fried Chicken, original receipe. Dribble tuna juice leading up to the bait; mix a little cat nip with the bait (although if reall sick, I doubt he'll be interested in cat nip). Cover the trap with a dark blanket except for the opening so it is less visible; may use a drop trap.
Good luck, and let us know how it is going.

I also was going to suggest a drop trap. I would never be able to trap any of mine in a trap again. I even tried the Kentucky Fried Chicken trick with no luck. In 2011 I had a sick feral cat who was drooling and screaming in pain when he tried eating or cleaning himself. I tired for a year to trap him with now luck and he was so sick. and very thin. He was sleeping in my shelter on the porch and would not run out when I when on the porch. One day I slowly took the trap and but it to the opening of the shelter and got him that way. Sad to say Baby boy was so sick by then that I had to put him to sleep.

I hope you are able to get this kitty to the vet soon. Good luck!

My sincere thanks to those who replied. Thus far several raccoons and one of the other colony members were trapped and released. Trapping post

TNR cats is a daunting task, particularly when it is an individual member of the colony.

It is so hard to re-catch most of them. And if he's drooling, food may not have much appeal :-(  I have no magic answers, just want to offer encouragement and appreciation.

One previously trapped fellow I eventually re-caught in a big dog cage (covered with a blanket, of course) using the long, slow process of putting good, stinky food in there and daily inching closer and covering more of it with the blanket until one day I was able to slam the door shut with him inside. He wasn't alone in there, but I didn't care, they both went to the vet.

Thanks for your kind words of support Susank521. Sadly, feral/community cats are both devalued in life and devalued in death by society in general.

I am glad that neither you, I or any member of the CatSite is a part of such a compassionless world.

Don't let it get you down @feralcat6   . Sometimes the big picture is just too sad and overwhelming and it helps to just look at one cat at a time. Each one you help, or even try to help, is a victory.

Any luck catching your elusive fellow?

An update on Sammy, the one eyed neutered black male cat suffering from excessive drooling. After close to a week of attempting to trap him,

we decided on administering a 7 day program of Lysine into his food serving once daily. He has shown signs of improvement, yet getting him

vetted was our hope. He is a very wily, guarded feline and actually staked himself up on higher terrain during the trapping period observing what

was occurring.

For now he will be monitored daily for any such relapses in which a more aggressive approach will need to be taken within trapping. Thank

you SusanK521 for your kind words of support, they are deeply appreciated.

"Cats Are A Man's Best Friend"

I didn't realize the guy only had one eye, too! What an amazing boy he is. He's a fine example of one that is just too smart for his own good. I'm so glad that the Lysine seems to be helping. He obviously is still eating, so that's a very good sign. Let's hope it's "just" a bad tooth. If that is the case, it's astonishing how well them seem to do once the offending tooth falls out. Seems like they experience immediate relief. They are such astounding critters.

I've recently seen a thread of someone describing a trap cage with a door that you could pull closed with a rope. It was one that I intended to revisit and ask for photos, but now I can't find it (of course). If I come across that thread again I'll post the link here (assuming I can find this thread again )

Thanks for your support SusanK521. Wish you were an ally up in my neck of the woods. For now, Sammy{named after Sammy Davis Jr.} is

fed a predominately wet food diet with additional water added to make it soupy. The extent of his dental problems not determined due to the

fact recent trapping efforts were unsuccessful. Yes, he truly is a wily, savvy feral and my hero in many regards.