How and where to feed strays in the summer heat

I have been trying to trap a stray cat. I have a sprinkler system that goes on in the morning and due to water reatrictions it has to be on at that time. I tend to see the cat at night, so someone suggested putting food out then. I was told to feed an inexpensive wet food-tuna because the strong smell will attract the cat.
How long can I leave tuna outside?
What about flies and ants? Keep in mind, the trap is in a flower bed in front of my house, a couple of feet from my front door.

You can leave dry food out for the cat for several hours, even in the sun. Can you leave it on your porch or deck, or somewhere sheltered?  If you put the food in a bowl, ants shouldn't get into it, but if they do, you can put the bowl on a saucer of water. It may take a few weeks to establish a feeding schedule with the cat. Does the cat come out to eat when you're nearby? If so, you can feed him some wet (canned) food when he's around, before it can dry out in the heat--add some water to it, he'll need it for hydration.  Many cats come around at dawn and dusk to eat. You can rent a humane trap from a local Humane Society, or purchase one at Tractor Supply for about 20 dollars. When it's time to trap,  you can put his favorite food inside the trap.

Why do you want to trap the cat?  Are you planning to keep him? Is he friendly towards you? If you're able to handle the cat (assuming he's a stray and not a feral), perhaps you can lure him into the carrier with food and then close the door.  Are there any low cost spay/neuter clinics in your area?  Animal Friends and the Humane Society usually have these. At the vet's office, the cat will also need flea medication, a rabies shot, and possibly a de-wormer Low cost clinics usually have a package and do it all for about 30 dollars.

Many of us have trapped cats without outside assistance. If you're planning to keep the cat, you can trap him yourself--there are lots of helpful threads on this forum giving instruction, and also instructional videos on YouTube. If the cat is a friendly a stray you don't want to keep and take inside, and you're unable to trap him yourself, then you can get assistance from local animal agencies, if they are available in your community, to get him to a shelter. If it's a feral cat, though, calling Animal Control or Humane Society or any of these other agencies, or trapping it and bringing it to a shelter, is a death sentence for the cat since feral cats are not considered adoptable (unless young kittens). If it's a feral cat, the kindest course of action would be to TNR him and then be a caregiver to him by providing him with food, or just let him be.   

I can't find any authorities like that in my area. There is one group but they don't provide medical care or assist with adoption. They basically provide the trap for TNR.

At this point, I don't know if he's feral or stray. I have borrowed a trap from a local organization but I will probably just buy one because this is going to take a lot longer than I initially thought.

He does not seem to be comfortable with people. I have seen him at night, so I have been leaving dry food and water. However, I don't know if he's eating it or if something else is. I don't find the food gone every time i put it out, either.  If I manage to trap him, I don't want to bring him to a shelter, where he'll probably be euthanized. I really can't keep him myself, though.  I will be bringing him to a clinic for testing first.

However, the most difficult thing now, is figuring out how and where to feed him. I don't have a porch but the flower bed in front of my house is pretty well protected. I have a HUGE problem dealing with insects, so going outside and dealing with bug infested food, isn't something I can do.  I know that wet food will attract him easiest. I don't know that dry food will coax him into the trap, even while I'm leaving it open to train him to go inside.

When I am at my desktop later, I will provide you with a link to a bird and insect proof pet feeder that you can purchase online. That should solve at least one problem.

Here is the link for the bird and insect- proof pet feeder. It's also possible for you to design one yourself from a Tupperware bin, which might be cheaper.

http://www.outdoorpetfeeder.com/

This situation is deteriorating. I wish there was someone in my area who could assist. About ten minites ago, I heard meowing. I looked outside and saw thr cat I need toctrap, across the street. There was also another cat i couldn't tell if they were fighting or mating. I hope there aren't kittens soon. The cat I'm trying toctrap is a male. At this point, I don't know if he's actually coming over to my house or not, as the majority of the time, Ixsee hom on the other side of the street. I don't know if I shouldctry calling it over because I was told that there have been rabid animals and a woman last year was bitten by a rabid cat.

The feeder referenced above will be good if I find out this cat is feral and I continue to feed it. However, right now, it won't help me trap the cat.

I am using a metal bowl on top of newspaper that lines the trap and I am getting crickets in the bowl.  I moved the trap from my flower bed to the cement in front of the garage but that didn't help. It's also been two night now, since I moved it and the cat hasn't eaten anything. I don't know if it's because i moved it or he just hasn't been around. 

I'm also putting wet food out, so I can only leave it out for a few hours. It's possible that he comes around later, after I've taken it up. So, I guess I could replace the wet with dry but I still don't know if he'll find it in the new spot.

@wannahelp  If you want to attract the cat to the area without leaving food out that might be eaten by bugs you could try spraying with Asian Fish sauce. I use this when I'm trapping or when I'm looking for a lost cat and hoping to catch them on my trail camera.

You need to dilute the Asian Fish sauce with water, put it in a spray bottle and squirt the grass and trees near where you leave the food. The smell is strong enough to attract the cats but of course there is nothing for the bugs or other animals to eat.

If you spray the area near where you put the feeder MsAimee suggested he should find his way to the food.

Good luck with the trapping.

That's a good idea.

You may need to establish some kind of feeding schedule/routine with the cat before you're able to trap him. Once you know when he comes out to eat, then you can leave his favorite food in the trap and watch nearby. Also, if he's ever been trapped in a humane trap before, it's possible he may not enter into it again. It's important to try to camouflage the trap. When I use a humane trap, I put a small towel on the bottom (cat's don't like the feel of the metal on their paws) and spread dirt and leaves over it. I also don't cover the top of the trap because cats are wary of going inside something that they can't see out of. Once the cat is in the trap, that's when I put a towel or blanket over the trap because that settles them down. Also, when he's nearby by, it's important to talk to him in a calm voice. He'll start to recognize your voice and identify you as the person who feeds him. If you can't lure him to your property because he's across the street, you may need to feed him across the street and trap him there. In one situation of mine, when I was trying to trap a semi-feral near my work place, I spoke with the neighbor where I was leaving the food out for the cats and told him my intentions, and got his permission--can you do the same? Most neighbors are happy if someone else will take care of a stray cat hanging around their house.  

It takes time and patience to trap some cats. There have been a few that I trapped/caught on my first attempt. Others have taken months. One I never could trap. Persistence and consistency is the key. Also, I wouldn't stress over bugs getting into the food. Bugs don't bother cats (except the ones that bite and sting). Cats eat bugs. When you catch him, you'll probably need to ask the vet to give him a de-wormer. You're fortunate that you don't have to worry about raccoons and opossum eating the food and getting into the trap like some of us have to deal with. By comparison, bugs are a cinch! Try not to get frustrated. Your patience will pay off when you catch the cat and give him a great home with you, and he will be your friend for life. That has been my experience, even with ferals. Good luck!

The ideal thing would, in fact., be to trap him across the street. However, my neighbors aren't interested in helping. They're very meticulous about their property and they're not cat lovers. I did ask and they refused.

The last time I saw the cat, he was with another cat across the street. I had never seen this cat before and I may have mentioned, that it is possible he impregnated that cat, that night. I'm hoping he didn't  I haven't seen him in about 6 days and he hasn't come to my house for food. I'm hoping nothing happened to him.  Until I got my first cat, a few years ago, I had no idea that there was such an epidemic of stray and feral cats. It's really distressing to know that so many animals need help and so few people are willing to offer it.