I intended to trap several feral cats this week, but, the weather has turned colder at night (50*F), plus there is quite a bit of unusual moisture condensation, and I don't have a garage I can put them in after caught.

I've never caught feral cats before, so don't know what to do.  I've though of laying an old blanket & an old quilt over them, but worry about the moisture?  It hasn't been windy at night, at least.  And I think I can set the traps on the un-covered deck, which is at the height of two steps off the ground.  I don't have a large enough area inside, or, in the garage for the big traps.

Only one cat is female. I can make room indoors for just her to recuperate in. They say to release the males as soon as they are bright eyed & bushy-tailed again, so no need to worry about making room for them for recuperation. But, I'm in a quandary what to do regarding trapping them under these circumstances.

I've borrowed the traps. . . .   All I can think is that I might have to buy a trap for myself, because the owner needs these back early next week to TNR more feral cats. . . . which is what I intend on doing with 'mine'.

So, I am asking for advise from those with experience trapping feral cats what you recommend I do, under the circumstances.

The female is the most important to spay right now, she has the potential to bring MANY more cats to your world. 50 degrees is not that cold  to a cat,(I worry when it is 20 degrees and colder) so I wouldn't worry there, but if they get wet that is a different story. I would definitely cover the trap once they are caught to calm them and keep them dry.  The female will take the longest to recover, at least overnight, although the last little stray I did was up and running around within hours. Use a very stinky bait to attract them, like tuna, it is hard to resist. If you can touch them at all, sometimes you can sit there and literally slam the door shut once they are in. Be ready for a LOT of meowing and seemingly hurting themselves in the traps. I always get sick to my stomach bringing them in. But it is SO worth it, no more kitten worries, endless fights and  deaths from trying to give birth. All the luck and keep us posted!

Di and Bob said:

 
...Be ready for a LOT of meowing and seemingly hurting themselves in the traps. I always get sick to my stomach bringing them in. But it is SO worth it, no more kitten worries, endless fights and  deaths from trying to give birth. All the luck and keep us posted!

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I understand that if you cover the traps right away, it helps them keep pretty calm & quiet.  These cats are semi-feral, some more some less. None of them make much noise most of the time.  I'm *hoping* they will act in character when under the stress of being confined. If I get several, as hoped, I'll be putting a blanket over all those cages, as it's getting nippy at night around here.  That should make them feel more secure than just the towels, which don't fully cover the traps.

Yes, I want these cats to get along better with the neighbor's cat.  They've sometimes run him off when he comes for a snack.  It isn't like they never steal his food, or hunt the critters in his yard.

ADDED the following afternoon from above response . . .

The 3 younger kittens (around 5 months of age) were trapped last night, & went to the clinic this morning for neutering.

We'll be picking them up this afternoon. . . .

None of them panicked once trapped. I had the traps covered before I set them, so I didn't have to approach the traps in their sight to cover them.  I purposely refrained from speaking or whispering around them, too, as the human voice still startles them. . . .  The only time I heard anyo f the 'mew' was in the car on the way to the clinic.  After the trap closed, I saw the trap wobble for a short time (I suppose they were looking for an opening), then the movement totally stopped.  They had lowered themselves on their haunches inside the traps, & silently waited. After moving the still empty traps away, I moved the trapped kittens closer together, and covered all the towel-covered traps with a doubled woolen blanket, then a sheet of plastic just over the top (weighted).  I left them in place on the raised wooden porch, just outside our back door.

Just taking a brief peek at them under the towels startled them, but having the towel blocking their sight of me rapidly calmed them . . . so . . . I *strongly* recommend covering the traps from the start . . . of course, also making sure that the trip is free to close the trap rapidly once tripped!

I put a small square of cardboard in the bottom of the trap, so that they can rest their paws on that.  Immediately covering the trap does indeed help to keep them calm as does maintaining a calm, quiet demeanor.

 I also have a couple of medium dog crates as "recovery cages", lined in layers of newspaper, with a homemade litter box in the back (a cheap plastic dishwashing pan, such as is used for camping, or sometimes the bottom half of a plastic scoopable litter jug, sliced vertically) and a shallow box as a bed with an old traveling pillow or old towels, etc.  I attach cleaned, 3.5 oz empty canned food tins to the crate's door using rubber bands hooking onto both ends of a popsicle stick (I am a low-income cat rescuer ) that I use to add "canned cat food soup" and water.  I keep the cage covered at home until it is time to release the cat. 

You can ask the vet if the surgery can be scheduled in the afternoon and the cat put into the recovery cage and left at the vet overnight. Don't feel bad if the cat tears up the inside of the recovery cage - it's normal for them to think that your plans include making them into soup. And most of the time, they don't fight it that badly, 

As for trapping, feed lightly for one feeding, delay the following feeding, and then you can try setting the trap with KFC chicken or canned food. I hate the smell of seafood and avoid using it at all costs. When you have your own traps, it helps to prop the trapdoor open and routinely feed them some treats inside the trap, to get them used to it.  Cat&CO canned cat food is popular and very inexpensive at Kmart.  Randomly set the trap and the other cats are less likely to remain scared of the trap after they observe a compadre getting trapped.If the cats avoid the trap, try covering it. If they get clever and avoid stepping on the trigger plate, you can squish some food directly on the ground and set the trap on top of it so they have to focus on trying to eat the food through the trap floor..

Sending prayers and vibes that your trapping efforts are a huge success! 

We caught in 3 of 6 traps, the 3 youngest kittens (which the DVM discovered were ALL female!).

The older males wouldn't go in any of the traps. . . . 

I saw them sniff the cages, but they left the bait in them alone, or couldn't reach in adequately to pull it out from outside.

So three have been neutered . . . three females!  . . . I had thought only 1 was female

because she's smaller & had hung around her Mama more than the other two, who had gone off on their own more.

I brought them into the kitchen, near my bedroom, to spend the night, setting up all 3 traps so they could see & sniff at each other 'undercover'.

At one point they started getting a bit frantic (I guess some of their food had rolled out of reach) . . .

but calmed right down when I began playing cat-calming music that I'd found on the youtube web-site.

The cats each had a 24 hour pain shot that supposedly pretty much knocks them out for 24 hours. . . .

Plus, the recent anesthesia itself leaves them incapable of regulating their body temperature for awhile. . . .

So they want the cats to be kept in their traps for 24 hours, releasing them in the morning (as long as all looks well), which we did.

They basically acted as though nothing had happened to them . . . 

going straight for a drink, then a nibble of food, soon checking out their favorite hunting spots.

My husband bought me my first movie-camara when I told him I wished we could record their antics

before figuring out what we were going to do with them.

He recorded their release on it, but, I haven't had time to post it anywhere.

Before hearing about this site, though, I had already posted several introductory videos of them on the youtube site.

You can see them there, on my channel: 2Q&Lrn . . . the queen of 'our' feral cat family is my account's avatar.

So far they are easy to find on it, since they are the ONLY ones on it!

(Sorry for not posting sooner . . .

I tried, but didn't realize at the time that youtube-links are not allowed in posts here, so the entire post was disallowed.)