Pregnant feral cat

I am hoping I can get some suggestions from you all. I'm in the process of TNRing two separate feral colonies (probably just over a dozen cats in all). I noticed that one small female is pregnant. She's pretty far along because she's a bit on the rotund side

I've been putting the trap out every week and trapping between 2-3 cats for neuter/spay.. thus far she has avoided that fate (obviously). I would like some opinions on how I can lure her into a trap (or even if I should) how much stress do you think she will be in if I capture her before she gives birth? Will this be a problem?

Thanks for any insite!


Sue

sheeren...first..thank you for what you are doing. I am not an experienced TNR person...but there are several caretakers and TNR individuals who will be able to answer your question.

Katie

Hi Sheeren-

You can use several things as bait to lure her in. Raw hambuger, kippered herring, sardines. I have also used for hard to trap cats, organic catnip, just a small amount sprinkled over the food. If you use kippered herring or sardines, pour the oil over the trap in a sort of path leading to the back of the trap. You can also take a thin sheet of newspaper (very thin) and cover the bottom of the trap in one layer as some cats don't like the feel of the cage on their pads. I have in the past also used cat litter unscented, to cover the first part of the trap so they feel more at ease being in there.

You want to put the trap in a sort of concealed area, not out in the open so the cat can feel relatively safe and not so exposed. I always watch my traps and go to cover them the minute they are trapped, as it calms the cat down. She is going to be bouncing off the steel cage, that sadly is inevitable.

Good luck!

I'm sure Hissy's advice will work for trapping her.

Regarding whether or not to trap her is an individual decision you need to make. Many of us here are "die-hard" pro-TNR, and knowing how many unwanted animals there are out there, we would have a pregnant female spayed if the vet felt it was OK. However, being animal lovers, it is a REALLY difficult decision, one that all of us wrestle with every time confronted with such a terrible decision.

You can wait until she has the babies, but this works only if you're regularly putting food out. She'll eat from the food you provide, and when the kittens are old enough she'll bring them there. Although it is safe to spay-neuter kittens as early as seven weeks, many vets are not familiar with the studies and have no experience working on such small animals. We also NEVER spay or neuter the mom until we're sure the kittens are 12 weeks old. We had a mom cat disappear on us after releasing her, and the kittens are still learning from her until that age. So we want them "fully educated" before we have her spayed in case she bolts.

It's also best to leave the kittens with mum until that age. They learn from her not only how to hunt, but how to behave as kitties, how to groom themselves, how to cover their business, etc. They are still easily adoptable at that point, however, anyone adopting a feral kitten should know that kitty will have to have time and space to transition from being an outside cat to being an inside very loved critter. But unless you're sure you can place them in good homes, I would seriously consider having her spayed now.

Armed with this information, I hope it helps you make your decision and feel comfortable with whatever decision that is.

Good luck trapping her if that's the direction you decide to go! Please keep us posted!