Last Minute...Did I forget to do something?...

Okay...it is the night before my first trapping. Intend to capture one of the adult females from a colony in my backyard. I have a good idea on who needs to go first...but at this point any one of them is better than none.

My appointment with vet. is around 9am...no food or water for the female.

I have borrowed a cage...it is not a true trap but the females are extremely friendly toward me and I'm pretty sure I can simply "scoot" one of them into the cage.

I have lined the cage with a clean towel and at one end of the cage I have shredded some paper to act as litter...or dirt in her case. I have an old sheet that fits over the entire cage to block all views in & out.

I am soooo nervous about this. I have never tried to trap one of them before. I MUST get this done. The three females within the last 5-weeks alone have had 15 kittens. My intentions are to get all 3 females done first and then call in the experts for the males who are unapproachable.

Am I forgetting anything here?

Good Luck.

Katie

Sounds like you are all set! Good luck trapping and BLESS YOU for doing this!!

Remember, if it is hard to get a kitty into the end of the cage, turn it up so you can drop her in from above.

Our lovely boy Will was a terror the first time I put him in a carrier. Its a good thing I dropped him in from the top, because he was spinning like a crazy man trying to find the door to get out! He cried and carried on so much on the way to the vet that we warned the vet he might need to be sedated.

Of course, as soon as I opened the carrier, he walked out all loving and purring. And he does ok in the carrier now, he just was afraid the first time! Silly boy!

Best of luck, Leesali! This is the best thing you can do for your Momma cats!

I can't believe I am feeling so nervous...what is wrong with me? My hands are actually shaking a bit. 5 minutes to trap time.

I put the cage outside by feeding station hoping the females won't freak out at the site & scent of it. So far so good. As I'm peaking out the window, they are investigating it...not running

Okay. Have to unlock the car and will do my best to make this quick and non-stressful for female. Hope my legs don't give out...shaky...shaky...shaky.

Will post later with results.

Okay folks...I definitely forgot something!! I forgot that cats are really SMART!!

My females from the colony may be very friendly but they certainly aren't dumb. I placed the cage outside with shredded paper, lined with a fluffy towel and covered it with a sheet. Ready to roll...so I thought

They came up to me like normal, rubbed up against my legs and meowed for their breakfast. Well, silly me I thought I could just "scoot" one of these friendly gals into the cage. No way!! They practically gave me their "middle finger" on their paw when I tried to scoot them into the cage.

I tried this very silly attempt as they laughed at me for about 40 minutes. They got tired and took off for the day.

I need a "real" trap not a cage for these smarty pants out there. I drove to work saying outloud "they will not get the best of me" I am in the process of finding a "trap" and will give it another try sooner than later.

Originally Posted by leesali

Okay folks...I definitely forgot something!! I forgot that cats are really SMART!!

My females from the colony may be very friendly but they certainly aren't dumb. I placed the cage outside with shredded paper, lined with a fluffy towel and covered it with a sheet. Ready to roll...so I thought

They came up to me like normal, rubbed up against my legs and meowed for their breakfast. Well, silly me

I thought I could just "scoot" one of these friendly gals into the cage. No way!! They practically gave me their "middle finger" on their paw when I tried to scoot them into the cage.

I tried this very silly attempt as they laughed at me

for about 40 minutes. They got tired and took off for the day.

I need a "real" trap not a cage for these smarty pants out there. I drove to work saying outloud "they will not get the best of me"

I am in the process of finding a "trap" and will give it another try sooner than later.

Click to expand...

Aww, that's too bad, though. We've all underestimated kitties before. I'll tell you a secret...the first time someone asked me to take in kittens that were in their back yard, I went there with a teaser toy, a can of food, and a carrier. It wasn't long before I was out there with a trap!

God! I can't believe I just shared that!

Hi Leesali:

That's cats for you! Those little buggers are smart and they can smell a rat for sure! Whenever our indoor cats have to go to the vet we have to close the door of the room(s) where they are and smuggle the box into the hallway. Then we have to get the box (one with a hinged top into which one could "drop" the cat from above) ready, creep up to the kitty, snatch him/her, "dump" him/her into the box and close it before the cat will escape. A very tricky job for which it needs my wife and me as you got to be very fast, especially when closing the box. By then the other kitties will have vamoosed into some secure hiding places for sure meaning that we have to take them one at a time.

C U and take care

Joe

Originally Posted by leesali

I drove to work saying outloud "they will not get the best of me"

Click to expand...

sorry but that did make me laugh!!

you will get there - I have no doubt about that...

hows it all going?

yeah hope you are having more luck!!

Just found someone with an extra trap...there sometimes to be a shortage. I hate waiting days like this but getting the female to the vet. must be coordinated with my work and of course, the vet. having an opening. I don't want one of the ferals trapped sitting in a cage for a few days because there were no open appointments. So...this is a bit tricky but we are still working on it.

surely sounds tricky to organise - but sounds like your doing a wonderful job...


I will continue checking in for updates.