mean ole tom cat

I have been semi-adopted by a "former feral" cat. She has had 3 litters before she trusted me enough so I could get her into the carrier and to the vets to get spayed. 1st litter she had 1 male cat, 2nd litter 2 male cats (1 has since disappeared---hopefully to a good home, he was pretty tame), 3rd litter 2 males, 1 female. I felt responsible for all the kittens she had. It took soooooo looooong to get them to trust me enough to have them all fixed(except for the youngest female who is the most skittish, she just recently let me touch her, I hope to take her in this week.) As you probably figured out they are all outdoor cats. Open garage, no fencing and we live next to the street -- a pretty quiet one though.

Well....to get to the point. Our home was their home and they used to hang out in the yard snoozing during the day and slept in the garage at night. For about 6 months there's been a meanie tom cat who comes around every morning and evening (feeding time)and chases them all away. Now all the male cats have taken to living in the bushes across the street. And the tom cat has taken to spraying everything in the garage. Phwew!

So I figured, if I'm the top cat and chase him away maybe he'll go find someplace else. But he just comes back when I'm not there and attacks one of the male cats. Now if he sees me he will run away, so there's nooo waaayy I can make friends with him.

I bought a humane cat trap and so far have caught every one at least once except for him and the female. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr SHORT OF SHOOTING HIM (of course I wouldn't) I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!

The local humane society said that he is so "street smart" that it may be a problem to get him into the trap. No matter what I put in there (cat food, fish, tuna, squid) he doesn't go in.

PLEASE, PLEASE IF ANYBODY HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS I AM DESPERATE ABOUT CATCHING HIM!!! and if anybody has any suggestions to get rid of the spray smell and markings I would greatly appreciate it.

Sorry so long and thank you.

P.S. - I already have 4 indoor cats and hubby won't let me add another to the household let alone 6 more. Altho, I may be able to talk him into 1 or 2 more. One of the male cats has hurt himself, his left front leg is swollen and he has a difficult time running when hubby saw that he said to take him to the vets (he's a softie especially when I pointed out that now he cannot runaway from the meanie.)

Crazycatlady - first of all, I just LOVE your name here! Fits perfectly with our group. Secondly, the Tom might me coming aound, as your little felmle may be maturing? Sardines, and smelly smelly fish may work. Cover the trap with an old cloth or newspaper, and this may help. Is there any way you can secure the other czts somewhere for a day or two to just concentrate on this Tom?

Along with what Debra suggested, I would put an old towel inside the humane trap and dribble sardine or herring juice along the towel leading into the back of the trap where the cat will find a bowl of sardines or herring. Put a SMALL bit of fish every few inches in order to entice him further into the trap.

Also, do not feed the cats for a day before you set up the trap (I know how hard this will be, but they'll be okay), so he'll be extra hungry.

I hope you plan to neuter him after he is trapped.

If he is this street savy he is going to be very tough to catch. I had one like that once, took me four months to capture him! I caught everything else in the meantime. Finally desperate, I took whole sardines and hung them in the back of the trap after the trigger so their heads hung inside the trap. I tied them with green onion shoots as I didn't want kitty to get string inside him. I also secured with wire, pine tree branches and shrubbery to conceal the trap. It was a pain to do, but that night, I caught him! I took him in got him neutered and he is living the life of riley at a farm now. Good luck- those oldsters are very clever.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will try them out.

Update on the "mean ole tom cat" situation.

FINALLY captured the "meanie!!!!!
HOORAY!

Thanks for all the good advice

I started out by putting "goodies" in a bowl at the back of the trap and covered the trap with a towel. Left it for a few days and when I looked in the trap lo and behold, what did I find.....NO CAT and NO FOOD!! That wily cat was big enough and smart enough to stand behind the trigger plate and stick his face in the bowl (bowl was waaayyy too big)!

I then put canned cat food wrapped in a piece of cloth (advice I got from the humane society---makes them have to work for the food and hopefully step on the trigger) at the back but he didn't take the bait, all I ended up with was a stinky, rotten mess. I got so tired of cleaning it out after every failed attempt.

I read all your great advice and formulated a plan. I was going to camouflage (sp?) the trap with a cardboard box and put tuna or sardines wrapped in a cloth. Got my cardboard and old towel ready but decided to call another humane society for one last alternative. And this is the one that did the trick.

Line the bottom of the trap with a single sheet of newspaper (more than that and if it gets wet it triggers the plate). Tie a chicken drumstick (Kentucky Fried works well) with fishing line as far back as possible to the bottom of the trap. Drizzle the newspaper with something smelly (tuna oil or fried chicken oil) leading into the trap. (I didn't do this, just put a few kibble on the newspaper).

But after getting everything ready, the cat stopped coming around at his "usual" times (go figure) but he was still coming around (evidenced by that tell-tale SMELL---Eau de Spray). I put the trap (already baited) away and just made sure that all the other cats were fed and did not leave any food out. Last night, after he chased the other cats away, I set up the trap in a different location and within 1 hour heard the door slam shut and thought...which kitty do I have to rescue now....but to my surprise.... there he was...SPITTING MAD!!!!

This morning I took him to the humane society, and told them that if someone claims him, please make sure they get him neutered. The animal control officer said, "Lady, no one is going to claim him, he's about as wild as they get, nearly took my arm out trying to get him out of the trap." Then he said the dreaded words, "This cat is unadoptable." With all the problems he caused it nearly broke my heart to hear those words...... cause.... y'all know what that means. I had hoped they would be able to place him. I feel so guilty
Talk about a "hollow victory".

Thanks for listening.

I am sorry that they deem him unacceptable for adoption, but you did the best thing you could for him. A lot of shelters in my area simply will NOT take a feral cat period, except to euthanize them. It is really sad, because they can be socialized in time but not everyone wants to invest that time. At least his end will be peaceful though unneccessary, but had he stayed out in the wild, he could of had all sorts of bad things happen to him before he finally passed on.

Hissy,

Thanks----just needed to hear that.

I too am saddened by what had to happen - but you need to remember that the quality of the life of the rest of your adopted family will certainly be better now. And, this old Tom will not be cold, hungry, or in a fight again. He will be at the Bridge waiting for you someday and will thank you with a big old kitty kiss. You have been the human that cared enough for him to help him -
Deb

Hi,

Im having the same trouble with a Tom Cat. Ive had my trap for one month now, and still nothing. The clever cat went into the trap yesterday, but he missed the plate! The whole cat was INSIDE the trap! I have tried everything, all I want to do is help this poor stray male, he must be infected with worms and fleas, and my local cat shelter is taking him in, when i get him, to neuter him, and clean him up.

Im using my female as bait (they love each other, shes spayed now, but he still loves her! he fathered her litter) Shes been rubbing on the trap, and he's sprayed on it!

Ive tried all the suggestions on here, does anyone have anymore suggestions? I need to stop this cat spraying all over my garden, and my childrens outdoor toys.
Im running out of time now, I just want to help him, he's a beautiful looking cat, but is in very bad condition

Thanks

Debra,


Thanks for those kind words. The quality of life for the rest of the tribe sure has improved. They finally realize the "meanie" won't be back and have relaxed and gotten back to hanging out "at home".

As far as the last "un-fixed" female cat, Twinkle, there is no way she would let me carry her, I can only touch her when she's eating but will run away if I touch her too long. So I set up the trap again and she bolted----gave it a really wide berth.

I thought she would never go in the trap. But I did the same thing.....newspaper....tied drumstick....kibble right in front of the door and threw some in along the way and covered the trap with an old towel. I think what helped was that her mom was eating the kibble in front of the trap and in turn she started eating too. But Mama-cat is too smart to get in (she never got in the trap before). And this afternoon Twinkle was in there!!! She's at the vets right now for the weekend and they will do the surgery on Monday or Tuesday. Just in time cause she is pregnant. Whew!!!! Didn't want to have to go through another round of trapping again.

Neesey: I hope you can get your Tom. This method has worked twice with 2 cats I thought I would never catch. The humane society also suggested if tying the chicken (w/bone) to the bottom of the trap doesn't work, try tying it to the back or to the top---up higher cause the cat will try to snatch the chicken and run but since it's tied it will have to wrestle with it and pull---hopefully backing up onto the trigger. I used kibble as the enticement and it worked but if it didn't then the next step was going to be the stinky oils and bits of fish---didn't want to go that route cause I was tired of cleaning the trap. Good luck to you..... I know what a pain that spraying is. And it's so nice that you have somewhere to take him.

Again, thanks everyone

Hey Neesey

Since the Tom loves your cat so much....maybe you can give your cat a good rub down with an old towel or cloth and either use that to cover the bottom of the trap or place over the trigger or in the back behind the plate. Maybe that would "entice" the Tom along with food? Maybe he would want to rub himself on that cloth? and hopefully set off the trigger.

Just a thought.....

2 hours after I posted my message on here 'Beanie-Boy' was trapped!! He was spitting, and snarling in the trap. It was 8pm over here at the time (UK), and my society wouldnt take him in until morning! This was plan D, (Plans A,B and C had not worked!) Anyway, we put him in our shed, and he instantly calmed down, and had a peaceful night (I kept checking him) we fed him, and waterered him. Next morning my lady from the cat shelter took him into the vets, he was castrated, de-fleaed and de wormed (he had NO worms!) It appeared he was 4-5 years old, how anyone can have a cat of that age, and not neuter him is beyond me. Anyway, he came back, and was released yesterday, and ran off. We think he does have a home, although not a very good one.

Although I feel what I did was terribly cruel, its helped him in the end

Beanie-Boy is saved!! and looks fine, as I saw him today, hes not been in my garden at all, I think the trap scared him off!