I spent 1 month training a really smart and feral cat to enter the trap and eat there. I am using a trap which I remade to have a string that I pull when she's inside, and the door falls. I TNR-ed about 30 cats this way, but this cat is extremely sensitive and cunning.
Today she was finally comfortable enough in the trap, I pulled the string, the door fell but she somehow sensed this movement with her back, made a dash back, kept the door half way lifted with her back, and then escaped.
My mistake is that I didn't let her reach the end of the trap, but the problem is - she never does anyway. She only goes half way and stops there. She understands the logic that going further inside means a more difficult escape. She was never trapped before (she's about 1 year old) and still she understands this.
Now what? I am desperate. I decided to pause and not go there for a while so she hopefully forgets the negative experience, but how long should I wait until trying again, to "recondition" her to go inside the trap again? Is it even possible? Minding that I spent 1 month with her, while most other cats that I trapped needed a few days or a week to feel relaxed and comfortable with the trap. I had one cat trigger the trap by mistake, which fell loudly and she fled in terror, but next time she just went inside as if nothing happened and was TNR-ed.
But this one....Can reconditioning even happen with such sensitive cats? Or it's a lost cause after the escape? I know females are most hungry when they are breastfeeding, but this will mean for her to have another litter and her previous kittens didn't survive.
Drop trap - I had negative experiences with it because I had a cat escape during transfer from it, also had a cat just lift
it, sneak under and escape. So I stopped using it, besides it requires two people and I am alone.
Would like to hear especially from people who had the cats escape the trap but managed to retrap again.
Today she was finally comfortable enough in the trap, I pulled the string, the door fell but she somehow sensed this movement with her back, made a dash back, kept the door half way lifted with her back, and then escaped.
My mistake is that I didn't let her reach the end of the trap, but the problem is - she never does anyway. She only goes half way and stops there. She understands the logic that going further inside means a more difficult escape. She was never trapped before (she's about 1 year old) and still she understands this.
Now what? I am desperate. I decided to pause and not go there for a while so she hopefully forgets the negative experience, but how long should I wait until trying again, to "recondition" her to go inside the trap again? Is it even possible? Minding that I spent 1 month with her, while most other cats that I trapped needed a few days or a week to feel relaxed and comfortable with the trap. I had one cat trigger the trap by mistake, which fell loudly and she fled in terror, but next time she just went inside as if nothing happened and was TNR-ed.
But this one....Can reconditioning even happen with such sensitive cats? Or it's a lost cause after the escape? I know females are most hungry when they are breastfeeding, but this will mean for her to have another litter and her previous kittens didn't survive.
Drop trap - I had negative experiences with it because I had a cat escape during transfer from it, also had a cat just lift
it, sneak under and escape. So I stopped using it, besides it requires two people and I am alone.
Would like to hear especially from people who had the cats escape the trap but managed to retrap again.
