Trapping Cat In Cold Weather

[spac]

I need to trap a feral cat so I can take her to be spayed. I tried three mornings in a row with no success. On the third morning, she wasn't even out there in her little house.

Depending on the weather (snow in the forecast), I may have anywhere from 0 to 4 days to catch her before it's too late. If she's already pregnant, the clinic doesn't like to do spays if the cat is too far into the pregnancy. This leaves me with a problem. The best time to catch her would be at night between 10 pm to midnight. Then I would put her in the back seat of the car for safety and protection from the cold wind until 7 am when we would leave to go to the clinic. However, the temperature is predicted to be 31 to 26 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. The windchill is predicted to be 22 to 18. Even if she's in the car, in the trap, it's going to be cold in there. I can't really have a blanket in the trap and even if I did, there's a risk of her pooping/peeing on it. Is it ok to leave her in the car for up to 9 hrs in those temperatures? What would you all do?

 

[surya]

I put trapped cats in my bathroom overnight. I put the trap in the bathtub and I clean really good with bleach afterwards, to keep my cats safe from getting anything. I live in an apartment, so that is my only option. To answer your question, I don't know, she's probably used to the cold weather, but I would want to keep her inside.

If you decide to put her in the car, find some old clothes or a towel to put in their with her and just throw it away afterwards. I don't like thinking of her in that cold metal cage with nothing to snuggle against. In another thread I saw someone recommend this: fill some socks with rice and microwave them for about 5 minutes. That would help her keep warm for a little while. And maybe you run the heater in the car an warm up the inside before you leave her.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have placed the cat in my basement with a tarp underneath. I would not think leaving them in the car would be a good idea. I would use a bathroom or basement. Be sure the cover the trap with a blanket. This will help to keep her more calm.

Does you clinic work on a drop by basis? The clinic I used would take feral cats without an appointment and up until noon. This left me lots of time to get the cat in the mornings. I would ask what is the latest time you can bring her in.

Have you started by not setting the trap and just feeding her in the tied open trap to get her used to it?

 

[kittychick]

Our clinic works similarly to the one shadowsrescue mentions - - although they have a "specific time" for feral drop offs, if you go in and talk to them and explain the situation, they'll often "loosen the rules" a bit. Hopefully you've called and spoken to someone at your clinic - - -ours won't do feral spays/neuters during the coldest part of the year. So if you haven't checked with them - - please do. You definitely don't want to do this twice!

I really wouldn't recommend leaving her in the car unless you have no other options (and it's funny - - I'm trying to decide why that make me so nervous -- since if you do what I'm suggesting next - - she'd certainly be about as warm as if she were out in the elements). Anyway - I'd avoid it if possible. Plus you need to figure out where you can put her while she recovers anyway (you can't release a female immediately after a spay) - -so consider it a dry run for where she can go when you pick her up.

If you have absolutely no other option - - you're right - you really can't leave a blanket in the trap. You'd have to open the trap after you caught her to put the blanket in, risking her escaping - and we've all been through that - no fun! And you also can't put the blanket in before you trap her as chances are it'll muck up the tripping mechanism and you won't get her - - you'll just make her more scared of traps in the future (and we've all had those that get trap-scared and savvy too). When we transport ferals in traps to the clinic - we usually spread large garbage bags (or a plastic tarp) in the car where the trap will sit, and then place newspapers on top of the garbage bags. The bags/plastic keeps anything from seeping into the car's carpet - and the newspapers add not only a tossable layer, but are less crinkly than the plastic - - which is yet another thing that freaks an already frightened feral out further. Anything to help keep them calm! We also always immediately cover the trap completely (except in exceedingly hot weather - then we leave "air openings") with a blanket or beach towels. It's a huge aid in calming them. So in your case - - that would at least help keep her warmer. Would the car be in a garage? That again would help a bit. And the rice socks will also help - -but again - watch opening the trap to put them in after she's trapped - you don't want her escaping. And my only other concern about putting the rice socks IN the trap (they really are a good idea though- don't want to sound like I'm down on rice socks!) - - some cats go absolutely crazy for a bit in the trap (particularly before you cover the trap) - and if she rips the socks open that'd be one heck of a mess! And if she'd try to eat the rice - which I doubt - but you never know!- - -her spay would need to be postponed. Which you definitely want to avoid.

A far better option is bringing her and the trap into somewhere more temp-controlled. Because - again - you'll have to put her somewhere for a day or two post surgery to make sure she's recovering. As noted above by surya and shadowsrescue - - you do have options in the house beyond a living room/bedroom. Bathrooms - - - particularly setting the trap in the tub with newspaper under it - -is about as no muss/no fuss as possible. We often utilize a workroom we have in our finished basement - - it has linoleum, so even if an enormous mess happens - easy clean-up.

Good luck - - keep us posted on how it goes with her!

 

[surya]

She probably would rip up the socks. I didn't think about that, so bad idea. You do have to be really careful opening the trap, but usually they hide in one side, and on my trap you can push up the door just a tiny bit and shove something in there quickly. I always open the trap a tiny bit to pull out the bait food, but I am quick, so I haven't had any escapee's or gotten clawed up. I always wait till I am in the bathroom to do it, just in case. I do worry about the poor kitty recovering from the surgery out in such cold weather too.