Bait for live trapping feral cats

260_Rifleman

260_Rifleman

New member
I bought a live trap and am going to use it to trap and "dispose of" a bunch of feral cats that hang around.
What would be a good thing to use for bait?
My first thought was to get a can of sardines but somebody might have a better choice.
 
If money spent arguing and advertising private points of view was spent on feral and pet animals getting fixed. It would be a thing to support. Feral animals have to eat something are be put down.

Not trying to hijack your message!

Don Jackson Remington Magnum
 
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If money spent arguing and advertising private points of view was spent on feral and pet animals getting fixed. It would be a thing to support. Feral animals have to eat something are be put down.




What? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

How and why would you fix feral animals? Feral by definition means wild. Are you proposing "fixing" feral animals?

I guess I just don't understand your point.
 
The cheapest Tuna you can find. Throw an old bath towel over the top of the trap. The security of the towel seems to work better than an open trap, at least for me.
 
Well, I have been trying an opened can of Sardines for the last couple of days and no takers. Either they are smarter than I give them credit for or I am doing something wrong. I will try putting a burlap sack over the cage to make it more cave like.

As was mentioned, feral cats are domestic cats that are not actively owned by somebody. I live in town so shooting is out of the question. I called the animal control officer and he told me flat out that cats aren't his problem and to take care of them myself. We have a mile long by about 50 yards wide strip of unmaintained trees that border a flood drainage ditch. The cats seem to hang out in the flood plain area but come out into the house areas to feed in trash cans and get whatever they can find. There are some coons and possums that come thru once in a while but the cats seem to have taken over the entire area.
 
Are you just using 1 set? With that size area you could use multiple sets and try different baits/tactics. I like the cover idea. That may make a difference.

Another trick that works for bobcats and might work for ferrals is to hang a fairly life like bird inside the cage trap from a fishing line tied to a tree limb above. With a little wind it looks pretty real and might motivate them to step in.
 
bird feathers should hold attraction to them,this may sound funny but if yas have a cat, take his pee or crap from the litter box and put it near the bird feathers and sardines, that should bring them in quick
 
I use catfish bait, blood baits in the plastic bag. You can pick it at wal-mart. It smells stong but is not as messy as sardine's. Store the leftovers in something you can seal, I used an empty peanut butter jar, just shake em out and you don't get it on you hands.
 
We tried live trapping some stray cats at a high school I worked at several years ago. Used a can of tuna, but that didnt work. Next we tried some hamburger patties from the cafeteria (stuff they were eating out of the garbage anyway). Worke like a charm. Caught 1 every day for 3 days.
 
Keep us posted. You'll get em. BTW, what size is your live trap? I seem to have better success with larger size cages for cats and canines.

Also, if you haven't already, you should cover the floor of the trap with sand or dirt so they don't have to walk on the wire.
 
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The guy next door used venison summer sausage. I prefer my 10/22 and plan to get up early on my day off to wait for my latest backyard killer. I've seen it in the AM and found a pile of feathers near my bluebird house. That cat is TOAST. I also have a conibare/sp 10 that fits nicely onto a slotted 5 gal pale, works on racoons too. You just have to make sure it is in a fenced area/compost bin, so you don't catch any non combatants/dogs.
 
Got the first cat yesterday evening. A fresh can of Sardines with all the juice dripped on the ground did the trick.
Talk about one [beeep] off cat. Acted just like a cornered Tiger I saw on TV once. Good thing they don't weigh 50 pounds or dogs would be extinct.
Put a burlap sack over the opening and he ran into it as soon as I tapped the back of the cage trap. It gets a little funny after that. He ran into the burlap sack so hard that it pulled the sack out of my hand and the sack / cat went rolling away. Before I could take 2 steps and step on the opening the cat was out and away. Somehow I doubt that cat will get caught a second time but no big deal. There are still 20 or 30 left.
We had a heavy rain storm but after it ended I went out and reset the trap with a fresh can of Sardines. Maybe I can do a better job this weekend.
 
An update.
After the first cat I caught a cat every night and "disposed" of all that did not have a collar.
Got rid of 3 cats before a raccoon decided to get caught. The trap was listed as being a raccoon trap but as often happens it was under built to handle coons. The coon tore the wire off one end and got loose. I know it was a coon because of the smell. Distinctive and sort of fishy. I repaired the damage and beefed up the entire trap so that it will hopefully hold up a bit better. Reset the trap and didn't get anything for 3 nights. Two days ago I caught a raccoon and the trap held. Took it down the road about 10 miles and released it near the river on a big wildlife management area.

The odd thing is that I was catching cats regularly till the first coon and since then no cats at all. My guess is that the coon smell is keeping the cats away.
 


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