Feral cats and live traps

C

Canis Callis

New member
I have some feral cats in my area and the live trap has been working well. There seems to be one that is pretty trap-wise though. He takes the lead-in bait but won't go in the trap. Probably been there and done that. Any suggestions on how to cure this kitty problem? I have been using canned cat food for bait. Just the fishiest smelling stuff I can find. Any suggestions are appreciated. This has become sort of a challenge.
 
Don't use a lead in bait. Just use bait in the back of the trap, this cat already knows there is a free meal in that box, make him step on the pan to get it.
 
gtrapper, Thanks for the reply. Can you suggest anything better to use for bait? I'd buy this ol' cat a can of sardines if he'd go in there after it. He goes into my burning barrel after left over chicken parts so maybe that would work.
I'll quit giving him a taste with the lead in bait so he'll have to go into the trap for anything to eat.
 
Canis, the first time I tried sardines in OIL for bait, I caught darn near every cat in our neighborhood. Then it was just a matter of sorting them out.
 
canis,
I use Jack Makrel (sp) its cheap and stinks as good as any canned fish out there. Anything on hand should work, my wife is always mad because I steal her tuna to catch skunks. I've caught coyotes with potted meat. I use to get the old grease from the local store and strain it, the burnt stuff you strain out makes pretty good cat, skunk, and coon bait.
 
Take the trap to the carwash and give it a good once over... Then instead of opening the can, just poke some holes in the top and dribble a little oil out of the can, he will smell it but cant reach in and grab it, so he will have to commit to going in... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I tried last night without any lead in bait, also no luck. I will try again tonight and if that does not work, I'm going to the grocery store and the car wash tomorrow.
As I said earlier, this cat has been in a trap before and he didn't like it. I'll just mix him up a feast that he can't resist. For now most of his buddies have met their final reward but cats being cats, there will be more sooner or later.
Thanks for the help guys.
 
GOT HIM. Thanks for the help. The sardines proved irresistible and there's still some left. Here kitty kitty kitty. The car wash was a good idea too.
 
I was going to say what Karl said. I had the same problem. Kept having problems with feral cats. Cleaned all but one out. The last one, a big male, kept pissing on my new 4 wheeler in my garage. I didn't even own a cat. I tried the cage trap. Nothing. Finally, I took a cardboard box and cut a 1 foot square out of each end. Then I mounted a 330 coni in each opening. Then I placed a can of tuna in the center of the box. I put this whole set up in the garage, locked. The cat came and went through a small hole in the eaves. Well, you know the rest of the story. I was doing the jig the next morning. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures.

Not telling anyone to do this mind you. This was a long time ago and my circumstances allowed it to be done safely. Didn't own any dogs or cats at the time. Everything was locked in the garage. Don't want the neighbor dog in a coni. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Yeah, yeah, I know you are not supposed to use conis on land but hey...cats aren't supposed to piss on my quad either. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Cover the trap with vegetation (twigs, grass, leaves) and put a good gob of salmon on the pan. The kitty will show up there sooner or later. Good Trapping!

Make sure you don't advertise too much that you're catching all these feral cats. Personally, I would like to see all of them eliminated, but there are those who will press animal rights issues on you and try to catch you on video with kitty in the box. The Wisconsin fisheries worker ended up in court on charges of animal cruelty after he killed a cat that was eating fish food. He was acquitted but the damn cat still caused a bunch of legal bills. My advice is to shoot, shovel, and shut up. If you have to, take the cat to the animal shelter and let them kill it. That's what they are suppose to do if it isn't adopted. Some animal shelters run by animal rights activists may actually release cats before they will kill them. This is another story.
 


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