Trapping smart feral for new home

What do you do when the feral cat is to smart and won't go in the
trap? We left the traps open for several days with food in them so
the
cats would get used to eating inside them. A week later we actually
set the traps. We caught all but one of the cats. He was always very
cautious but he would go in and eat eventually. He saw the others
get
trapped and now he approaches the trap from behind, sniffs the food,
sometimes meows and never goes in. We really want to catch him so he
can be with his brothers in the feral house a friend made for them.
Any ideas?

irtheman wrote:
What do you do when the feral cat is to smart and won't go in the
trap? We left the traps open for several days with food in them so
the
cats would get used to eating inside them. A week later we actually
set the traps. We caught all but one of the cats. He was always very
cautious but he would go in and eat eventually. He saw the others
get
trapped and now he approaches the trap from behind, sniffs the food,
sometimes meows and never goes in. We really want to catch him so he
can be with his brothers in the feral house a friend made for them.
Any ideas?

Feed him every day. Then, move his food bowl closer and closer to your
house. Pretty soon, he will be comiung inside your house to eat. Then, one
fine day, your wife will go out and pick him up and take him wherever she
wants him. That's how we domesticated Smokey, our feral cat.

"irtheman" wrote in message
...
What do you do when the feral cat is to smart and won't go in the
trap? We left the traps open for several days with food in them so
the
cats would get used to eating inside them. A week later we actually
set the traps. We caught all but one of the cats. He was always very
cautious but he would go in and eat eventually. He saw the others
get
trapped and now he approaches the trap from behind, sniffs the food,
sometimes meows and never goes in. We really want to catch him so he
can be with his brothers in the feral house a friend made for them.
Any ideas?

Use a drop trap. They're excellent for trap-wise, hard-to-trap cats. Its
the only trap I use. If you can't borrow one, you can build one for about
$20 in about 2 hours. Just be sure to place the food all the way in the
back of the trap in the center. Keep the trip cord taught so it will only
take a slight tug release the prop stick.


http://maxshouse.com/Equipment/droptrap_camo.jpg

Per irtheman:
the feral house a friend made for them

?
--
PeteCresswell

It is a very nice cage designed with feral cats in mind. Lots of
hiding places and easy access for providing food. Easy to clean
without cat escaping. Pretty neat but not cheap. It is kind of based
on what they use in zoos for care and feeding of tigers really.

On Apr 28, 6:28*am, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per irtheman:

the feral house a friend made for them

?
--
PeteCresswell

4 different traps so far and no luck. We are going to try to trick it
into the garage and block it inside so we can go after it with a net.
We expect many scratches and other injuries. :-)
The cat looks pretty bad now; without his siblings he is really going
down-hill. He used to visit and even come in the door of our house
but now he just sits at the end of our sidewalk. Even food won't
bring him closer.
We talk to him and tell him his brothers are happy (they are actually)
and that we don't want to hurt him. Our landlord on the other hand is
going to have him exterminated from the sounds of it.

Traps tried so far:
1) Live cage trap (cat goes in for food and triggers trap) - Cat
sniffs around, howls and sulks.
2) Box trap (cat goes in a big propped up box and we yank a rope) -
Cat sleeps in front of it but won't go in despite it being a pretty
big box
3) Drop net (cat walks under and net drops; assembled by an eagle
scout) - Dang cat walked around it and even climbed the stupid tree to
check things out!!!
4) We did the unthinkable and went with the advice of a vet and
drugged his food thinking it would slow him down - Cat ignored food;
we think a raccoon got it

The good news is he is still coming around. The bad news is he isn't
coming around as often. The effort continues....


On Apr 27, 1:40*pm, irtheman wrote:
What do you do when the feral cat is to smart and won't go in the
trap? We left the traps open for several days with food in them so
the
cats would get used to eating inside them. A week later we actually
set the traps. We caught all but one of the cats. He was always very
cautious but he would go in and eat eventually. *He saw the others
get
trapped and now he approaches the trap from behind, sniffs the food,
sometimes meows and never goes in. We really want to catch him so he
can be with his brothers in the feral house a friend made for them.
Any ideas?

On Apr 28, 3:20*am, "Phil P." wrote:
"irtheman" wrote in message

...

What do you do when the feral cat is to smart and won't go in the
trap? We left the traps open for several days with food in them so
the
cats would get used to eating inside them. A week later we actually
set the traps. We caught all but one of the cats. He was always very
cautious but he would go in and eat eventually. *He saw the others
get
trapped and now he approaches the trap from behind, sniffs the food,
sometimes meows and never goes in. We really want to catch him so he
can be with his brothers in the feral house a friend made for them.
Any ideas?

Use a drop trap. They're excellent for trap-wise, hard-to-trap cats. *Its
the only trap I use. *If you can't borrow one, you can build one for about
$20 in about 2 hours. *Just be sure to place the food all the way in the
back of the trap in the center. *Keep the trip cord taught so it will only
take a slight tug release the prop stick.

*http://maxshouse.com/Equipment/droptrap_camo.jpg

The human society actually provided us with one of these. The cat
just sits in front of the thing and stares at it, at us or just naps.
We call him Abbott after Abbott and Costello because he is skinny,
smart and always hangs out with his big silly brother we called
Costello.

"Phil P." wrote in message
news
Use a drop trap. They're excellent for trap-wise, hard-to-trap cats. Its
the only trap I use. If you can't borrow one, you can build one for about
$20 in about 2 hours. Just be sure to place the food all the way in the
back of the trap in the center. Keep the trip cord taught so it will only
take a slight tug release the prop stick.


http://maxshouse.com/Equipment/droptrap_camo.jpg




How do you remove the cat from one of these traps without being shredded and
bit?

"irtheman" wrote in message
...
It is a very nice cage designed with feral cats in mind. Lots of
hiding places and easy access for providing food. Easy to clean
without cat escaping. Pretty neat but not cheap. It is kind of based
on what they use in zoos for care and feeding of tigers really.
```````````````````````'

How large is it and how many cats are in it?

Kelly Greene wrote:
"Phil P." wrote in message
news
Use a drop trap. They're excellent for trap-wise, hard-to-trap
cats. Its
the only trap I use. If you can't borrow one, you can build one for
about $20 in about 2 hours. Just be sure to place the food all the
way in the back of the trap in the center. Keep the trip cord
taught so it will only take a slight tug release the prop stick.


http://maxshouse.com/Equipment/droptrap_camo.jpg




How do you remove the cat from one of these traps without being
shredded and bit?

A good pair of leather welder's gloves works very well for this....