Cat Blog 4a

Don’t worry if you’ve never trapped community cats before. If you’ve been able to beg, borrow or buy one or more traps, and you follow the guidelines contained here and in the next Cat Blog, you’ll be fine. And if you commit some blunders or have some disconcerting experiences in the process, you won’t be alone! All of us have experienced those at some time or another.

Preparation

• Rinse the trap out beforehand in a weak solution of bleach (i.e. 1 teaspoon Jic on a bucket of water) to sanitise it. Long-handled brushes such as dish-washing brushes work well. It also helps to set the trap on its ‘bottom’ to reach inside more easily.
• Check that your trap mechanism is working properly. If necessary oil the sliding surfaces with oil that doesn’t have a strong smell.
• If the trap doesn’t have a solid floor, cover the floor with folded newspaper.
• During the week or two before trapping, feed the cats treats every day at the time at which you would like to trap them.
• Don’t feed them at all the day before the trapping, except perhaps a small amount 24 hours beforehand.
• Make a tentative appointment with a vet that is accustomed to working with community (feral) cats. Also check whether the vet will charge you welfare rates.

The trapping itself

• If possible, use the ‘stick’ method of trapping instead of the automatic method.  This entails not setting the trap on the automatic function. Instead, prop the door of the trap open with a sturdy stick, and attach a long string to the stick. This gives you more control over the process and enables you to trap more than one cat at a time. Try to make sure that no other cats watch the procedure, to prevent scaring them off.
• Sprinkle Happy Cat (obtainable from some vets and shops and from Takealot – https://www.takealot.com/all?_sb=1&_r=1&qsearch=happy%20cat%20stressfree&via=suggestions&_si=a9fde250aa8c61bc1cc212afb2f58adc) inside and around the trap to help set the cat at ease.
• Use flat plastic dishes such as the lids of tubs for your bait, and keep ants out by sprinkling baby powder or diatomaceous earth around them. (https://www.feelgoodhealth.co.za/blogs/pet-health-blog-natural-health-blog-dogs-cats/diatomaceous-earth-dogs-cats-health-benefits.) Some caregivers report that smearing petroleum jelly on the outside of dishes also works wonderfully. Use strong smelling soft food as bait – something fishy or a chicken mousse. Place a teaspoonful in the mouth of the trap to lure the cat in, and the rest in the dish you’ve placed right at the back.
• After setting the trap, test whether the door of the trap is working properly and won’t catch on anything. If you’ll be using the stick method, also check whether the stick will slide out smoothly. It is also a good idea to attach a small amount of ‘Prestik’ to the top and bottom ends of the stick. This helps to ensure that it won’t easily slip and scare the cats off at a crucial moment.

• Cover the trap partially with a towel or blanket, in such a way that only the sides of the trap are covered.
• Once you’re ready, don’t call the cat or reveal that you want him or her to enter the trap. Cats are clever and intuitive, so pretend that you don’t care whether they go in or not. And try not to stare too intently!
• Avoid trapping any community cat while other cats (that also need to be trapped) are on the outside looking on. When cats witness other cats being trapped, they will avoid the trap in future. Be patient and wait for the ideal situation.

More about trapping in Cat Blog 4b!

Cat quote of the week

I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through.

Jules Verne

Cat Story 5

Trapping anecdotes

Caregivers who regularly trap community cats have their fair share of frustrating and/or hilarious experiences. Here are a few of them:

• Rita from CAT Garden Route recounts how a security guard that she had informed about the trapping beforehand locked her into a building. She’s also been apprehended while trapping in Pollsmoor’s high security section!
• Another time Rita annoyed the ladies of the night when she was trapping at Cape Town harbour. They thought she was stealing their ‘spot’!
• Christopher from Edenvale Ferals tried to trap an injured cat on an abandoned property and found himself not only arrested but thrown in jail for 2 nights!
• Joanne from Harties Ferals remembers all the different non-feline animals they’ve caught over time, for example hadedas, chickens … even someone’s little dog!

• Beata, active in Joburg in association with NCat, had a boy sterilised but managed to trap him a second time. This time she was under the impression that he was a pregnant female. She was astonished when the vet informed her the following day that the cat was not only a male but had already been sterilised. You will find too that some cats will be trapped repeatedly!
• Louise Holton from Alley Cat Rescue in the US tells how she was almost arrested because they were trapping in an area where drugs were being sold. Another time they cut the locks at an apartment building because cats had been locked in a basement without food or water on a hot day. Fortunately the kind cops let them off with a warning!
• My funniest was when I spent multiple hours trying to trap kittens at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria after a patient alerted me to their presence. I didn’t manage to trap anyone, and I was getting very concerned. Then another patient took pity on me and broke the news that patient no 1 had made up the entire story!

If you cannot trap cats yourself, won’t you consider supporting your local NPO or welfare group financially? The more funds they have, the more community cats they can trap and sterilise!

Sending you thanks, blessings and purrs – until next week!