Cat Blog 4c
Trapping a wary cat
If a feral or community cat is wary of a trap, it could be that he or she has been trapped before, or that they’ve seen other cats being trapped. Trapping a wary cat requires time and patience. You may also have to use different methods and/or traps.
- Begin by leaving a regular trap at or near the cat’s feeding station for at least a week. (Chain it to something if you’re worried about theft.)
- At first, remove the trap door if it is a loose one. If it is attached to the trap, tie it up in the open position. In this way you’ll be making sure that it won’t slam shut at the wrong moment.
- Sprinkle Happy Cat (obtainable from some vets and shops and from Takealot – https://www.takealot.com/all?_sb=1&_r=1&qsearch=happy%20cat%20valerian&via=suggestions&_si=85588e7042023ace10649761ec46b47f) inside and around the trap to help set the cat at ease.
- Use yummy, strong-smelling food as bait, but place the food dish outside the trap for the first day or two.
- Then begin placing the food dish inside the trap, but just beyond the mouth of the trap. This will enable the cat to eat while most of his or her body remains outside. Move the food deeper and deeper into the trap on consecutive days without actually setting the trap.
- Once the cat is comfortably eating inside the trap, set the trap in the usual way. If possible, use the ‘stick’ method (https://iamcat.blog/how-do-i-trap-community-cats-part-1/). Be careful not to sprinkle Happy Cat near the stick, because some cats will roll in the powder and knock the stick over.
Should you have no joy with a regular trap, try trapping the wary cat in a ‘drop’ trap. A drop trap often works because it has no floor. This means that cats don’t have to enter it as they would a regular trap. You can trap a number of cats at once in a drop trap – usually at least two.
Once you’ve caught the cats, cover the drop trap with a blanket to help calm them. You may also have to weigh the trap down to prevent them from crawling out. Then use a ‘transfer’ trap to move the cats one by one from the drop trap to normal traps. (If you’ve caught only one or two, you can usually transport them in the transfer trap.)
A transfer trap has a sliding door similar to that of the drop trap. Once you’ve positioned it next to the door of the drop trap, remove the blanket from the drop trap to cover the transfer trap. Then slide open both doors. Cats usually prefer to move from the drop trap into the transfer trap, as it now seems like the darker, safer option.
If you’re having no luck with a drop trap either, try feeding the cat in a large cardboard box for a few days. Once the cat is comfortably eating in the box, place a trap inside the box without setting it. Move the bait food deeper and deeper into the trap on consecutive days as described above.
I recently trapped an impossible-to-trap cat in this way, thanks to this great tip I received from Charlmaine Perreira from Jozi South Feral Cat Carers (https://www.facebook.com/jozisouthferal/).
After reading the guidelines about trapping a wary cat above and those in Cat Blogs 4a and 4b, check out some videos on trapping on the internet. This will give you a better idea of how trapping works in practice. See for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF_omFE7Etc
You now have all the information you need to start trapping feral or community cats humanely and effectively. Wishing you much success in this important undertaking!
Cat quote of the week
Perhaps one reason we are fascinated by cats is because such a small animal can contain so much independence, dignity, and freedom of spirit… He demands acceptance on his own terms.
Lloyd Alexander
Cat Story 7
NCat – an unusual cat welfare organisation
I thought this week I would tell you about NCat – the National Cat Action Taskforce, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Contrary to what its name suggests, NCat is made up of only 7 dedicated volunteers, most of whom have additional part-time or even full-time jobs.
This group is very close to my heart, as I co-founded it 12 years ago, and I’m still very involved with it today. We’re a registered non-profit organisation (https://ncat.co.za/content/view/welcome) that was formed with the intention of offering cats and their carers something different.
We act as a kind of networking portal to help cat carers get the help they need for their cats – mostly sterilisation, cat food and sometimes veterinary treatment. This means that cat people from across the country contact us for help. We then network on their behalf to put them in touch with the resources they need. Since our inception, we’ve been instrumental in organising thousands of steries countrywide. We’ve also helped scores of carers feed more cats – especially in these challenging times.
Another very important function is that we frequently speak on behalf of cat carers – especially when a company or landlord feels that the presence of a feral colony is not in the best interest of their shopping centre, office park or residential complex. We usually find that an official informative letter and sometimes a follow-up meeting sorts out the concerns on both sides.
On one or two occasions though, when all other options had been exhausted, we’ve gotten involved in protest action – mostly in collaboration with the amazing BAT (Ban Animal Trading – https://www.bananimaltrading.org/).
Whenever possible, we love getting involved in teaching children about cats. On one occasion we worked with SARAC (Soweto Animal Rescue and Advisory Centre – https://www.sarac.co.za/) to tell kids how to respect and care for community cats.
We’ve now also joined forces with another group, Speak (Society for People, Environment and Animal Kindness – https://speak-up3.wixsite.com/speak) in producing and distributing a colouring-in storybook – Khosi and the Little Cat.
Our only constraint is … money! If we had more funds, we could do infinitely more for our beloved cats. (Every cent we receive, goes straight to the cats. We don’t use it for salaries, petrol or any other expense.)
Will you help us do more?
NCat, FNB Sandton, branch code 250655, account 62362218440, swift code FIRNZAJJ, ref ‘Steries’ or ‘Food’ and your name.