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I have a stray momma cat living under my home for about a year now. I have tried to catch her with a live trap, no luck.
I would love to catch her so I can get her spayed and her shots. I know she is too feral to tame but I don't mind her living under my home all she wants. but, she keeps having kittens and she really needs to be spayed. Luckily, all of the kittens have gotten homes so far. My main question is...does anyone have any advice to catch her? I have tried not feeding her awhile then putting the food in the trap, she resorts to killing birds and squirrels. I have made her tasty treats like liver. No luck. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Thanks for trying to help the Mom. This can be very frustrating - I've been there myself. And your kitty sounds like my Mom.
Borrow a Have A Heart Trap from someone. Use a twist tie to keep the trap in a locked open position. Line the bottom with newspapers, buy some Figaro Tuna Cat Food. Sprinkle the juice along the paper, and put small piles of food in the cage. Only put food in the trap - nowhere else.
The first time, end the piles in the middle, where the trap would go off. Then every day - move the piles a little further back. So that the first one is close to the middle, then put them further back.
What you need to do is have her trust the cage. Once you see her go in all the way without hesitation - set it to go. But make sure you are going to be there to watch her - don't leave it set unattended.
Trapping with a cat like this is a lot of time and a whole lot of patience. I took furever to catch.
Amigo's advice is so good that I have little to add but this -
Don't just line the trap with newspapers but use whatever else is familiar around your place to her, whether it be dried leaves & grass or anything else. If you have something you can cover the top of the trap with too, that will help. When I've caught timid ferals before, I found that if they felt less vulnerable, unseen by others, they're more liable to use it. An open trap isn't as inviting as one covered to look like a hide-away to them. I used a old blanket that I left outside for a few days to remove too much of the 'human' smell first.
I sure hope you catch momma cat & get her fixed & treated. Good for you!!
Amigo's advice is excellent. I used to do rescue work and he's right on! The hav-a-heart trap is the best. Test it first to make sure it's "hair trigger". Sometimes when these traps are used a lot the trigger doesn't trip right away and give the cat a chance to escape. That happened with Izzie's mom. And, patience IS the key. It took me two weeks to trap Izzie's mom and she was nursing and starving. Even if the kitty is feral, you need to establish a certain amount of trust between you to get her to go into the cage. Make sure it's in a quiet spot like under a bunch of evergreens or in a bush--not out in the open. And, please be careful if you do trap her--feral cats can be absolutely vicious. You might want to call in a rescue group or your animal warden to help you empty the trap. Also, make sure you have a vet on board to handle this cat. Not all vets deal with ferals. Good luck and God bless you!
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