Expert: Tina - 11/21/2008

Question
I have been able to catch a bunch of feral cats in my back yard to have them altered. This one cat, I call call "Papa" because he is the father to almost all the cats in the neighborhood, is impossible to catch. I have been using the standard metal cage purchased at Ace Hardware. Up until now it has been working like a charm. But to Papa won't even attempt to go in it. He is always eats but never really act as that hungry all the other cats I have captured. Do you have any ideas?

Answer
Hi Al,

First let me thank you for trapping and spaying/neutering the cats in your yard! It seems that at every site there is always one cat who is way too smart to trap with the regular traps. In my experience what works best for these cats is a "drop trap". These are basically a box that you prop up on a stick with a string tied to it, you put the food under it (preferably where you've been feeding a while) wait until kitty is settled down for the meal, then pull the string and the trap comes down. Cats don't seem as wary of these traps because there are no sides and the smart cats who have watched the other cats go in the metal traps and get trapped do not recognize this type as the same thing.

I once tried to trap a female cat for 4 years, she kept having kittens, we would take them away when they were weaned and find them homes, but she was very prolific and kept having babies - large litters! Finally I found out about the drop trap and got her on the first try. I wish we'd tried it earlier. But at least she finally got spayed and is enjoying a nice retirement from baby-making now.

Here are some directions for building and using different plans:

http://www.catinfo.org./buildingadroptrap.htm

http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=366

http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/newsletter/05-10/nycfcc.htm

More tips on trapping:

http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=285

Good luck!