Sturgeon Bay and Door County, Wisconsin
TNR T = Trap
Always: Safety of the cat and yourself are the primary concerns.
What you need
The equipment list is simple:
Humane Trap:
The Cat Door preference is for a gravity trap as it has the
lowest risk to the cat. For a good discussion of traps see: Traps and
Humane Animal Equipment. Whichever trap you choose, practice!
We have found the local hardware store has the least expensive traps.
And don't forget Freecycle and Craig's List.
Dark towel, Newspaper: The towel is to cover the set trap. Be sure the
trap mechanism moves freely. It will also help calm the cat in the trap.
Line each trap with newspaper and tape it in place.
Thick gloves: To protect your hands from scratches.
Bait, A Long Stick, Clean-up Items: Bait is strong smelling cat
food. The stick is necessary to manipulate a trap from a safe distance.
Clean-up items include trash bags, paper towels, etc.
And don't forget your lunch!
What you need to know
Before you start:
[1] Know that you have a vet or TNR program to go to with the cat(s).
[2] Know where the cat will be kept until transport to the vet.
[3] Feed the cat regularly at the same time and in the same place every
day for at least two weeks; then 24 hours before you trap, no food.
[4] Know never to leave a trap unattended as it endangers the cat;
stay close, but out of sight.
[5] Know that if you trap a cat and release it for any reason, you may
never trap that cat again.
[6] Never attempt to pet or handle a feral cat.
For a detailed discussion, see Before you trap
How to: Street Smart, Trap Smart, Oops
It seems there is always one cat who figures out what the trap is, or the
one cat you are trying to trap happens to be trap smart. The best solu-
tion for trapping these savvy cats, is the
Drop Trap
A drop trap is a lightweight frame covered with netting - made to catch
feral cats. It is propped up on one side with a stick, and food is placed
in the back. The trapper stands at a distance, holding a string attached
to the stick. When the cats are eating, the trapper pulls the string to
drop the trap capturing the cats inside. The trapper immediately covers
the trap with a blanket to calm the cat(s).
The transfer: The cats are easily transferred into traditional box (wire)
traps for transport. A box trap is placed door-to-door with the covered
drop trap. The box trap is also covered (top and sides only) to make it
appear to be an exit tunnel. When the matching lifting style doors are
raised, the cats discover the exit and move into the box trap, for secure
transport to the vet.
Here is a neat ad-video of a homemade drop trap in action: Drop Trap video
~ This is Oops! ~
Should you happen to catch Oops, wear your gloves, stay on higher ground
than the trap, use your handy stick to remove the towel covering, and open
the trap. Wait. Oops will run out as soon as s/he is aware the trap is open!
Resources
Nicely illustrated. Primary focus
is finding lost and
missing pets, but the trapping page is excellent.
This is THE national resource for TNR.
The Wisconsin page. 'Everyone needs a home'.
Runs the largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned
animals in the country.
Based in San Diego, FCC has a tremendous
fund of information and guidance.
Using in-depth studies and facts to
help animals. A remarkable resource.
If you Google 'Alley Cat Allies', you will find almost
40,000 listings and not one in Door County, WI
