If he is going in that's what counts but do keep the trap covered, sides and back. The sheet you have if it has his smell on it maybe he will be more comfortable. Also make sure you are feeding in the back of the trap. You need him to get use to being feed in the back of the trap. When you set the trap you want him to be all the way to the back, you don't want his foot or tail to get caught. I've had alot of bad situations using traps to catch feral cats. Lots of damage, not to myself thank god but to my house . When you set the trap, I would do it on a day you are off or have time to go back and forth to check the trap. You can't have it trapped in hot or cold weather for long. Maybe try to put the trap somehow that you can see the opening without going right up to the trap to know if it was released. When you get him, take him home and let him calm down before you open or uncover the trap. If you want to just uncover the front so Ponta maybe can take a look that might me good. After a while open the trap and let him come out when he wants too. But this is a little ahead of ourselves, but lets hope we are saying that in a couple of days.
buffy2011
Thanks for your reply, I really need someone to bounce off ideas with. The feeding place is 50 steps from my front door so 30m? 100feet? I just saw him an hour ago when I went to retrieve the camera. Then he escaped back to where he has been hiding presumably. Then the dried food was almost untouched as he never really liked it anyway. But on the camera, I got the black white cat eating the 1st round of kibbles. Then at 6 am this morning, Daizu went inside to get the crab snack leftover I put on the step trigger plate. He took it out of the cage to eat it. I really regret that I didn't have the first feeding on camera, so I can't be sure who ate the wet food and crab snack at the back of the cage.
I have put a few pieces of crab snack at the back of the cage just now and have the camera on. It is going to be very hot during the day like 35 celcius. So he may be hiding till dusk. My neighborhood is pretty safe so the camera should be good. I told my neighbors that I am setting a live trap tonight. So that they know. I wanted to do it tonight, because the tom cat who had been away is back. I heard 2 rounds of fights at 2:30 or so and 3:30 or so. I think I need to get Daizu inside soon. If I see him staying in the trap eating the crab snack during the day, then definitely I feel he is more comfortable eating at the same place and not my house.
I will try to custom make some protective parts for future. Thanks for the good tips. Ponta and Daizu were quite close, as they grew up together. I really doubt that Daizu would walk right in. He used to run away from me inside the house when I wasn't even thinking about going towards him. Then again, when he wanted to play, or attention, he would sit on the table where I was working at and stay with me, or sit right in front of the TV. I put a towel that they used on the cage but it has been washed. I have another bed sheet that I haven't washed yet, so I will use that tonight. Or should I wait another night?