Trapping Frustrations!

[suzi saul]

First day...cat went in to eat more than once, and the trip plate didn't work. Got that figured out...day 2, it poured all night. Day 3...I caught one! She escaped while I was carrying the trap to the car. I don't know how she did it! It was reaaally hard to pick that thing up because it was unbalanced with her weight, but she leaped suddenly at the door and somehow got it open (the trap door..the rear was secure). {{{sigh}}} Is it the trap, or does this happen?

 

[ritz]

Oh sorry you're having problems; it is frustrating.  Probably the trap is somehow defective or the door not secured.  I sometimes used twist-ties in strategic places to make sure doors stay shut.  It can be difficult carrying traps, especially if the cat keeps moving around.  I try to position the trap such that the heavy part (i.e., the cat) is towards my stomach or the door towards my stomach so there is one more barrier between the cat and unplanned freedom.  I also will wrap my entire arms and body around the trap when carrying it. And of course, pull my car up as close to the trap as possible.  I'm a 5 foot tall 85 pound weakling; every ounce helps/hurts!

Keep on trying, and try another trap, different type if possible, so the cat doesn't catch on to what you're trying to do.  (We all know it's for her good, though she may not ....

 )

And thank you for trapping!

 

[StefanZ]

Better luck next time!

Welcome to our Forums!

 

[suzi saul]

Thank you both! I actually have TEN cats to trap lol, so weeeeee this is gonna be fun. Attaching some ties is a good idea...should be able to manage that! Already caught 4 kittens, and 5 more were just born on my porch...that is more than enough babies! I had no idea there were so many ferals in our neighborhood, but a couple more just started coming to eat a few days ago and there may be even more than 10! I can't afford to feed an army, so I gotta get this done 

 

[ritz]

I hear/heart you!  One reason I started trapping was because I didn't want to go broke doing so.  As it turned out, in 2.5 years I TNRd around 35 cats.  (I moved out of the area six months ago.)

Welcome to the forums; lots of people on this forum have lots of experience, so feel free to ask questions and for hints and tips/tricks.

 

[di and bob]

I use my garden shed to trap multiple cats. I run a 100 foot long rope into the house, get them used to eating inside, then pull the door shut. It's not fun to catch them inside, you've got to make sure there is nothing in the shed that they can hurt themselves on. We also use heavy gloves to catch them. I found if you put something in there that they can hide behind it's easier to corner them. We caught a mama and 5 babies this way, and 2 other strays.

 

[bastfriend]

Hi Suzi, what kind of trap do you have?   It sounds like there could be a problem with it.   If you don't want to buy a new trap, you can borrow a tested trap from a local rescue group or maybe even county shelter.   I had to buy a new trap recently because my old one turned out to have an unreliable trigger mechanism - could not figure out how to fix it.

 

[whaler]

Ritz gives some excellent advice about securing the doors. the brand of trap that i use is a tru-catch and the model i bought comes with a small carabiner to secure the guillotine style door. i also use one on the trap door as well, just to be extra safe.


thank you for helping these cats out!


Ritz - 85 lbs? wow, i am impressed. i am 6'2" 180 lbs and i have had a couple that i had a hard time with carrying a couple since they were thrashing around so much, it took nearly all of my strength just to not drop the trap and not lose my balance :lol3:

 

[ritz]

Luckily most of the cats I've trapped have been scared silent after trapping; putting a blanket over them calms them down pretty quickly.

I've noticed a slight correlation between amount of trashing and whether the cat is feral or stray/dumped; the more friendly the cat, the more they thrash.  Go figure....

 

[bastfriend]

I've noticed a slight correlation between amount of trashing and whether the cat is feral or stray/dumped; the more friendly the cat, the more they thrash.  Go figure....

This has proven very true for my indoor feral Patches.   When I first trapped her seven years ago, she barely made a peep.   When I trapped her in my apartment last week, she thrashed and howled like a banshee.   Seems the second time she felt there was someone to howl at about her predicament!

 

[whaler]

i have noticed that too Ritz with one exception. mommie was by far the most feral of the ones i have tnr'd and she went absolutely nuts in the trap. the trap was bouncing around so much that it almost slid right back out of the truck. however, in addition to her there were her five kittens that were trapped so perhaps her protective instincts were kicking in.

 

[catsallaround]

Never had that happen.  I do the single door traps as I have a set up where it works(release the cat into a 30 inch crate with a smaller wire crate inside that I ust take to the vets)

I bought my traps from Tractor Supply.  I do use the key clips to latch door to the floor onces a cat is trapped and pop in a divider so there is no wiggle room and I can carry the trap very easily(they go upstairs to a bathroom). 

The cat in my signature was only a few months and insane in trap!  He was all over trying to get out.  Had him mostly tame in few days and he got neutered with in month and no one said a thing 

 

[aerides]

I use Tru Catch and I've never had one come open, but then I'm always double checking them and paranoid it's going to come open when I'm carrying them into, or out of the vet - I don't want them running away there I'd never see them again!

I've only had one heavy thrasher, the key was to basically get the doors to the house and car open before moving the trap, and then carry it cross ways with my body and almost lean backwards while walking. Since your cat was only trapped very briefly, you should be ok on re-trapping. For cats that don't have interest in the trap just set and left, I take fresh chicken, dangle it at them and throw it in the trap and after a few pieces they go in after it.

 

[gloriajh]

I also use TruCatch trap - and love it because I have two doors, and a fork divider to use when I'm opening one door to feed or to clean the trap.

I've never had a problem with it - other than when setting the trap door.  I have put the trap lever too far on the lock and it's held - that happened with my latest cat.  He walked in, ate food, and left.  I was smarter the next time and barely positioned the lever onto the whatever it's called. LOL

Anyway - I think that I will be more cautious with future trappings - and will get a hook to secure it even more.

Here is 4-Socks - calm and comfortable in the 36-D trap:

DSC07153.JPG

• gloriajh
• Mar 15, 2013