Patience is the key to trapping cats successfully. Here are some other hints that will help to make you more successful. When you go out to trap cats, ALWAYS go in teams of two or more volunteers. Besides being an important safety precaution, this will also make it easier to watch the traps after they are set, and to monitor the cats that have already been trapped.

Usually, it is easier to trap cats early in the morning or in the late evening around dusk...especially during hot weather. Always avoid the hottest part of the day...cats will find cool spots in which to hide, and your chances of catching them are slim. Trapping is rarely successful when it’s raining.

This list covers equipment that you’ll need to trap cats successfully. Use the checklist when you are preparing to go into the field and take everything on the list. You may not use it, but it’s better to have too much equipment than to discover that you’ve forgotten something you need once you are in the field.

• Cat traps: a kitten trap, standard trap, and a large trap with transfer cages for each type of trap.
• Canned cat food (tuna or mackerel, the smellier the better).
• Spoon for scooping the cat food. (You can bend and use the metal cat food can lid, if necessary.)
• Can opener (if you don't have pop-top cans).
• Large towels to drape over the traps or cages after a cat has been caught.
• Newspaper to put in the traps, if necessary, and to put under occupied traps in you vehicle (it’s better if the cat urinates on the paper rather than in your car).
• Heavy cat gloves (welder’s gloves will work, too).
• First aid kit in case you get scratched.
• Flashlight and extra batteries.

Placing Traps

Set traps in quiet locations where there is little or no human or automobile traffic...the quieter the better. If there is an area where the cats go to feed, set traps there as close as possible to the time when the cats will appear. If the cats always take the same path (trail), locate traps near to but not directly on the path the cats take.

If you trap during the day when the sun is still hot, be sure to place the trap in the shade. Do not place the trap on cement unless that is the only flat surface available. It’s best to place the trap on grass, dirt, or a thin covering of leaves. If the cat is reluctant to walk on the wire bottom of the trap, move it back and forth to cause some of the soil or litter to enter the trap and cover the bottom. If the surface is clear, insert a folded newspaper in the trap to cover the bottom. Be sure that the newspaper will not interfere with the trap’s operation.

The trap must be level and stable. If it wobbles, place a rock or whatever else you have under a corner to level it. Be sure that the trap is not off the ground...you don’t want the cat’s feet going through the bottom of the trap...it might discourage it. And be sure you do not set the trap on top of an ant hill. To trap a large cat, especially a large male, be sure to use a large-size cat trap. The cat should not have to haunch down to walk into the trap.

Baiting the Traps

The idea is to make the cat work at getting the food...if you make it too easy, the cat will be able to just walk in, stretch over the trap’s tripping mechanism, eat what they want, and then back out of the trap. Bait the trap with the smelliest canned tuna or mackerel you can find. Generic brands of cat food often work, too. Do not use dry cat food unless the cat is unresponsive to the wet food and/or usually eats only dry food. Don’t bother putting a water dish in the trap.

© Happy Tails, 1999, (Adapted from United Animal Nations, Emergency Animal Rescue Service Brochure)