Humane Trapping Instructions

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These instructions assume that trappers are using traps from the Tomahawk Live Trap Company.  Specifics regarding the traps may be slightly different if you are using another type of trap.

Preparation for trapping

If possible, get the cats used to being fed at the same place and time of day.  Don’t feed the cats the day/night before you are going to trap so the cats will be hungry.  Be sure to notify others who may feed the cats not to leave food out either.

Plan to trap so that you don’t have to keep the cat in the trap too long before surgery.  Trapping the night before is usually the best approach.  Cats should not eat after midnight the night before surgery.  (Check the SPOT Clinic schedule HERE.)

Prepare the area where you will be holding the cats before and after the clinic.  A garage or other

sheltered, warm, protected area is best.  Lay down newspapers to catch the inevitable stool, urine and food residue.

Prepare the vehicle you will use to transport them as well.  Plastic is a good additional precaution.  But remember that you will need to use newspapers or some other absorbent material in addition.  

(Urine will roll right off of the plastic and that isn’t what you want.)

Plan your day of trapping carefully.  Remember that if you trap an animal and release it for some reason, it is unlikely that you will be able to catch it again…they learn very quickly.

If there are young kittens involved, remember that they should not be weaned from the mother before 4-6 weeks of age.  If you are trapping a lactating female, you may want to wait until you have located the kittens and they are old enough to wean.  If you wish to tame and foster the kittens to adopt out, they should be taken from the mother at 4-6 weeks.  If you wait until the kittens are older than 4-6 weeks before trying to tame them you will find the job progressively harder with age.

Setting the traps

Plan to set traps just before or at the cats’ normal feeding time.  Dusk is usually the best time to set traps. Don’t trap in the rain or the heat of day without adequate protection for the trap.  Cats are vulnerable in the traps and could get drenched during storms or suffer from heatstroke in the sun.  Please use common sense.

Fold 3 sheets of newspaper to line the bottom of the trap just covering the trip plate.  Cats don’t like walking on the wire surface and the paper helps to keep their feet from going through when you pick up the trap.  Be sure that the paper does not extend beyond the trip plate.  Too much newspaper can interfere with the trap mechanism or prevent the door from closing properly.

Plan placement of traps on a level surface in the area where the cats usually feed or have been seen.  Cats are less likely to enter the trap if it wobbles.  If trapping in a public area, try to place traps where they will not be noticed by passersby (who may not understand that you are not trying to harm the cat).  Bushes are often places where cats hide and provide good camouflage for the trap.

Use tuna or mackeral to bait the trap.  Do not put any bowls inside the trap to hold food.  Make an aluminum foil square about 4 in. x 4 in. and place it on the ground where you plan to place the rear of the trap.  Spoon a small amount of food onto the goil square and place on top of the food so the food is as far back in the trap as possible while still not accessible from outside the trap.  Press the trap down onto the food so that it squishes up through the wire.  The idea is to make the food a little hard to get so that the cat has to go into the trap as far as possible and has to work at getting it long enough to trip the trap.  (Some cats are very good at getting in and out of traps without getting caught.  We don’t want to make it too easy for them to get away with that trick.  Also, having the food essentially outside of the trap prevents food from becoming stuck inside, and is less messy.)

After baiting the trap, open the trap door by pushing the top of the door in and pulling the bottom of the door upward.  There is a small hook attached to the right side of the trap top.  It hooks onto a tiny metal cylinder on the right side of the door.  The hook holds the door in an open position which also raises the trip plate.  When the cat steps on the plate it will cause the hook to release the door and close the trap. 

After setting the trap, cover it with a large towel or piece of towel-sized material.  Fold the material at the front end of the trap to expose the opening while still covering the top, sides and back of the trap.  The cover will help to camouflage the trap and serve to calm the cat after it is caught.

Waiting for success

Never leave traps unattended in an unprotected area, but don’t hang around within sight of the cat

(or you will scare it off).  The trapped animal is vulnerable.  Passersby may release the cat or steal the trap!

Wait quietly in an area where you can still see the traps without disturbing the cats.  You can often hear the traps trip and see the cloth cover droop down slightly over the opening from a distance.  As soon as the intended cat is trapped completely cover the trap and remove the trap from the area immediately.  You may consider putting another trap in the same spot if it seems to be a "hot" one.  Be sure to dispose of the food left on the ground when you pick up the trap.  (You don’t want to litter or give out any freebies and spoil any appetites!)

When you get the captured cat to a quiet area away from the other traps, lift the cover and check for signs that you have the correct animal and not a pet or previously neutered feral.  (SPOT tips the left ear of every animal we alter so we can avoid repeat animals.)  If you note that you have captured a lactating female, check the area for kittens and remember that this female must be released as soon as she is awake and alert after surgery so she can care for and nurse her kittens.  Cover the cat back up as soon as possible.  Uncovered, the animal may panic and hurt itself thrashing around in the trap.

Of course, there is always the chance that you will catch some other wild animal attracted to the food or an unintended cat.  Simply release the animal quietly as stated in the releasing procedures here.  Good luck if it’s a skunk!

Holding procedures

After you have finished trapping, you will have to hold the cats overnight in a safe, enclosed location until you can take them to the SPOT Clinic to get them spayed or neutered.

Always get feral kittens checked out by a vet and isolate them from your pets.  Some deadly diseases can incubate without symptoms.  Check with your veterinarian and use caution.

If the veterinarian has indicated a serious medical problem with the cat which you will not be able to treat, you, with the advice of the vet, must make the decision on whether it is safe to release the animal or kinder to euthanize it.  Untreated abscesses and respiratory infections, and a number of other conditions, can mean suffering and a slow death.

Make sure the spot you pick for release does not encourage the cat to run into a dangerous situation (like a busy street) to get away from you.  Keep the trap covered until you are ready to release.  When ready, simply hold the trap with the door facing away from you and open the door.   The cat will probably bolt immediately out of the trap.  If it is confused, just tilt the trap so the back is slightly up and tap on the back of the trap to encourage it to leave.  Never put your hand in the trap!  If the animal still will not leave, lift off the rear door, and wait out of sight for the animal to leave.  After releasing the cats hose off traps and disinfect them with bleach.  Never store traps in the "set" position (door open); animals may wander into even unbaited traps and starve to death.

Place cats in the prepared protected area.  Don’t feed them.  Keep the cats covered and calm.  They will remain quiet as long as they are covered.  Don’t stick fingers in the trap or allow children or pets near the traps.  These are wild animals which scratch and bite.  ALL ANIMAL BITES ARE SERIOUS!  IF YOU ARE BITTEN SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION.