Catching a cautious, stray (not feral) cat
August 20, 2020 12:06 PM Subscribe
About a year ago, some neighbors moved out and abandoned their outdoor cat. Since then we have slowly gotten him used to us by feeding him. He will let us pet him... well, up until today (more on that below). He desperately needs to go to a vet. How the f to catch this guy?
He will not enter a trap, we've tried. Today we tried the "throw a towel over the cat" method and that was a disaster. He ran away and hopefully we haven't destroyed all trust and he will be back.
Like I said, he is stray and not feral. He is unneutered, and desperately needs to go to the vet--missing teeth, open wounds, etc.
We can't just let him into our house as we have preexisting cats and are worried about disease.
We've been trying various methods to catch him over the last week or so and each time he seems more cagey around than before. We tried coaxing him inside a trap, a carrier, leaving a trap out for him. He knows something's up. Today was our last ditch effort, we hadn't tried physically grabbing him before. Assuming he comes back, is there anything else to try?
He will not enter a trap, we've tried. Today we tried the "throw a towel over the cat" method and that was a disaster. He ran away and hopefully we haven't destroyed all trust and he will be back.
Like I said, he is stray and not feral. He is unneutered, and desperately needs to go to the vet--missing teeth, open wounds, etc.
We can't just let him into our house as we have preexisting cats and are worried about disease.
We've been trying various methods to catch him over the last week or so and each time he seems more cagey around than before. We tried coaxing him inside a trap, a carrier, leaving a trap out for him. He knows something's up. Today was our last ditch effort, we hadn't tried physically grabbing him before. Assuming he comes back, is there anything else to try?
Response by poster: We used tuna and cat food on different occasions. He would sniff but not walk into the trap.
posted by cat friend at 12:12 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by cat friend at 12:12 PM on August 20, 2020
Response by poster: I should say, he would sniff and eventually just leave, not even hang around like he might go in given enough time.
posted by cat friend at 12:13 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by cat friend at 12:13 PM on August 20, 2020
How about not feeding him otherwise (at all) and just leaving stinky sardines in a havahart trap for a few days?
posted by arnicae at 12:13 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by arnicae at 12:13 PM on August 20, 2020
IAA cat-owner-who-never-trapped-a-cat-in-a-trap. But I have in a hard plastic vet-car-carrier with a cartoonish trail of cat treats. Maybe cover a cage-like trap with enough towels/blankets that it's irresistibly box-like. I could be wrong!
posted by j_curiouser at 12:24 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by j_curiouser at 12:24 PM on August 20, 2020
Response by poster: Sorry for excessive comments, I should also add that we tried sardines and he wasn't interested in them at all. I think either he is ill to the point of not having a huge appetite or someone else is also feeding him.
posted by cat friend at 12:26 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by cat friend at 12:26 PM on August 20, 2020
As someone who volunteers with shelters, thank you for your efforts! Most people would just assume he would be ok on his own.
Things I have tried in order to trap a stray, with varying levels of success:
Cover the trap so that it looks like an inviting secret hidey-hole. I've used regular tarps, and also heavy-duty thick plastic garbage bags taped around the trap with duct tape. You do have to check on the trap more often if it will be hot out, as any covering will rapidly increase the temperature inside.
Wash the trap thoroughly - maybe with bleach or Nature's Miracle - especially if you've caught a nosy raccoon, skunk, or squirrel by accident.
Vary the location of the trap, if you know the general area where the cat hangs out. Maybe you can get permission from a neighbor to put it on their property? Maybe someone has a shed or garage where the cat gets in?
Randomize the bait offerings. People food, cat food, dog food, treats, etc.
An idea I had while reading your post and follow-ups that I have not tried, and not sure will work, but I'll throw it out there: Maybe the cat has taken a dislike to your particular trap, or he has figured out that your trap will ... trap him. Can you acquire another one - maybe of a different size and/or manufacturer? There are at least two types of "trapping" mechanisms that I know of - the Havahart style and this style. The latter style - I believe - is an older style, so you may have some luck contacting an animal control and borrowing one.
And one other thing - when we took in a stray kitten earlier this summer, our vet suggested that since our current cats were healthy and up-to-date on their shots, that it was ok to let them interact for a few minutes (with supervision). So, if your cats are healthy, I wonder if it might be ok if this cat came inside, at least long enough to keep him contained in one room, until you could get him into a carrier. Might be worth asking your vet if haven't already.
Good luck and thank you for trying!
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:55 PM on August 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
Things I have tried in order to trap a stray, with varying levels of success:
Cover the trap so that it looks like an inviting secret hidey-hole. I've used regular tarps, and also heavy-duty thick plastic garbage bags taped around the trap with duct tape. You do have to check on the trap more often if it will be hot out, as any covering will rapidly increase the temperature inside.
Wash the trap thoroughly - maybe with bleach or Nature's Miracle - especially if you've caught a nosy raccoon, skunk, or squirrel by accident.
Vary the location of the trap, if you know the general area where the cat hangs out. Maybe you can get permission from a neighbor to put it on their property? Maybe someone has a shed or garage where the cat gets in?
Randomize the bait offerings. People food, cat food, dog food, treats, etc.
An idea I had while reading your post and follow-ups that I have not tried, and not sure will work, but I'll throw it out there: Maybe the cat has taken a dislike to your particular trap, or he has figured out that your trap will ... trap him. Can you acquire another one - maybe of a different size and/or manufacturer? There are at least two types of "trapping" mechanisms that I know of - the Havahart style and this style. The latter style - I believe - is an older style, so you may have some luck contacting an animal control and borrowing one.
And one other thing - when we took in a stray kitten earlier this summer, our vet suggested that since our current cats were healthy and up-to-date on their shots, that it was ok to let them interact for a few minutes (with supervision). So, if your cats are healthy, I wonder if it might be ok if this cat came inside, at least long enough to keep him contained in one room, until you could get him into a carrier. Might be worth asking your vet if haven't already.
Good luck and thank you for trying!
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:55 PM on August 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
Something we have done which may or may not be an option for you depending on your situation is to gradually coax a feral cat indoors and close the door behind him. We conveniently have a sunroom with an exterior door we were able to close him in. He was extremely avoidant of our trap but over the course of several days gradually became comfortable approaching and eventually entering our sunroom for food. In our case this ended up leading to turning our sunroom over to this feral cat for about two months, so consider exactly how far you're willing to go. We're suckers for cats so it was fine but it's definitely not a low-investment option. It did work when the trap didn't, though.
posted by biogeo at 1:06 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by biogeo at 1:06 PM on August 20, 2020
If the cat will let you pet him again, rather than the towel trick it might be possible to grab him by the scruff of his neck. If you are not familiar with that move, Google it. "Scruffing" has detractors and is potentially traumatic, but so's a trap or a towel or a carrier if the cat is not used to it. The idea would be to hold him by the neck, which he really can't fight, and while holding him that way get him in to a carrier.
posted by beagle at 2:13 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by beagle at 2:13 PM on August 20, 2020
Instead of a trap, what about something a little more comfortable? There are "feral cat shelters" you can make out of hay and rubbermaid totes for example. Maybe try making one of those and see if he uses it? Then once he's in (and if you're extremely lucky, taking a nap!) block it off and you got him! Might take a few days... but the general idea is that if you cant coax him into your house for reasons, give him his own house.
posted by cgg at 2:53 PM on August 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by cgg at 2:53 PM on August 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you do scruff the guy, please make sure you DO NOT pick him up by the scruff.
posted by phliar at 3:20 PM on August 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by phliar at 3:20 PM on August 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
If he's got hurting teeth, maybe try something liquidy in the trap? I know dairy isn't good for cats, but it might be worth it to tempt him: cream or melted ice cream. Similarly, wet food.
Re: getting him close to you again, maybe he'd been enticed to get closer to y'all if you ate some roasted chicken around him or something.
posted by purple_bird at 3:41 PM on August 20, 2020
Re: getting him close to you again, maybe he'd been enticed to get closer to y'all if you ate some roasted chicken around him or something.
posted by purple_bird at 3:41 PM on August 20, 2020
I've never done it, but a drop trap seems to be the go to for TNR people to get difficult to trap cats.
posted by Mavri at 7:04 PM on August 20, 2020
posted by Mavri at 7:04 PM on August 20, 2020
Response by poster: Thanks so much for your suggestions. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that he will come back. Assuming he does and we're able to catch him I will give an update.
posted by cat friend at 7:48 PM on August 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by cat friend at 7:48 PM on August 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Human baby food is extremely appetising to cats. I've given it to mine when they were old or sick and didn't have much interest in their usual food.
It is runny enough that your kitty should be able to eat it without worrying about his teeth hurting. Get a couple of jars of a flavour that is almost all meat and put it out on a saucer. Good luck!
posted by Orkney Vole at 12:07 AM on August 21, 2020
It is runny enough that your kitty should be able to eat it without worrying about his teeth hurting. Get a couple of jars of a flavour that is almost all meat and put it out on a saucer. Good luck!
posted by Orkney Vole at 12:07 AM on August 21, 2020
It wasn't 100% clear to me whether you had stopped feeding the cat entirely except for the food in the trap, but if you haven't tried that, I would recommend it. If he's being fed elsewhere he may not go into the trap, but if not, and he gets hungry enough, he's more likely to go into the trap. It may take a couple of days. I also second Orkney Vole's suggestion of human baby food, or something you already know he likes that is ideally as stinky as possible (more tempting that way).
posted by possibilityleft at 6:04 AM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by possibilityleft at 6:04 AM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Update: we caught him. Catnip, fancy feast and tuna did the trick.
posted by cat friend at 6:54 PM on August 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by cat friend at 6:54 PM on August 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:08 PM on August 20, 2020