TRAPPING TIPS & TRICKS!
Below are some different things you might try for any particularly stubborn cats. While standard trapping can work for most cats, every cat is different and some might just need a little outside-the-trap thinking to get them.
DO NOT FEED! There should not be ANY food available outside of the traps. Cats will need to be hungry to venture into a trap and it could take several days for them to get hungry enough to go in. There may be another food source nearby.
Refresh the bait at least twice a day, morning and night.
Switch up the bait. Try things like mackerel, tuna, sardines, wet food, deli meat, hot dogs, cooked chicken, turkey or beef (no bones!), treats, etc.
Place a bite-sized nibble just inside the door of the trap as a teaser or taster. You could also try a short trail of bite-sized nibbles up to the trap and maybe a couple down the center inside the trap. Be sure it’s not too much. You don’t want the cat to fill up on nibbles!
Use the food they’re used to eating. Sometimes the simple fact that you’re offering something different as bait, even something extra yummy, may be putting them on alert. Stick with exactly what they are normally fed, even if it’s just dry food.
If ants are beating the cats to the bait, try making ant moats. Use small plastic lids or shallow dishes ensuring they will fit completely behind the trip plate without going under the plate. Fill with water and set a smaller plastic dish or ramekin (think empty jello, applesauce, or fruit cups) filled with bait in the center of the water-filled lid.
Sprinkle cat nip inside the rear of the trap.
If your traps are covered, try uncovering one or two. If they’re uncovered, try covering one or two. Try covering them so that only the front door is open (like a cave) or try lifting the back end of the cover so it’s more like a tunnel. Ensure the cover will not impede the free movement of the trap door or trip plate! Be sure that you’re available to cover the trap immediately upon trapping a cat.
If it’s breezy, make sure the covers are tied down (like in the picture at the top of the page) or secured so the covers aren’t flapping around.
Try covering the trip plate and/or inside bottom of the trap with newspaper or paperboard (thin cardboard like what cereal boxes are made of) ensuring that nothing restricts the movement of the trip plate and that the trap door can close fully. If it’s breezy, you may need to tape it down.
Try “trap training.” Either zip tie the trap door open or flip the trap upside down so the trap door falls open. Feed ONLY in the trap. Start with the food just outside the trap door and gradually move the food dish into and towards the back of the trap. When ready to trap, remove the zip tie or flip the trap upright, bait the trap at the rear, and set the trap door.