# Catching Feral Cats



## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

i need to catch all the female farm cats, only two of them i think are going to be a problem. all i have is normal cat cages, but is there any really strong smelling wet food that they would go into the cage to get? would tiki cat work? i've never used that brand, so don't know if the wet food is strong smelling or not. it just needs to smell really good to them.

i need to catch them so that they can get spayed. didn't know whether to put this in the cat food forum or feral cat forum.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I do not think a standard cat carrier is going to work in trying to 'catch' a feral cat. I don't think a cat would enter a carrier and allow a person enough time to slam the door closed, hold the door closed and get the door latched closed. The cat will panic and be throwing itself against the door and unless you are prepared for the reaction, the cat will probably get away.

Your best bet is to buy a humane trap at a Home Improvement store ($40?) or a Sporting Goods Store. I bought a Have-A-Hart trap, but found I prefer the type my local animal control used (rented it once). I didn't find out until recently that it is available at a small, local Gun Shop. I also cover the traps with a towel or small sheet, trying to disguise the shape of a wire-cage and make it look more 'cave-like. You can also place them under shrubbery to help disguise them

Best of luck!
Heidi


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

the two cats that are going to be a problem are used to people. i can get really close to them, but if i look at them they will get farther away. so they aren't completly feral, they just aren't huge fans of people. can't just pick them up and put them in a cage in other words. 

the two trouble makers: 









mo, one of their brothers but he looks exactly like his sister who is wild.









mya

they are the two that i am going to put in the large dog carrier, so they still have eachother and won't hopefully be as freaked out about the whole thing.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Most of the time we use canned mackeral. Its not expensive and you can find it at any grocery store. 
We put news paper or cardboard on the bottom of the have a heart trap so it doesnt feel weird when they are walking into it.

Some times we start feeding the cats in the traps for a week or two before we set it. Just wire the trap open.

Be sure and make the vet S/N appointment ahead of time. Some vets wont S/N ferals. 

Keep us posted on how this is working out for you


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

they are going down to NOAH (its in stanwood, washington) which does feral cats for free. so far i have caughten 14 cats, 8 of the males got nuetered yesterday. i still have 8 or so cats to catch though.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

i have now gotten all of the females and there are only three males left at the farm right now who i am going to try catch tonight in the traps. All of the males that were nuetered on that were nuetered on Sunday (8 of them) get to come back tonight.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Yay! What a great success story you've had with catching and s/n all the barn cats.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Awesome!!! Congrats on catching all those kitties!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Great job your doing. Are they tipping their ears so you know who has been done and who hasnt? Three cheers for furryfriends and her success!


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Great job your doing. Are they tipping their ears so you know who has been done and who hasnt? Three cheers for furryfriends and her success!


I ended up catching everybody, so unless i find a stray cat (or one finds me) they are all spayed/nuetered. They went to two differant places, one of which didn't do the ear tipping and one that did. NOAH (in stanwood, WA) did ear tipping, and most of the cats went there.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

One of the vets in our area resisted the idea of tipping the ear. Hes now come around. Sure helps in the immeidate evaluations of is this a new cat or not. Does it need to be S/N. Glad this went smooth for you but it had to be alot of work.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

*bangs head against wall* that didn't take long! there was a long haired black and white cat at the farm tonight, it was defently feral, so i only saw glimpses of him/her. 

there is a person in my town that takes feral/barn cats down every week to NOAH to get them S/N. for me it was just needing to catch everyone and take them to her. she only requests a $5 donation for each cat.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!!!! 
When I lost my great, former-feral, male barn-cat...two more tomcats 'moved in' and they are currently tearing each other to ribbons. I need to get them snipped. In the meantime, I've brought in a young tortie cat for socialization. We were just given a spay appt for next Wednesday. ]

_*she is being taken care of by For Paws Sake, and will be offered for adoption after I have been able to get her comfortable with being held/carried while standing up. She is currently great while I sit on the floor, but freaks when I lift her further away from the floor.
The cheapest I've found for the tom's is $35 for a TNR program at a nearby Humane Society s/n clinic._


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