Tools & Techniques – Basic Cat Trapping
A humane, live-animal trap is a trap designed to contain an animal without injuring or causing it any harm. Essentially it’s a wire cage with the door held open by means of a catch. Food is placed behind a trip plate in order to lure an animal far inside. When the animal steps on the trip plate, the catch is released which causes the door to drop down behind the animal, enclosing it inside. Although humane traps aren’t designed to cause injuries, the captured animal may still become frightened, so it’s best to get a trap with a quiet mechanism.
Traps are available for purchase at many hardware stores or are available for loan or rent at some animal shelters. Also, there are lost pet organizations that help with traps.
How many traps should you get? Depending on the area you’re trying to cover, it could be 1 or many. If possible, get two – it’s a great start. Having two allows you to place a trap in two areas of a property at the same time and reduces the time and any inconvenience that trapping may cause. If you live in a rural area with multiple locations in which your cat might be hiding, having two traps, obviously, enables you to cover twice as much territory in the same amount of time.
Preparations before trapping…
Get permission from neighbors, if necessary. Take records of any neighbor that allowed you permission to trap on their land and any pertinent details.
Relax, sit down, and do some homework. Create a map of the neighborhood or area of interest. Not on your map the following…
- areas where there have been positive sightings and where you have seen cat hairs, paw prints, or cat waste.
- areas potentially attractive to your cat: heavy brush, decks, sheds, basement crawl spaces, open garages the day your pet disappeared, etc.
- areas your pet would avoid such as any resident pets (particularly dogs), any areas where predators have been seen, high walls and chain link fences, construction or unusual activity the day your pet disappeared, etc.
There are certainly more things to consider when trapping, but this is a good start to get you going.