How To

How to Catch a Feral Cat

By eHow Pets Editor

Rate: (9 Ratings)

A "feral cat" is a stray or offspring of a domestic cat living in the wild. Many animal humane societies have a program to catch or trap "feral cats," to spay or neuter, evaluate their health and then release the healthy cats back into a safe area. The purpose of these programs is to stop the increasing population of wild or "feral cats," which spread disease and cost thousands of dollars.

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Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Cat cage traps
Smelly foods such as canned tuna or mackerel
Flashlight
Appropriate clothing–long pants, sleeves and gloves

Step 1

Pick a location where feral cats have been seen or reported to be. The best time for this is at night.
Step 2

Set up your trap where the feral cat can easily enter the cage section. Place the tuna or mackerel deep inside the cage so that the cat must walk completely inside the cage to trigger the release of the trap door.
Step 3

Be prepared to wait, have patience and be quiet. Check the trap cages often.
Step 4

Use caution once a cat has been caught or trapped to transfer it into a carrier to take to the vet for a health check.
Step 5

Check for diseases once the cat has been spayed or neutered. If it is given a good health status, it will be time to release the cat back into a safe area. The cat may be put up for adoption if the vet determines that it would make a good domestic pet.

Tips & Warnings

Use caution when handling a "feral cat." If you are bitten or scratched deeply, be sure to seek medical attention.

Comments

smercat said

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on 6/3/2009 The instructions in this article on how to catch a feral cat are dangerous and incorrect. You must keep your trap covered at all times. This includes pre

bronxace said

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on 10/4/2007 DO NOT EVER handle a Feral Cat with your bare hands -- Feral Cat traps are specifically constructed so that you don't have to reach in with your hands at any time!!!

First of all, you need to MONITOR your traps -- do NOT leave the cat in there unattended - you need a SAFE holding place for these trapped cats - they should be in those traps for NOT MORE than 24 hours, So- Once it's in the trap, take it to the vet immediately for Spay/Neuter, Rabies shot and defleaing and any other work the vet needs to do (the vet's MUST know how to handle feral cats!)

Once the cat(s) return home from the vet, keep them in their traps (cover the traps with a towel to keep em calm) for as long as the vet recommends-- usually not more than 24 hours- in order for them to sufficiently recover from their spaying and neutering-- then follow your rescue group's instructions on releasing these critters.