How to Build a Feral Cat Trap

Feral cats can spread disease or injure your pets when fighting over food or territory. Feral cats can produce several litters of kittens each year, adding to the feral cat population. Not to mention they kill beautiful songbirds and ground nesting birds for food, thus reducing the dwindling populations further. You can domesticate young feral kittens after trapping them, and adult feral cats can be neutered and released to prevent further reproduction.

Things You'll Need

• Small to medium welded wire-type dog crate
• Bungee cord, 12 to 18 inches
• Strong-smelling cat food or tuna
• Cardboard, 12 by 15 inches
• Board, 2 by 4 by 12 inches
• String or fishing line, 20 inches
• Stick or spindle, 15 inches
• Duct tape

Instructions

1. Turn the dog crate onto its side so that the door falls closed when you let go of it. If the bottom of the dog crate you are using has a larger opening than the sides, cover it by securing a piece of welded wire fence or mesh onto it using 14-gauge wire to prevent the cat from escaping.

2. Connect the bungee cord to the base of the door and stretch it toward the back of the cage. You want this to cause the cage door to snap shut when the prop is knocked away, but you do need to stretch it open to set the trap. If your dog crate has an automatic latching feature, this step may not be necessary.

3. Secure with duct tape or staple one end of the cardboard onto the piece of wood. Tape your string or fishing line to the other end of the piece of cardboard 15 inches away from the board. Place the end of the cardboard with the string toward the back of the cage. Tie the other end of the string to the bottom of your stick or spindle that you will use to prop the cage door open.

4. Set your cat food on the piece of cardboard that is up in the air and has the string attached to it.

5. Prop the door open with the stick; the string should be connected to the bottom of the stick. Make sure that the string is tight when you prop the door open. Check now that when you push down on the cardboard, it pulls the string enough to move the stick and allow the door to fall shut.

Tips & Warnings

• Try a variety of strong-smelling foods in your traps to catch feral cats. Live traps designed for trapping raccoons and opossums work well for cats. Place the trap near an area where you have seen the feral cats.

• Wear thick gloves when handling feral cats to avoid bites and scratches.

Resources

• BestFriends.org: Feral cat resources
• How to Make Newspaper Cat Litter, from eHow