TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

Recommendations

Info

The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook same trap so they don’t hurt one another, and for doing a trap-to-trap transfer (described later in this chapter). Two kinds of bait are recommended because some cats may prefer one over the other. Usually, cheap tuna does the trick (we use Figaro), but it should be supplemented with a smelly wet food for those rare cats who dislike tuna. There are as many favorite baits as there are trappers. Some suggestions include roast beef, grilled chicken, human quality tuna, mackerel, fast-food hamburgers, white bread dipped in clam sauce, valerian root and freshly cooked fish of any sort. Bait is placed on the plates with a plastic spoon or fork. Pounce or a similar cat treat is crumbled and sprinkled on the ground in front of the trap to create a trail leading in. The cardboard extenders lengthen the trip plate if it’s too small (and most are). The extenders should be a little less than the width of the trap and six to seven inches long. They’re attached to the front half of the trip plate with duct tape. The sheets are used to cover the trap after the cat is caught and at all times thereafter until the release. They are critical for calming the cats and avoiding injuries to them. • Trapping supplies - optional This following list of items may or may not be needed depending on the circumstances of your project. Some you might want to bring along just in case. ♦ Newspaper ♦ Clothespins ♦ Blankets ♦ Plastic drop cloth ♦ Flashlight ♦ Needle-nose pliers ♦ Vegetable oil spray ♦ First aid kit ♦ Pens or pencils ♦ Labels ♦ Logging sheet ♦ Another person or two Once in a while, a cat won’t like the feel of the wire floor of a box trap and this will cause him to hesitate to enter. One way around this is to place a couple of sheets of folded newspaper on the floor of the trap leading up to the trip plate. If there is even the slightest breeze, attach the newspaper to the sides of the trap with clothespins. Otherwise the paper will blow around and frighten the cats away. In our experience, it’s rare that a cat won’t enter because of the wire floor so we don’t usually bother with the newspaper. Other long-time trappers would disagree. Blankets are useful if you’re trapping in cold weather and trapped cats cannot be quickly moved into a warm space. Wrapping a blanket around the trap, while leaving 43
The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook some ventilation, will buy you a little time, but not a lot. A plastic drop cloth should be used to line the seats or floor of any vehicle being used to transport the cats. A flashlight is necessary if you’re trapping at night or in a dark space like a basement. Needle-nose pliers are handy if a trap’s trigger mechanism needs adjustment though it takes some experience to do this properly. A fraction of an inch can be the difference between an adjustment that works or doesn’t. Vegetable oil spray is good for traps whose parts need a little lubrication. A basic first aid kit is a smart thing to have on hand in the unlikely event of a bite or scratch or some other injury. Quickly cleaning a wound inflicted by a cat can stop a more serious infection from developing later. The kit should at a minimum include hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls and band-aids. If you’re trapping at multiple sites, the traps should be labeled when a cat is caught to avoid mixups later about where the cat came from. Use a different color label for each colony and stick it on the top of the trap by the handles. Write the location of the colony on the label, plus give the trap a number (going sequentially) and write that on the label, too. The cats should be logged, using a tracking sheet similar to the one on page 108. This can be done at the site or later in the holding space provided the traps have already been labeled. Use a different sheet for each colony. One idea is to attach a piece of a label to the tracking sheet which matches the color designated for that colony. This too, avoids mixups. Finally, having another person assisting you is highly advisable, especially when trapping multiple cats. Attention to more than one cat or trap at a time may be needed. Also, if an item was forgotten or a phone call needs to be quickly made in the heat of the action, having help can make a huge difference. At the same time, don’t have more helpers than you need. Too many people standing around talking can make the cats more wary. For smaller colonies, two or three people will do just fine. As you approach 20 or more cats, three or four is a good number. • Winter trapping Some TNR workers don’t like to trap during the winter because the females have their stomachs shaved and lose that protection against the cold. In our experience, the lost fur does not cause the cats to get sick if they have warm, dry shelter. Before any winter trapping, efforts should be made to ensure adequate shelter will be available after the release. Trapping in the cold season has its advantages. There are far fewer pregnancies and so difficulties with young kittens and nursing mothers can be largely avoided. Plus you can get a step ahead of the spring kitten season. 44
Page 1 and 2: The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
Page 3 and 4: Contents The Neighborhood Cats TNR
Page 7 and 8: Foreword The Neighborhood Cats TNR
Page 35 and 36: 6. Winter Shelter The Neighborhood
Page 45 and 46: 8. Trapping The Neighborhood Cats T
Page 47 and 48: This is easily gotten around by tap
Page 49: The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
Page 63 and 64: • Hard-to-catch cats The Neighbor
Page 69 and 70: • Directions for use by Laura Bur
Page 73 and 74: 10. Caring for Cats in Traps The Ne
Page 91 and 92: 13. Return to the Colony The Neighb
Page 93 and 94: 14. Relocation & Sanctuaries • Re
Page 101 and 102:
The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
16. Feral Cat Resources Neighborhoo
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115:
show all

TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?