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11. Caring for Cats in TrapsWhile the colony is being trapped, whichcan take two or three days, and for at least 24hours after the spay/neuter surgeries, capturedcats need to be kept confined. The safest andmost cost-effective way to do this is to keep thecats in their traps at all times rather than transferthem into cages or other enclosures.Using traps as cages has many advantages.Much less space is required for housing the catsthan if all of them were put in separate cages,plus the expense of buying the cages is saved.Most importantly, keeping the cats in their trapsis much safer. No transfers of cats into and outphoto: Bryan Kortisof cages have to be performed, greatly reducingthe risks of injury and escape.Often when people first hear of this method, they jump to the conclusion it’sinhumane to keep a cat in that small of a space for days at a time. This belief reflects abasic misunderstanding of a feral cat’s temperament. No matter how large a cage youput a feral cat in, if there’s a space in the cage where he can hide, like a carrier, feral catden or box, he’ll spend almost his entire confinement inside it. When they’re understress, ferals greatly prefer spaces that are tight, dark and covered because they feel morehidden and protected. They do not want to be in a large, wide-open space. This is whyferal cats who are kept in a normal cage should always be provided with a den or theequivalent where they can hide.As long as the traps are at least30 inches long (preferably 36inches) and kept covered andclean, the cats are absolutely fine.They quickly get used to thefeeding and cleaning routine andmost of them soon becomerelaxed. They’ll spend their timecrouching or lying down in theirtraps, resting quietly. It can besurprising at first just how quiet aroom full of confined feral catscan be.photo: Meredith Weiss104