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Feeding and cleaningThe traps should be cleaned and the cats provided with fresh food and water twice aday. This section provides a step-by-step guide for doing this safely and efficiently. Avideo of the process, performed live on a feral cat, is part of our “How to Perform a MassTrapping” video which can be viewed at www.neighborhoodcats.org. We’ve alsoexcerpted the feeding and cleaning segment so you can view that alone on the “Caring forCats in Traps” page of the website. We recommend you wear latex gloves while doingthis work to help keep the process sanitary.1. Move the cat to the rear of the trapStart at the front door end of the trap. Get the catto move to the other end by folding back the sheet soonly the rear of the trap is covered while the front isexposed (Figure 11-1). Ferals tend to move from lightto dark and will usually retreat when the sheet is foldedback. If this doesn’t work, insert one of the dividersfrom above and give a gentle push towards the rear.2. Section the cat offFigure 11-1Figure 11-2yourself with only one divider available, then insert ithorizontally through both sides of the trap instead ofvertically from above (Figure 11-3). Make sure thedivider has gone all the way through and is stickingout the opposite side. The bottom tong should beresting on the trap floor. Going through the side ofthe trap with one divider is also very secure, but canbe more time-consuming, especially if you’reworking with multiple traps lined up in a row withoutmuch space between them.Once the cat has moved to the rear, insert two trapdividers in the middle of the trap, one right behind the otheras shown in Figure 11-2. You can insert the dividers right infront of the top plate or just in back of it. The cat is nowsectioned off and cannot escape when you open the frontdoor. You should always use two trap dividers whencoming through the top of the trap. Don’t becomecomplacent and only use one, thinking you’ll save a littletime. The occasional cat will be strong enough to bend anouter tong of the divider inwards and squeeze through theslight opening created or push the divider up towards youand crawl out underneath. This can’t happen if you inserttwo dividers from above, back to back.If you do findFigure 11-3106