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Food should be withheld the entire day before the trapping begins. For example, ifthe trapping begins on a Friday, then the cats should be fed at their regular time onWednesday and then not at all on Thursday. The only exceptions are young kittens,nursing mothers, and cats who are clearly ill. If you can feed them separately and not letthe other cats get any of the food, then they can eat the day before the trapping though notthe day of. If you can’t feed them separately, then withhold the food.Withholding food is often harder on the caretaker than it is on the cats. You feelguilty, knowing they’re counting on you and wondering what happened. For sure, theywon’t like skipping their daily meal, but healthy adult cats can easily go a day or twowithout food and not suffer any ill consequences. You have to remind yourself that aday’s discomfort is a small price for the life-long benefit the cats will gain by beingspayed and neutered. Even if you’re sure everyone is on board with not feeding the cats,it’s a good idea to check the feeding station and site at least once the day before thetrapping begins to make sure there’s no food lying around.While the trapping proceeds, continue to withhold all food. Cats who you don’t catchthe first day will be hungrier the next. As long as there are loose cats remaining and therest of the colony is confined, continue to hold back food and keep setting traps. At alltimes during the trapping, do leave out fresh water.The importance of withholding food points to the need for locating and coordinatingwith any other feeders. On occasion, you may run up against someone who will notcooperate, not matter how articulately you explain it’s for the good of the cats. If thishappens, you need to try to work around that person as best you can. Find out when theyput food out, then show up soon afterwards and remove it. Or start trapping well beforethe person usually comes to feed. A drop trap can be very handy in these situationsbecause the cats do not need to be as hungry before they’ll go under one. Most times, ifthey have not eaten yet that day, they’ll venture under a drop trap.2. Allow enough time for the trappingTypically, if the cats are hungry and everything is in place, the first day of trappingwill net most of the cats in the colony. However, even with the best laid plans, some catsmay not enter the traps and others may not show up the first day. The second day oftenresults in these remaining cats getting caught, but it is possible there will still be one ortwo stubborn ones who refuse to enter a trap. It can take a third day of being deprived offood to make them hungry enough to go in. This is why we recommend budgeting atleast two days for trapping and, for larger colonies of ten or more, at least three days.There are other good reasons for leaving at least two days and not waiting until theday or night before your spay/neuter date. For one thing, there’s the weather. What if itrains the day before the surgeries are scheduled? Then your project is literally washedout. It’s possible you may show up to trap and discover a large bowl of dry food whichsomeone unwittingly (or not) put out. A neighbor may have picked the exact time andday you show up with your traps to start a new and loud construction project. Byplanning on at least two days to trap, you give yourself a safety net for these kinds ofunexpected developments which could interfere with the trapping. After all thepreparations you’ve made, it’s not worth risking everything going wrong for the sake of71