A hungry cat is more likely to step into a cat trap than one that has just been fed, so the best time to catch feral cats or kittens is at meal time – that is, early morning or evening.
The first tool you will need is a humane cat trap that is triggered by the cat eating and pulling on the bait. A panel slides down and the cat is trapped inside. You do not have to be present for this to happen. If you cannot access a cat trap then get a cat cage or a box with air holes on the side and a lid, blanket or towel to go on top. However, you will need to manually catch the cats and put them inside for transportation.
The best age at which to catch a feral kitten is between six to eight weeks old. Too young and they may not have been weaned; too old and they may be more shyer, suspicious or street smart. That is not to say you can't catch and work with an older kitten or cat (I recently caught one that was four months old), it's just that if you intend to rehabilitate it then you may need to make adjustments to the basic socialisation techniques, which will be covered in a future blog post.
There are several ways you can approach the task of catching a feral cat or kitten, depending on your proximity, access and cat receptiveness to human contact.
Firstly, you can do what I call the "snap catch" or the "slow conditioning catch". The "snap catch" basically means catching the cats quickly without any preemptive socialisation or human contact. The advantage of this method is that you can make a decision and get things started, especially if you are operating under a time constraint. The disadvantage is that you can traumatise an already terrified cat to a higher degree and make it more difficult for it to trust you.
The "slow conditioning catch" means gradually getting the kittens or cats to associate you as being a food provider prior to you catching them. This won't instantly get them to trust you from the outset, but it will maintain the continuity of you being a carer (and therefore less of a threat to their safety) so that they ease into the rehabilitation process more easily.
Just remember that feral kittens are taught from the outset by their mothers (and nannies or aunties if they live in a cat commune) to fear humans – from their point of view we are predators – and accordingly they will hiss and spit at us. It will take some patience, kindness and love to convince them otherwise.
Here are some tips for setting up a cat trap or cage:
1. Do not feed the cats prior to setting the cat trap so that hunger becomes the motivating factor to step inside the trap.
2. It is preferable to trap cats in the warmer months rather than the cooler months, as the cold weather will interfere with the scent molecules emanating from the food (this, however, is out of your control because the timing of your catch depends on the age of the kittens and not what season it is or what the temperature gauge is telling you).
3. Set up two feeding stations in the same place every feed time close to the cat's home or nest. One is for the older cats (feed them first so they are distracted) and one is for the kittens close to their nest or where they hide or play. Try to get the kittens' feeding station set up out of the line of sight of the adults' one.
4. If possible, set the empty cat cage down near the kitten's feeding station several days before you want to trap the kittens so that the cats get used to it, explore it and it becomes part of their normal landscape.
5. Use a sheltered area so the cat is not exposed to extreme weather or temperatures, and cannot be accosted by any passing predators – human, dogs or otherwise.
6. Avoid catching the cats on days or nights where there are high winds, rain or snow, or any inclement weather.
7. On the catching day, cover part of the cage to provide some protection from the elements. This will also give the trapped cat some small degree of psychological comfort. However, do not let the covering interfere with any trap mechanisms.
8. Hang some aromatic food on the end of the hook (this can be raw or cooked chicken, a chunk of fish or red meat but not tinned cat food). It needs to be solid so it won't shred and break on the hook when the cats eats it or pulls it.
9. Leave the vicinity and if possible check in every few hours in order to bring in the caged cat to safety as soon as possible.
In the "slow conditioning catch":
1 to 6 as above
7. For about seven to ten days prior to the proposed catch date, sit down close to the kitten feeding station and talk to the cats and kittens as they eat so they get familiar with your voice, smell and presence.
8. Communicate with the cats by using a high sing song voice that matches the pitch of normal cat meows. Use 's' sounds like "psssss" or "puss puss" as they also respond to those.
9. After a few days try to stroke the kittens by rubbing down their spines, hind quarters and tails. (It may be too early to go for their chin, head and neck). The kittens will then associate your loving touch to food and perceive it as a positive thing.
10. If you build up the trust in this way, then on the proposed catching day it will then be easier to pick up the kittens while they are eating and put them into a cat cage or box with a cover before transporting them elsewhere.
I usually scoop up the kittens at breakfast time while the mother is out of the line of sight, so as not to induce her into defending and protecting her kittens or to traumatising her into perceiving me as just another "evil" human (I may be projecting a little and anthropomorphising the experience but it has worked up to now). There is a point at which she will begin separating from the kittens and not be guarding them 24/7. This will vary according to how many litters she's had, her maternal instincts, her personality and the age of the kittens, but as a general rule, the older they get the more she will leave them on their own.
When the mother comes back she will usually search high and low for her kittens and then wait in one place for them to return. However, after 24 to 72 hours the memory of them will start to fade and she will revert to her single life again.
Emotionally the catching time can be stressful for you too, as you may experience a sense of guilt for the act of separating the kittens from their mother. The way to cope with this is to keep focusing on the bigger picture – you or someone else is going to love and care for them and give them an opportunity of living out a happy and healthy life in a way they previously may not had. The life of a wild cat can be a hard one!
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