HOW DO I CATCH A FERAL CAT? You trap it! A humane trap, baited with a little tuna fish in oil, will allow you to safely lure a feral cat or kitten into a wire cage that snaps shut behind it. Here in Houston you can borrow humane traps from the Houston SPCA by putting down a $50.00 deposit. The SPCA allows you to keep the trap for 5 days before it charges a late fee. Unfortunately, you can only borrow one trap at a time from the SPCA due to high demand, which can be a problem when you need to trap more than one cat. The Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (Houston's animal control) will also loan out traps with a $50.00 deposit. Several other humane organizations (Homeless Pet Placement League, Adopt-A-Cat, Homeless and Orphaned Pets Endeavor, Citizens for Animal Protection) sometimes loan out traps, too. If you would prefer to buy a humane trap of your own, several companies manufacture them. They are available at stores such as Home Depot.
HOW DOES A HUMANE TRAP WORK? Humane traps are simply incredible. The trap has a door on one end which can be lifted up and set in place with a small catch. The door is connected to a flat metal trip plate on the bottom of the trap. The trip plate is set far enough back in the trap so that the animal's tail won't get caught in the door when it slams shut. Just set a small plate of smelly food (canned tuna fish in oil has worked for me) in the back of the trap, past the trip plate. With kittens and very small cats, it is important to set the can of food all the way at the far end of the trap, so the kitten or cat will be forced to put its full body weight on the trip plate, thus setting it off. If the trap is set in an area where the feral cat is used to being fed, chances are good that it will just wander on in in no time. The door will spring shut behind it as soon as a paw hits the trip plate.
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO MAKE THE CAT COMFORTABLE IN THE TRAP? Line the trap with something so that the cat is not walking on exposed metal cage floor. Newspaper is often recommended. I have used pieces of cardboard cut to fit, but it's important to make sure that the weight of the cardboard won't set off the trip plate and slam the trap door shut before the cat can get in it. I've solved that problem by cutting the length of cardboard into several smaller pieces and leaving the trip plate slightly uncovered. The other crucial piece of trapping equipment is a large towel. As soon as you have trapped the cat and carried the trap to where the cat will be spending time until it goes to be spayed or neutered, you should cover the trap with the towel. This often has a calming effect on the animal.
DO FERAL CATS ENJOY BEING TRAPPED? No! While some cats may settle in quietly, cats in traps often cry for hours with a surprisingly human-like wail of despair. Some particularly wild cats may fight to get out, whirling about in a ball of fur and richocheting off the sides and top of the cage. It is very tempting to let the poor thing out of the trap, but keep reminding yourself that it's for the animal's own good. They will survive the ordeal and so will you.
HOW DO I PREPARE THE CAT FOR SURGERY? Trap the animal at least ten hours before the surgery if possible, because as with people, cats aren't supposed to have any food or water ten hours prior to surgery. Once the cat finishes up the food that was used as bait, it shouldn't get anything else all night. If you have trapped a kitten less than six months of age, it is recommended that you go ahead and feed it a full meal the night before, and a half meal the morning of surgery. Try talking to the cat in a soothing voice if that seems to help calm it down.
GETTING SPAY OR NEUTER SURGERY FOR A FERAL CAT