Any cat catching tips??

[Remudamom]

We have a couple of wild mom cats up in the barn who have kittens. They are wild as hares. Dh wants me to trap them all, have them all spayed/neutered and turned loose in the barn again. Holy moly!

Saturday the scrawniest, most beat up motley looking tom cat showed up in my tack room. I dropped him at the vet today for fixing, vaxing and worming. He is a big, big cat and weighs next to nothing.

I'm going to have more cats than horses. If anyone knows a good way to get my hands on those wild things, let me know.

[Ashleen]

Believe it or not, my library has an entire book on this subject. It's called the Stray Cat Handbook (http://www.amazon.com/Stray-Handbook-Howell-Reference-Books/dp/0876051468/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219077471&sr=1-1). I haven't read it, so I'm not much help, but I've browsed it at the library and know that it covers exactly what you need to know. Wish I could be more help.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

As a kid, we were paid by local farmers to go into their barns and catch wild kittens. They told us that the kittens were taken to new homes. Now that I think back - probably not.

Seriously, I'd borrow/rent a live trap from an animal control person and set the traps out. My neighbour has one in his yard right now - probably for skunks.

[4kids4me]

We have racoons in our area, so racoon traps are available to purchase. We put food in it to catch them, then take to the "country" and release. I suppose you could use that to catch the kittens.

[Ailaena]

I dont know where you are, but most cities have a trap and release program (aka TNR, Trap-neuter-release, trap-alter-release).

The program people will provide you with a cage specifically designed for catching feral cats and direct you a vet that works with them. Then, they get their ear clipped (so you know which ones you have fixed and dont have to traumatize them further) and you return them to the place where you caught them.

It is FREE for you, except for the time and effort, of course. I wish I could provide you with a website, but every city has their own. Some are actually government funded, which I thought was interesting. I would be willing to bet that there is a vet or kennel in your area that knows who you could contact.



Good luck!

[Paula in MS]

If you can get close enough to the kittens, you might try to throw a blanket on them. This will serve 2 purposes. It will trap them for a moment and it will also allow you to get your hands on them without getting clawed.:D I have never tried this but have contemplated it. (We had a cat that ran away after we spayed her, and we have tried to find/catch her.) I have also seen the vet do this with one of our kittens that was wild. The cat jumped out of my arms and ran into a corner. The vet threw a blanket on and scooped her up. (This kitten subsequently ran away also.):crying:

Good luck,

Paula