Live Trap Diaries

[kherrmann3]

:grumpy: I have a stray cat problem. I don't know if he's/she is a stray, feral, or someone's pet. I live in an apartment with a nice little porch that looks into some buckthorn and other invasive species and I have TONS of chipmunks out there. Me loves my chippies! This stupid cat keeps eating all of the baby chippies! We've been using a slingshot with cereal bits (so it's not hurting him much) to keep him at bay, and now we have a live trap to combat this problem. I wouldn't normally have a problem with kitties, but he has attacked my apartment window trying to get by my bunny (Toby). Now it's personal . My apartment manager told us to get rid of it if we had access to a trap.

It's a pretty cat. He seems pretty clean, so I don't think he's feral. He's white with blonde and gray patches (like a calico). He's not skinny or full of burdocks either. I will drop him off at the Humane Society to see if anyone will claim him or if they can adopt him out (if he's not nasty).

We set up the trap this evening and baited it with some Fancy Feast "chicken florentine". So far, we caught a very ticked-off oppossum. It smelled terrible! :grumpy:

I just wanted to share

 

[seniorcats]

Have you checked with the neighbors to see if she is theirs. Calico's are female and rarely male.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

i feel for you and had to laugh at the ticked opossum,lol. I get aggravated with others peoples cats on my property, i have three cats that are all indoors, they pee and poop in thier pans and i have to clean that up so i dont appreciate someone elses cat coming onto my property , where my kids run around an play and touch things, and having someone elses cat using my grounds as a litter box, so i feel for your frustrations. Good luck getting the cat and i hope you dont catch a skunk :shock: .

 

[kherrmann3]

All our neighbors around here are jerks, or don't speak English. We've asked around and no one knows who's kitty it is. We are afraid to ask the people across the way because when we see them, they are either drunk, or the guy is screaming at his kids... :? No one around here is supposed to let their cats out (in this neighborhood). My apartment manager told us to shoot it if we see it (prefer to trap). I guess a year or so ago there was a BIG problem around here with actual FERAL cats attacking the screens on the apartment buildings (trying to get to people's indoor cats) and causing a ton of damage! I guess the ones that used to be around here were chasing people and bit them on occasion. We just want to get rid of the problem (it already attacked our screen when Toby was sitting next to the window). I also had something eating my goldfishies out of my mini-pond on my porch. I'm 90% sure those were raccoons, though...

Here's my irked opossum...

"All I wanted was your Fancy Feast Chicken Florentine!"

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

ha ha that is one mad opossum,lol. Ick i think they are ssssssooooooo ugly!!!!



I dont think the answer is shooting it but i would trap and then take it to the humane society. If it is someones cat then they will have to take responsibility of going to the h umane society and getting the cat back and maybe eventually get sick of going to thier to bail thier cat out and keep it in so it is not attacking your house. Oh my, god forbid the cat get in your house with your bun :shock: . If it doesnt have an owner and is adoptable it could have a chance to be put up for adoption.



I hope you catch the cat next time ,lol!!!!!!!

 

[kherrmann3]

Haha! You think it's just UGLY? You should have SMELLED it! It wasn't happy with our choppy version of trying to figure out how to let it go, so it wee'd all over the cage. It smelled AWFUL. The smell got all over me because I'm the only person here who is small enough to re-bait the trap, and it was all over my arms. I ran inside and took a shower... :grumpy:

I wouldn't shoot the cat unless I knew it was dangerous (ex. rabid). Until we got the trap, we were shooting Crunch Berries at it with a sling shot to pester it into going away. Will and I are both good shots, so we aimed for his kitty-butt. Calicos may almost always be girls, but Will and I always refer to the problem kitteh as a "he". We don't know why lol

 

[naturestee]

Because men are always the problem.:biggrin2:

I'm just sitting at work loling at the Crunch Berries! OMG!

IMO, for live trapping cats try tuna. It's so smelly they can't help but go for it. That's how we trapped my grandpa's ferals. But yeah, whatever you use for bait you'll probably keep getting raccoons and opossums too.

Also, I wouldmaybe put up a poster, saying stray cats will be taken to the Humane Society. Maybe, just maybe if the cat is owned the owner will keep it indoors then.

 

[wbeaudry4]

I wish we had areas to put up posters... I might be able to put one up in our apartment foyer, but I don't know. I don't think we're allowed to put them up on lampposts here.

By the way, this is kherrmann3's boyfriend

 

[kherrmann3]

Ha! So far, we've used Fancy Feast's chicken florentine. The next can is tuna florentine Fancy smelly tuna lol I wish the opossum didn't make the trap smell like rotting poop.

 

[naturestee]

Hmm. Possum smell might keep a cat away. We'll see what happens tonight. Otherwise spray vinegar all over it to help with the pee smell, then rinse with water.

 

[kherrmann3]

KITTEH UPDATE

Well, I saw the kitteh again this morning. Something ate the food out of the trap, so SHE went around another way I ran outside in my pajamas (my neighbors already think I'm nuts :dude and followed the cat. I have started calling HER "Kitteh", by the way... I got really close to her, and was looking at her in detail. I had my Fancy Feast Chicken Florentine in hand, too .

She has a base coat of white and it looked like blue or amber eyes. She has honey/blonde and grey-ish streaks over her body (mostly her back). She looks like a calico (almost a tortie with how the colors are placed together). She does not look neglected or dirty. Her fur is smooth and not matted (no burdocks, either). She is not too skinny, either. Her tummy hangs low(er) but you can see a few ribs (when she is stretched out a bit). You can see more ribs than on a healthy cat, but she does NOT look emaciated. Her ears were intact and no chunks'o'kitty were missing. Her white fur was WHITE. Her face is either unusually small, or she's very young. I would guess under 6 months (no older than a year). She could just have a squishy face, though.

She is TERRIFIED of people, and hauled a** when I came closer. I did not run at her, I came within 30 yards and knelt down with the can'o'Fancy Feast. I also did my embarassing little noises that people make around cats. She still ran away. If she's not wild, I would think she would be a wonderful pet. The thought actually crossed my mind... I put the rest of the food in the trap, and I am hoping for the best.

As for that "it crossed my mind to keep her", that is me, totally. Every animal I see injured, I want to keep. That is how I have had dozens of cottentail babies, a garter snake or two, several injured toads, a baby squirrel, a chipmunk (that got out in my bedroom), countless baby birds, and my crowning moment, a stray Newfoundland dog when I was 7-8. What bothers me, is, I normally HATE cats (sorry to those I just offended). I am allergic to about half of them (same with rabbits, though), and I was always turned off by the "litter box" thing. Can anyone tell me why bun-poo doesn't bother me as much as cat-poo? I understand the smell, but cats in general turn me off as far as pets go... But, I still would want to keep this little stray "Kitteh". Would anyone else in the Milwaukee area be interested in a "free cat"? lol

She's to pretty to be euthanized! :groupparty:

:rant:
</rant>

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Yay, yippee, hooray. K got her bf to join and begin posting in the Live Trap Diaries!

inkbouce:

The photo of the opposum was lifelike and adorable .

From what you describe, kh3, sounds like someone's cat they let prowl. A lot of people don't give a dang either if their animal roams. A neighbor 'bout a 1/2 mile away would live trap the numerous ferals wandering his property. One was pretty nasty and urine-marked him many times when he took it to the humane society. I heard he even got sprayed in the lobby, (you can chuckle or wince) and believe me ~ staff does not want to get cut up by a nasty feral cat. I suspect they would not have tried to tame him/her given they receive so many and shelters become overpopulated with many animals. Aside from being a no-kill organization where ferals are evaluated and then placed into an adoption option.

We have heard of a non-kill cat place in Milwaukee called Second Hand Purrs.

will wait for what you catch next...

I'm so happy you're looking out for the chippies, bunners, fish and squirrels. Unbelievable how domestic animals wreak havoc on wildlife, when their home IS the OUTDOORS.

Be safe crawlin' into the trap ... and in yer p.j.'s.

pssst, you can use a long handled plastic shovel or something to place the food in the zone. Don't want you to get stuck. Can imagine Will trying to free u from the trap door. lol.

The sight of a neighbor's blonde cat (where he didn't give a d*mn if it roamed) walkin' away with a baby cottontail in its mouth conjures up many emotions,

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Animals become trap-smart too. Another thing to keep in mind.

Food eaten, the culprit evaded.

 

[kherrmann3]

The chipmunks were in the cage yesterday. I don't think they were eating the bait, I think they were just playing. They better be careful, though, or they will become live bait!

 

[Luv-bunniz]

Good luck trapping!

We had a similar problem a while ago, except our owl was trying to eat the cats lol and she would get freaked out by them, so I put out a live trap with a shin of cow inside it and caught myself 3 cats took them to a rescue centre and told the owners and they had to pay £40 to get them back...they never let the cat out again. So yay me! :biggrin2:

And luvmyzoocrew, I think opposums are adorable - they look like they smile :

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Luv-bunniz wrote:

ha ha cute pic but the adults are stil UGLY!!!!!!! l ol

 

[pinksalamander]

I've never seen a possum before. They are weird. They look like giant rats!

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[kherrmann3]

They stink! When they are startled, they release a foul-smelling liquid from their anal glands. This is their defense when they "play opossum" or "play dead". It adds to their faked death by making them SMELL dead, too. It's 100% nasty.

 

[kherrmann3]

Well, we were successful in catching the cat. I feel like the world's biggest jerk, though. It's ADORABLE! Unfortunately, it's feral and very wild. The humane society will probably euthanize it as soon as it comes through the door. It might have a chance if it is given one, but I don't think so... Anyone want to give it a try or make it a barn cat? My heart is breaking thinking about it being killed tomorrow... :tears2:





I don't know what to do (I know what I HAVE to do... but still...)

If anyone wants more info about it, you can call (262)490-5570. I don't care about giving my number out, I will be getting rid of it in December anyways

 

[LadyBug]

she's pretty

i hope you can find something to do with her and come to terms with it