Just When I Thought I'd Seen It All

You never know with trapping. Ingenuity and inventiveness are necessary: after all, you are trying to outsmart a cat.

Sunday night David and I set a drop trap in the very nice well-appointed kitchen of a couple who live in central Moncton.  I've set snap traps inside a house before, but this was my first time to set a drop trap that will stay there for several days.

The couple in question contacted ca-r-ma because they have been feeding a female cat and her kitten.  There are racoons in their area and they wanted to make sure the cat and her baby could get the food without attracting the coons so they started to feed them inside their house. The cats can come in, eat and then leave when they want to.  Over time they have begun to spend more time indoors but their hosts cannot touch them. A litter pan has been set up, the kitten uses it well and the female most of the time.  When we went to set up the trap the kitten was asleep on a chair in the kitchen. He woke up but did not leave. His foster mom has been trying to tame him and he will now eat from her hand. When I dangled my keys near him he came over to sniff curiously and got within an inch of my fingers.  I know he can be tamed and the caregivers will likely adopt him as a pet.

I wish I had photos of these animals.  The mother cat is a very pretty dark tortie and the kittens is just beautiful. He (presuming gender based on appearance) is orange with mid-length fur and white paws and bib.   I will try to get pictures when they are trapped.

The plan is for the caregivers to place the cats' food inside the trap, which is tied open, and next Sunday night they will drop the door and catch them.   They work shift work, but both are off on Monday so they will be there for the cats when they get back from surgery. Mama cat will be able to stay in overnight in order to recover and since she comes in at night to sleep the cold should not bother her too much. If all goes well the kitten will remain indoors and never go out again.    Perhaps even the mother will eventually become tame enough to be an indoor cat and either stay with the caregivers or be adopted.