In reply to hobiercr :
I just looked at some drop trap designs online. That should work. I'm planning to build one in the week ahead. For now I'm going to try improvising with a large parrot cage and a broken child gate hinged to the bottom.
In reply to hobiercr :
I just looked at some drop trap designs online. That should work. I'm planning to build one in the week ahead. For now I'm going to try improvising with a large parrot cage and a broken child gate hinged to the bottom.
In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :
Very cool. I've been following Flatbush Cats since they were started a few years ago. They have built a grassroots movement in NYC to tackle the feral cat population problem there. I've learned so many techniques and strategies just from watching their videos. We support FBC, our local TNR group Meow Now, and I volunteer with the Pinellas SPCA on fundraising events. Thank you for all the work you are doing with your community. Hopefully you can stay ahead of the kitten curve.
I definitely have to change strategies. No progress with Big Tom, but he was at last night's feeding. The traps I have aren't effective with most of the cats that are left.
This morning only Callie and Tammy were out. Both went straight to the trap and both entered it at one point, but didn't get deep enough to trigger it. I left for five minutes and when I got back, it had been triggered and was empty. Callie calmly sat up the hill from it smiling.
I took the remaining food and set it out for Tammy. It may be easier in the near future to just pick her up by hand and bring her to the vet, but she's not quite ready yet.
I considered time and materials to make a safe and reliable drop trap and decided to buy one instead. This one has great reviews on Amazon and TNR web sites and I purchased it directly from the small business that makes them.
I'm working 7 am to 7 pm for a week, so no plan for trapping until the middle of next week. The new trap should arrive by then. *Mrs AAZCD is totally in support of all this, but does not want to personally handle or feed the kittens - she would try to keep them all.
E36 M3 E36 M3 E36 M3. Tammy and Shelly have been missing for a week. I just saw Patch struggling across open ground. Tried to catch him. Came close.
Most of the bloodiness can not be seen in this pic, but it's bad.
I have the old trap out where he went deep in the brush. Got my snake boots and leather gloves now. Going back for him.
Dog? Fox, Coyote, other cat? Predator.
Not much hope. I saw a bit of white moving deep in the brush. Sitting quietly now.
Not much chance of getting close enough to grab. I did find remains that looked about a week dead. Likely Shelly.
I am in poison ivy and spiders. Hoping I don't disturb a hornet nest.
In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :
That really sucks. I've lived on the edge of a nature preserve for 20 years and have noticed when the feral cat population gets big, the coyotes start showing up in greater numbers.
In reply to eastsideTim :
This has really brought home to me that my goal is not preventing overpopulation. It is more simply to prevent the cats from having more kittens.
I hadn't seen East-Side since I released him. Late last night I was bringing some leftover meatloaf to the feeding spot and there he was. Good to know he's still well.
Mrs AAZCD came out and told me it was time to come in. Patch is resting in a quiet place to heal or remain. Peace.
Tonight, kittens Polly, Tucker, and Fluffy are good.
Blacktail, Ranger, and Tom are good. Tom's wound is still open, but his movement is confident and his presence strong.
These were the early cats. Callie was out all day watching me, she's fine. I expect that Molly, East-Side, and a few others will eat later. My neighbors to the east feed a Sylvester every day.
I'll try trapping tomorrow with the new drop trap. Maybe it will be Callie's day. Big Tom doesn't run his daytime route anymore. If I trap him, it's going to have to be at evening feeding and I'll have to keep him in holding overnight.
Callie and I danced back and forth for about 45 minutes this morning. She'd wait until I backed off to advance, then retreat when I moved back towards the trigger rope. Finally she committed to the food.
Dr Bill gave me oral amoxi for Big Tom. I think I can get it to him in goat's milk after the kittens eat.
In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :
Good job catching the herd. It looks like you need to attach a base to your trap hinged on the far side.
Neither of the barn kittens were around when I stopped by to feed them this morning on my way to work.
Saw both of them recorded on the cameras about 10 minutes after I left.
Orla, the fluffy one, sat there and looked like a kid who'd missed the school bus.
Your success with this drop trap definitely has my attention .......we've been using a tomahawk,but not exactly as intended (TLDR ). Out of the twelve adults we've knabbed six.......the remainder is a study in the works.
Drop Trap:
I didn't know anything about drop traps until hobiercr mentioned them and prompted me to do some research. I watched some videos and looked at some TNR group web pages. The concept of using the trap with no floor and then using a transfer cage hadn't occurred to me. Here's one of the videos I watched that goes through everything in about 7 minutes:
Key takeaways:
My old trap worked well as a transfer cage after I extended the opening with cardboard to allow the door to swing shut. The Tomahawk "306NC - Cat Transfer Cage" looks great, but I'm too cheap to spend the $70 for it.
Callie:
Some day I may compile and post all the video I have of Callie evading my old trap. Almost every time I set it she was there, went in and came out without getting trapped.
When I picked her up Dr Bill let me know that she is lactating and therefore has kittens. I was surprised. I've been pretty sure that the kittens I have seen when she's around were from different mothers. I released her a little after 6 pm. I set the cage near where she arrives from and gave her about 10 minutes to get acclimated and oriented before letting her out. She was still groggier than I intended, but seemed capable of taking care of herself. I'm going to watch for her in the morning and have goat's milk and soft food ready for her.
Big Tom:
I had thought of trapping Tom tonight, but I'm going to wait until after the holiday weekend. Meanwhile the Amoxicillin will help him heal. When I went to feeding tonight, I brought a small dish of milk and some teriyaki chicken for the medicine. It got dark and he hadn't shown up. I set the milk out for the other cats, then saw a dark silhouette of a cat coming down the hill. Using the flashlight on my phone I saw it was him. I used the dropper to put a little over 50 mg glaze on some chicken and set it out for him. The other cats retreated when I put it out. He sat just beyond reach. I stepped away and couldn't see anything. Dark cat on a dark background in the dark. I set my phone camera to night mode and pointed it in his direction.
A moment later I turned the flashlight back on and looked in the bowl. Empty; He ate it all. About 4 to 5 more nights of that and it will be complete. If I ever see Patch again, I'll try to do the same for him until I can trap him.
Tom didn't show at dusk. He didn't show when I checked at 9:30, but there was a big possum at the food bowls. All the cats around it seemed to think it was normal.
One last check at 10:45. I walked down to the food area with a work light strapped to my head. No cats or possums. I turned to walk back home and there was Big Tom sitting behind me.
"Is that teriyaki chicken you have in your hand sir?"
"Yes Thomas it is. Here you go. Don't mind the pink glaze, it's for flavor."
No sighting of Callie. Hopefully tomorrow, but they don't always come back after I release them from the trap.
It didn't occur to me until tonight that Blacktail is pregnant and likely to drop kittens soon.
I'll keep an eye on her for the next week. She is almost always within 50 yards of the pond when I observe her and except for mid-day I can almost always find her if I look. I am not going to take in any more pets with our current count at four dogs and three cats, but I may foster a couple kittens short term until I can find homes. I figure we'll be well into November before they can be taken from her. Kittens for Christmas anyone? Best would be to find a foster home through the local humane society and trap her before she has the kittens, but I don't expect that to work out quick enough.
I'm slowly learning some of their behavior. They do seem to have a more consistent routine than I do. Tom has shown me time and again that he does not eat until after the kittens have eaten. Tonight at dusk feeding, I saw him laying on a wall and set his medicated food in front of him (poked it close to him with a stick).
He didn't care. He looked at it, but didn't sniff or advance. Just looked at me, then down the hill where the other cats were eating. Eventually he got up and led me down half way and laid down again.
Oh Wow! I was cropping/re-sizing the following picture and realized that Callie was there and looking right at me. I've been worried and it makes me way more emotional than I expected to see her there and well - she's just a cat, a wild feral cat.
Upper center:
Anyway, Thomas laid down until (L to R) Tucker, Polly, and Molly came up to join him. From there he went down past Blacktail and Fluffy to the food bowl. I had gone ahead and swapped in the medicated food. When he ate, it was dark enough that I could only see him with my phone light. He ate all of it. Other cats seen waiting in the periphery tonight were a Sylvester from the east (symmetrical black/white) and Ranger (young adult gray-white presumed male).
TL/DR
But have you ever heard of the cats of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico?
They are berkeleying awesome. Roaming the blue cobblestone streets, embraced by the locals for the most part as you see bowls of foord and water all over. Just dang neat.
I tried trapping this morning and absolutely no cats were visible during almost 45 minutes I was out. Maybe I'll try tonight and hold one until morning. Mrs AAZCD has concerns about me trapping a cat and holding it overnight. I do too, but for now it seems like the best way to proceed. In the future I think it will be best to shift the feeding time to morning, so all the cats are out and available around the time that the vet opens.
I came across this web page today. Most of the guidelines were intuitive for me, but it's good to see it all written down and formalized: https://catsinaction.org/resources/trapping-guidelines/
Tom's medicine was easy last night other than Tucker challenging him for it. It was the first night that I didn't see Blacktail at all. She probably had the kittens.
Tonight it's Polly.
I saw Blacktail about 30 yards away at feeding, but couldn't tell at dusk if she looked any different. I've decided that Tom's meds are done for now and trapping is next for him.
following closely for sure .....be careful
She is of the same litter as the kitten (Scout) that we adopted from Molly. I can't find a very good picture, but here she is in late April:
Here she is now in the garage:
Generally calm, but she can get startled easily. Her litter was six or seven kittens and only Scout, Tucker, and her are known to be alive. She is probably too old as a feral to easily find an appropriate home for. Don't tell Mrs AAZCD, but if she is manageable tonight and through tomorrow night I may try to foster her this week and find a place for her.
So, Polly is (was) a male. I never had a good opportunity to look. Now renamed Paulie and resting in the soft dog crate.
He's probably going to work with me tonight. I want him fully recovered before release.
And the goose... A year ago (page 4, 8/30/22) I mentioned a goose. I hadn't seen it for quite a while and assumed it was either healed and gone or deceased. For a week now it has resumed meeting me at the back gate when I go to feed the cats. It gets sliced apples from my tree along with leftover salad and grapes. It loves the grapes. The cats seem to ignore the goose. Paulie is free again and doing well.
Now called Goostav or Gus for short.
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