Live Trapping

Hi catlovers. I have a question regarding live trapping a beautiful kitty. Is it easy to do? Is there anything I should know before I put the trap out? Is there any way to avoid trapping a skunk instead of a cat? The reason I am asking is because where I work there's this gorgous, large, black cat who has been hanging around the highway, I can see him from my office window and I know it's just a matter of time before he's squashed by the 75 MPH traffic and it's making me nervous. We do have skunks and possoms and other small wildlife around here, don't know what I'd do if I caught a skunk.

Anyone with suggestions? If this kitty is owned by someone, I feel he'd be better off in a home where he can't play in highway traffic, so I don't feel bad about trapping him and rehoming him if need be. He's been hanging around the highway for nearly a month now. He does seem to know not to run out into the road, otherwise he'd be squashed by now. I just want to help him. I called the animal shelter and they suggested I try to trap him myself, but I have never trapped a cat before.

Anything I should know? Should I attempt it? Thanks in advance for any advise.

Cats and skunks are nocturnal. However, since you have seen the cat during the day, and skunks have the added factor of being afraid of humans and therefore avoiding high traffic areas, my suggestion would be to put the trap out during the day. It would be extremely unlikely you would catch any wild animal then. If it should happen that you do trap a skunk, raccoon, possum, etc, you could call animal control and they would likely release the animal. Since they are all nocturnal, if it were wandering around during the day it would most likely mean it was diseased, also, and would therefore be better of being put down.

oh we have been down this road before. We had a cat roaming around my parents house. It was getting in the insulation for the heating/cooling system and was ripping it up. It even had kittens in there. Dad bought a trap to catch it. We caught about 6 'possums in the trap and finally caught the little hair ball...dad put in chicken scraps to catch it. 4 Feline House does have a good point about the small animals being nocturnal. The reason why we caught so many 'possums was because we had to catch it at night...considering it was a hard core ferral... (Like Spencer's buzzsaw http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif)

Good luck in catching the kitty!

Good Idea to catch it before it runs on the highway. He may even have a collar to locate the owner and warn him about where the cat has been playing.

While I'm not wealthy or anywhere close, the last three times I needed a cat trap, I bought it, used it, then donated it to a local humane organization. They LOVE getting stuff like that. Even the better quality ones wear out after a while and using a dodgy trap makes the whole thing more difficult.

With saying that, it reminds me of the kitten trap I still have from last year. Chances are good I'll never use it again and there are many organizations who would come to my home to get it. Every month it spends on my back porch increases its chances of being damaged. Now I'm starting to feel sorta selfish for not donating it sooner.

It may not seem like a big deal, but to rescue groups, it's probably one of the best items you can give. And it could be tax deductable.

Vi-
Glad you mentioned that! Most shelters like newspapers, old sheets, blankets and towels, and old toilet seats, too, as well as pet food and kitty litter and cents-off coupons for these items. They also could use non-pet items such as copy paper and trash bags and such. If you're not sure they could use an item you would like to donate, call them and they'll be happy to let you know.