After Pilates class today, Diane was kind enough to let me go feral cat trapping with her to see how it works. (Regular P&C readers by now should be familiar with Diane, who, aside from being a killer Pilates instructor, works with the SPCA of Westchester and Cat Assistance based in Mount Vernon.)

We went to a house in North White Plains, where Diane had previously placed a cat for adoption, but that cat was getting harassed by ferals in the area. First, here is Diane setting up her three traps…Pardon the photography. Even though she has a jacket on, I took someone with the best bod and made her look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Sorry Di!

Anyway, what she does is line the cages with newspaper, then puts cat food in little paper dishes at the far end so the cats will go all the way in the trap. A little catnip at the entry is intended to lure and calm them down.
It’s kind of hard to see in this pic, but when the cat goes to the food, it steps on the thin plate under the newspaper, which springs the door shut.

To help calm the kitties, she covers the traps with towels or, like this one, a tarp, to create a protected environment, and in this case keep out the (ever non-stop!) rain.

Then, and here’s where the dedication really comes in, she goes to sit in the car and wait for the cats. She doesn’t leave for a couple of reasons. One, we know two-leggers can be awful, and she doesn’t want the traps stolen. She also doesn’t want home-owned cats with collars who just want a snack to stay trapped and freak out, so she stays by to let them go.
Sometimes, Diane says, she’ll get cats within 10 minutes. Sometimes she’s waited for hours. I left her today after about 30 minutes but she stayed put to wait. The expectations were low because it was (ever non-stop!) raining and it was daytime (she usually traps at night because cats are nocturnal) and she figured they were hunkered down sleeping and staying dry. Turns out, she was right. No luck today.
When t works, once the cats are trapped, she takes them to the SPCA where they’re checked out, neutered and spayed if needed, and get any health problems solved (bad teeth, ear mites etc.) If they’re “friendlies” she tries to get them adopted. If they’re feral, they are released back into the area where they were trapped, so they know the environment, but can’t exacerbate the feral cat problem since they can’t breed,
Diane, thanks for letting me come along. I hope to do it again under more ideal circumstances.

If you know of feral cats, call Cat Assistance at 914-667-7877. Who knows, you just may run into Diane.