Feral Cat Management/TNR

Drop Trap/Remote Control Trap

Lisa A. Pierson, DVM

December 26, 2006

This page will be an ongoing work-in-progress as I continue to modify a drop trap that I have designed. 

April 22, 2007

I am currently building a Style 1 drop trap and am taking pictures as I go along.  Please see this page for a step-by-step pictorial.

Drop Trap

Video of a drop trap in use.

For those of you who have ever used a drop trap, you know how valuable they can be.  Some cats just will not get into a conventional trap or have already been trapped and released for some reason and your only shot at getting these cats is to use a drop trap.

Unfortunately, most drop trap designs are either not collapsible or if they do collapse, it is not easy to do so.

In searching the web, I found Laura Burns' site here.  Laura was very helpful in giving me great ideas for an easy-to-collapse drop trap and if you want to skip the hassle of making one yourself, you can order one from Laura.  (4/07 Update:  Laura is pretty backlogged on her trap orders so you may want to roll up your sleeves and start making one.)  Laura's site also discusses how to use a drop trap which is outside the scope of this webpage.

**Important Note:  Laura and I have one 'creative difference of opinion' that I need to mention here.  I am a very strong believer that it is crucial to have bungee cords attached to the drop trap to the left and right of the door.  These bungee cords are then attached to the wire transfer trap to hold the two traps securely together.

When a cat bolts out of the drop trap they can do so at a very rapid speed.   They usually then turn around in a fraction of a second and can easily get out by pushing their way through any small gap between the two traps. People really underestimate a panicked feral cat's ability to muscle their way through a small gap!

I have heard of this happening on several occasions.  Even one cat escaping is one too many - especially if that one cat is the neighborhood 'baby machine' that you have been trying to get for the past many years.  These are the 'trap savvy' cats that you may very well not ever get back into any kind of a trap.

So please.....make sure that you have bungee cords attached to any drop trap that you use.  They are easy to attach using a eyescrews.  (picture below)

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I will show two designs on this page.  Style 1 one is a breeze to use but is much more difficult to build.  See here for directions.  You have to be very precise when attaching a flat hinge to a round pipe.  Of course, you can also use wood which will be much easier to work with but will end up being heavier. 

Style 2 is not that hard to set up and may be just fine for people using it infrequently  but if you are a very active trapper and use a drop trap frequently, you may get a bit frustrated with the setting up and breaking down of Style 2.   It is much easier to work with than the Alley Cat Allies version since I added the canvas sheath.

My Style 1 design is a variation of Laura's original folding trap but it varies from Laura's in that I use PVC pipe and Laura uses all wood.  Also, Laura's is open netting on all sides and the top whereas mine is solid on all four sides with netting just on the top.  Laura's is lighter than mine (~17# and mine is ~26#) and she uses a hinged platform to put a bucket of bricks or rocks on to keep the trap from moving.

Laura's trap and my Style 1 both collapse in seconds and are very compact and easy to carry and store.

Style 1:

Style 2:

April 21, 2007 - Quick notes:

1) The weight of the trap - I trap alone and do not want to have to break my neck running to the trap to hold it down.  The trap that I use is 29.5# but I have since started making them with a product called Coroplast which is a corrugated plastic product that is very light and extremely easy to work with.  It can be cut with utility scissors.  This has brought the weight of the trap down to 23#.  This is the minimum weight that I like to work.

2) The dimensions of the trap -  I prefer to work with a larger trap - 44" x 44".  The bigger traps will usually clear the tails of most cats whereas the smaller traps will often come down on the tails.  (If you watch cats eat under these traps, it is not unusual for the tail to be past the perimeter of the trap.)  Also, the larger trap makes it much less likely that a cat will rapidly turn and get out from underneath it before the trap reaches the ground.

I have trapped 3 large adults at one time with my trap (29.5#) and it has not budged.

All traps (especially a 3' x 3' trap) should have a 1/2" gap between the trap and the ground to help protect the cat's tail should the trap drop on it.  See the directions page for pictures of the small carpet squares that I use to create the gap.

Remote Control Trap

For the past year, I have been doing 90% of my trapping with the drop trap and 2 remote control traps and I just love the flexibility that these traps give me.  I have outfitted two of my Tomahawk #608 traps with the remote control equipment. 

Examples of how either a remote control trap or a drop trap can come in handy:

1) I can decide what order to catch the cats/kittens.  For instance, I was recently trapping a mom and her kittens.  The mother was exceptionally wary of the trap and I was concerned that her kittens would trigger it and that would be the end of my chances of getting her...at least right away.  One kitten did enter the trap first - with the mother standing near the trap watching.  I chose not to trigger the trap.  The kitten then backed out and the mother went in at which time I triggered it.  I then got the kittens within the next hour.

2) I trap in areas where there are a lot of skunks, raccoons and opossums.  In one recently TNRd colony, the skunks outnumbered the cats 5 to 1.  It was a nightmare to deal with as the skunks were so bold that they would just march right into the traps.  Needless to say, this was a huge problem and every time I had to chase away (as gently as I could) an animal that I did not want to trap, the cats that I *did* want to catch would then just get more wary of the trap.  The RC trap has taken away the stress involved of constantly having to chase away the other critters.  Plus...I don't have the heart to chase them out of the trap since they are hungry too!

3)  Continuing with the above thought.....on several occasions, a bold skunk or raccoon, or an ear clipped cat has 'shown' a timid cat that the trap really is a good thing!  I have had many raccoons go into the trap and crunch dry food so loudly as to draw the cats closer.  The cats then sit there and watch with their little minds saying "hey...that food sounds mighty tasty in there!"  The coon, skunk, or cat will back out and then in goes the cat that has been watching.

One problem, however, is that the coons and skunks often drag the bowl out of the trap and you have to go and re-fill the bowl and put it back on the trap and re-bait the front part of the trap.  Some people use a bowl with a wire mesh on the top and I did this for awhile but then I felt sorry for the animals that were hungry.  It was bothering me to see them so frustrated.  Also, it has been nice when some cats that have already been TNRd go into the trap to eat.  Since I do withhold food from the colonies that I trap at, it is nice to see the ones that have already been altered at least have a chance at a good meal.

The RC trap uses 12 rechargeable batteries - 4 for the receiver and 8 for the transmitter.  I do not recommend using alkaline batteries since you really want a fresh charge on this unit prior to using it.  There is nothing worse than sitting for hours...only to have the cat that you are waiting for enter the trap and then nothing happens when you pull the trigger on the transmitter.  Fortunately, the trap can still be set manually very quickly.  I ran into a dead battery problem recently so I just quietly asked the cat to back out of the trap...went over and hooked it up manually....stepped back and the cat went right back in and triggered it.

This trap was not cheap.  In addition to the cost of the trap itself, fitting it with the RC set-up ran me ~$150 (parts and labor) and that did not include the batteries.  Rechargeable batteries are ~$3 each so that is another $36 and then the charger is ~$15. Of course if you are handy yourself or know someone who is familiar with RC products, you can cut the cost considerably.

One word of warning:  You MUST BE VERY PATIENT when using this trap.  Not once...but twice...I have triggered it a fraction too early and the cat was not quite in far enough and he/she got hit in the butt and the rest was history.....what a disaster.  You MUST be very careful to make sure the cat has a paw on the trip plate before triggering this trap otherwise they will get hit in the butt and they will back out....and probably never enter a trap again.

Remote Control Trap (Tomahawk model #608):

Plexiglass Liners in Traps

After many years of trapping I was going to scream if I had to line one more trap with newspaper or deal with anymore soggy paper that had been soaked in tuna oil.  All of my traps are now lined with Lexan with a plastic shower curtain for a white background.  No more trying to tape newspaper down in the trap on a windy night.  I can now either just wipe the trap out with a wet paper towel or hose it down.  I realize that this is not practical for people just trapping a cat or two and then leaving them in that trap.  Paper is necessary in that situation in case the cat urinates.  The paper will at least soak up some of the urine, otherwise the urine will run out of the trap.  I only use 1 or 2 traps at a time so once a cat is trapped, it is transferred to a transfer carrier that has paper in it in case they urinate or defecate.  It is then easy to re-bait the trap and keep going instead of taking the time to re-line it with newspaper.

4/6/08 update:  Well.....I still love the fact that my traps are lined with Lexan but I have encountered several cats that have stepped over the trip plate....eaten the food....and then stepped back over the trip plate without triggering it.  So I have gone back to at least covering the back half of the trap with newspaper to make the trip plate less visible.

My next plan is to see if I can add an extension to the trip plate so that they will *have* to step on it in order to get to the food.  If that works, I can go back to not having to hassle with newspaper.

Transfer Carrier (Tomahawk model # 306):

I love these transfer carriers.  I take several of these into the field and just two 608s and my drop trap.  You must be careful when transfering a cat to these carriers.  Make sure that the trap and carrier are well-braced together otherwise a cat can hit the end of the carrier and separate the two.  If he doubles back quickly, he can escape through the gap.  This is especially true with small kittens if a small gap occurs.

I put the front end of the trap against my truck tire and then I have my leg bracing the back end of the transfer carrier to make sure that they do not separate.

Be sure to have the carrier somewhat covered so that the poor cat does not ram his face thinking that he can get to freedom.