This is probably a dumb question, but how do you catch a smart feral cat? I have one in my horse barn. I already have two friendly barn cats, but this one that is hanging around is not friendly and has been very aggressive. If I go near him, I have caught him in the barn fighting with my neutered barn cat several times. I set up a live trap and put wet and dry cat food in it for a couple of days, and I’ve seen him in it. However, when I set it with the plate trigger, he either doesn’t go in, flips the trap over to get the food, or carefully steps over the trigger plate. I’ve tried a smaller trap designed for cats and skunks, and a larger one meant for coyotes. If he were friendly, I wouldn’t mind him being around, but he has tried to attack me when I get near him, especially since he often hides in the hay bales.
I feel like, if you have him going into a trap to eat it is just a matter of time until you trap him.
I would think the bigger trap is just too big to trap a cat easily.
It sounds like you’re going to have to shoot him. If he’s that smart to get around being trapped, getting him in a trap will likely be impossible. And even if you do trap him and surrender him to the local animal shelter, you risk one of those gals that volunteer there getting bit or injured if he’s that mean.
Sadly, once feral cats get mean like that, there’s nothing much you can do to reverse it.
Resident cat-trapper (TNR) here - if he’s going in a trap, it’s just a matter of time. Try baiting with something that sticks to the plate. In the mean time, stop free-feeding (if you are) and lock up your kitties when it’s dinner time. Remove unfinished kibble. Hungry cats get trapped.
You can duct-tape the trap onto a rubbermaid tote lid to prevent flipping - I had to do this for one very crafty lady. If you go this route, just make sure you’re checking the trap regularly because once the plate springs they can really jostle the trap trying to escape.
His overall demeanor will likely change once he’s snipped. Do you need help finding a local TNR program?
Sending you all the trapped kitty jubies. 
Goodness, this is just not true. He just sounds scared.
Docile cats in the wild are lunch.
I sure hope he will turn around and be nice, that would be great. I’ve not found that to be the case, and I have had a couple friends who worked at an animal shelter with some stories about really nasty feral cats.
Good luck though, and stay safe.
Agreed. I’ve trapped feral cats. Because I own a farm people think it’s a great dumping ground. The last feral, I trapped. A female. Was as wild as a tiger. When I picked up the have a heart trap. Which took me a good 2 to 3 weeks to catch her. The program thankfully has hours and days where you just show up before a certain time and drop them off. If you are successful, you show up if not try again.
It was like catching a rabid raccoon who immediately peed out the side in every direction on the way to her appointment to be spayed at the TNR place. Fast-forward a decade. I released her back at my barn. And while she never became a lap cat. She would let me pet her. And scruff her long enough to put flea medicine on. And greet me every single morning for her a can of fancy feast.
Ps. I put out multiple traps. Of two different sizes. And I think I actually caught her in a really small one.
Have any of you tried a drop trap? I have one tom I’ve been trying to catch that was trapped once but got away and he won’t go in or near the trap at all. They are expensive and I don’t know anyone local who has used one, trying to decide if it’s worth investing in one.
These are used very often by TNR groups, where the cats have become smart to the box type traps.
OP, if he’s flipping the trap you’re doing it wrong. You always have to secure those traps, either with the lid that @beowulf mentioned or by putting something very heavy on top, like a couple of cinder blocks. If it was flipped and he was out, he got caught, freaked out, flipped the trap and then it’s easy for them to escape.
That is really interesting. No shelter I know of will try to take a feral cat out of a trap or cage… When ferals are TnRd - they are left in the trap and fully sedated before their removal. Most shelters won’t take in true ferals because they are not suited to being confined in a cage and put up for adoption. They just get fearful and scared and spiral into violence.
@Phaedra1 be patient - its hard with these clever ones, but since he is already walking into the trap-- he is showing that he will go in again. Keep the food from your nice barn kitties away from him - he needs to get hungry! I have had some luck tying a piece of chicken in the back (so he can’t run out with it). You can also try putting newspaper or cardboard on the bottom of the trap to help mask the trigger plate. Eventually - he will make a mistake and step on it. Although the coyote trap might be too big for him to trigger - stick to the cat & skunk one and make sure it is on flat ground. If its on an uneven surface it can rock and tip.
Get him TnR’d as quickly as you can, and once those testicles are gone, he might be a whole different animal. Not saying he is 100% pet material, but he might turn into a useful mouser once his testosterone-driven aggression is gone. At the very least it will go a long way in calming him down. I’ve seen make cats do total 180s once they are neutered. Basically echoing everything that @beowulf said.
wishing you luck!
Years ago, I had Stinky show up. He had been a tomcat for a long time and he was mean as a snake to my cats. He kept attacking them and trying to kill them. He was a traveling man and was not around here all the time. However, he was not feral to humans. I caught him and had him de-nutted and he morphed into a sweetheart. Loved all my other cats and got along with them all after the hormones wore off. So you never know how they are going to be after the hormones wear off. I never thought Stinky would ever co-exist with another cat.
Quoting your ugliness for documentation because wow those are some ugly and ignorant words.
One of the “meanest” ferals I’ve known would absolutely come at you, growling, hissing, striking, etc. He got neutered and was fed at a distance and ignored. The fear (because that’s what it is) faded and he literally became a pampered featured on the internet house cat who sleeps on his back and poses for cookies. This was a grown feral tom cat who if he’d shown up at your place would have found a bullet rather than basic empathy.
This is just not true.
And as someone else said, they are not removed from the trap until they are sedated, and I mean fully out. Even then, my vet uses thick leather gloves to handle all ferals.
While I have had feral toms remain rather feral and skittish after neutering, none have remained mean. They almost always mellow out, especially if you bring them back home - they seem to realize it’s okay and they belong there, and become more comfortable and secure.
Yes, I drop-trapped a male that had become trap-shy to the standard live traps. Worked great as far as getting him to go in and eat. But, when I actually trapped him (you sit some distance away with a string tied to the support leg of the trap) he went ballistic and somehow got the support leg to stand up again = escape.
So, if you do use a drop trap, make sure it’s the largest and heaviest especially if this is a big cat. Also, run to it and put weight on the top ASAP (everything happens fast). There are several good videos on youtube about using drop traps.
In a perfect world, here’s what I would do:
- Find TNR options in your community. Set an appointment. Don’t get him in a trap until you have an appointment.
- In advance of the appointment, zip tie a trap open. Start feeding him near it. Gradually moving it closer.
- Hopefully by the appointment, you will just be able to set the trap and he will be used to eating there.
- Once neutered, hopefully he will calm down and not be aggressive. A lot of the time the neuter really settles stuff down.
In a TNR program, they sedate the cat through the trap, then do the surgery then they wake up in the trap. Usually then you take them back and release them after 24-48 hours. There’s risks but they’d all bite you.
I’m glad your feral turned around!
I have not found that to be the case for the ferals we’ve had to deal with, and believe me we’ve tried.
Sometimes the reality of the situation calls for euthanizing a feral cat if they’re that mean/dangerous. The world has enough cats in it, I would rather put the energy in on a cat that is already nice for a pet.
I’m glad you’ve had some success, I have not seen that and my friends at the shelter have had many stories of ferals that would not turn around after being neutered and had to be euthanized because they remained aggressive. I’d rather not take the risk to injure a person for the sake of the possibility of having a halfway decent barn cat.
I am so curious about this shelter. Are they really intaking true adult ferals and expecting them to somehow turn tame while in a cage in a stressful shelter environment? That is a terrible shelter management strategy that sets the cat up for failure and euthanasia. This is why TnR or return to field programs are so important.
They have a barn cat release program, but they just must get some really nasty cats in.
