Humane animal trap

An animal trap having an upstanding frame member mounted on a base, a metal anvil bar connected at one end to the frame and extending outwardly from the frame generally parallel to the base, a metal striker bar positioned above and generally parallel to the anvil bar, said bars being connected at their outer ends to a spring adapted to urge the striker bar forcibly towards the anvil bar, a trigger pan mounted below the two bars and connected to a trigger arm

extending upwardly along the frame, a latch arm swivelly mounted on the upper portion of the frame and containing a notch or recess such that when the striker bar is moved upwards against the force of the spring away from the anvil bar, the bar fits into the notch, said latch having an extended arm contacting the upper end of said trigger bar such that the trigger bar is operative to trigger the latch arm from the set position on movement of the pan and allow the latch arm to swing free and the striker bar to move towards the anvil bar. In a preferred version clamping means is provided for forcibly holding the striker bar down towards the anvil bar to provide a secondary killing action.

Humane Trapping Instructions

If possible, get the cats used to being fed at the same place and time of day. You might try leaving the trap unset and covered with a large towel during routine feeding so that the animal will get used to seeing and smelling it in the area. Don’t feed the cats the day/night before you are going to trap so the cats will be hungry. Be sure to notify others who may feed the cats not to leave food out either.

Plan to trap so that you don’t have to keep the cat too long before surgery. Trapping the night before is usually the best approach. Cats should not eat 12 hours prior to surgery.

Prepare the area where you will be holding the cats before and after the clinic. A garage or other sheltered, warm, protected area is best. Lay down newspapers to catch the inevitable stool, urine and food residue. You may want to use pieces of wood to elevate the traps off the newspapers. This allows the mess to fall through the wire away from the cats. Spraying the area ahead of time with a cat-safe flea spray (like Adams or Ovitrol) will discourage ants.

Prepare the vehicle you will use to transport them as well. Plastic may be an additional precaution. But remember that you will need to use newspapers or some other absorbent material in addition. ( Urine will roll right off of the plastic and that isn’t what you want )

Plan your day of trapping carefully. Remember that if you trap an animal and release it for some reason, it is unlikely that you will be able to catch it again….they learn very quickly.

If there are young kittens involved, remember that they should not be weaned from the mother before 4-6 weeks of age. If you are trapping a lactating female, you may want to wait until you have located the kittens and they are old enough to wean. If you wish to tame and foster the kittens to adopt out, they should be taken from the mother at 4-6 weeks. If you wait until the kittens are older than 4-6 weeks before trying to tame them you will find the job progressively harder with age.