If you trap a cat and release him or her, it is unlikely that you will be able to catch that cat again.

Remember that you may have only one chance to successfully trap an animal. (Urine will roll right off the plastic and that isn’t what you want.) Putting down plastic is a good extra precaution, but you will need to use newspapers or some other absorbent material on top of the plastic.

Prepare the vehicle you will use to transport them as well. Lay down newspapers or absorbent material to catch stool, urine and food residue. A garage or other sheltered, temperature-controlled, protected area is best. Prepare the area where you will be holding the cats before and after surgery. Cats should not eat after midnight the night before surgery. You want the cat to be in the trap a minimum amount of time before surgery, so trapping the night before is usually the best approach. Hungry cats will be less apprehensive about entering the trap. Be sure to notify others who feed the cats not to leave food out. To ensure that the cats will be hungry, don’t feed them the day or night before you are going to trap. If possible, establish a routine and get the cats used to being fed at the same place and time every day. You can also buy humane traps at some hardware stores and online from websites such as Havahart, Trucatch and Amazon. In addition, these organizations may be able to provide the names and phone numbers of local nonprofit groups that can help you with trapping, as well as the location of low-cost spay/neuter clinics. Humane traps are widely available from local humane societies, shelters and rescue groups.

Specific instructions for how to trap feral cats may be slightly different depending on the type of trap that you are using. The following are guidelines recommended by Best Friends Animal Society for trapping community cats (free-roaming, stray and feral cats) for the purpose of trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR).

Feral cats download free