TNR Guides

Use our guides to assist you in preparing to trap and then once appointments and equipment has been obtained - what to do to have the best chances at success of trapping. If you have any questions please use our contact form to submit a general inquiry.

Do NOT trap without a Plan

You must never trap without a plan - that is a confirmed TNR appointment or confirmation from a rescue they have committed to taking your cat or a confirmed appointment with your vet. Many people do not realize that TNR appointments are often booking 6-8 weeks ahead of time. So in March you can only find spots in April, May and June. Please do not trap unless you have a plan- there is no guarantee anyone will be able to take the cat off your hands immediately.

We may be able to fit in emergencies (pregnant cats that need spay asap, pyometras, grave injuries, etc) but more often than not we also will need 2-3 weeks to fit you into a tnr clinic we have access to. We recommend you trap train early to prepare for your appointments to make sure you don't miss them.

Finding Veterinary Care

Please be aware not all vets will treat unsocial or "feral" cats. Many might charge very high fees to sedate if they cannot or will not restrain them. For the lehigh valley we know the following hospitals will treat strays and sedate at a reasonable cost -

Rush Veterinary Hospital in Tamaqua
Rush Urgent Care in Allentown
Allentown Cat Clinic
Stanglien
Walbert Animal Hospital
*Emergency hospitals will also treat ferals but you are looking at a minimum $140/exam fee just walk in the door plus sedation and diagnostics - you could be looking at a $1,000 bill unless you plan correctly

Trap Training

Trap training is the practice of tying open a trap with a zip tie or a string and feeding exclusively in the trap. This acclimates the cats to eating only in the trap and nothing happens. That way when it is time to trap you cut the ties and the cats will go in without hesitations. Trap training can be successful with a week or less of use. Use high value food to attract pets.

Trapping - how to set a trap

All traps we recommend have fairly easy mechanisms. The havahart which is bought at local hardware stores will not have a back door but can be baited with small amount of food just the same.

Line the bottom of the cage with newpaper or a puppy pad. If it is a windy day you may tape it down.
Bait the trap by leaving a small trail of food from the front of the trap to the back with a jackpot on both side of the trip plate and in the very back (this forces the cat to step back and make a side to side movement when eating.
Use high value food for bait - sardines, tuna in water, shredded chicken, fried or rotisserie chicken, anything that smells good (fish flavored pate cat food)
Make sure you cover the trap before you put it down or immediately after catching a catch - they will calm down immediately
NEVER leave a trap out unattended - especially under cold, rainy or very hot conditions cats will die if they cannot move to warm up or cool down
To use babies as bait place babies in a carrier and back the trap up to the carrier using a large blanket to cover the whole thing, moms will go in to try and retrieve babies
Cats can be safely kept in traps for up to 24 hours. IF your appointment is later than that please contact us or buy a trap fork so you can change out the newpapre and puppy pads and give food
Store cats in a temperature controlled area if at all possible if not the cats must at least be out of the elements. Do not trap in freezing weather without professional assistance
Do not trap injured cats without professional assistance - you may need guidance to prevent them from hurting themselves more
to transport a cat line your car trunk or seats with puppy pads, newspaper, trash bags or a waterproof liner to prevent cat pee from soaking in

TNR trapping videos and resources

NC Charlotte Rescue has put out a very informative video on how to set a havahart trap properly and prepare a TNR cat for their appointment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsPj6xvAfjs

2. The kitten lady has many useful videos on TNR , trapping, kitten care that can be followed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF_omFE7Etc

http://www.kittenlady.org/blog/kitten-crisis

FAQ

1. I cannot drive/trap/transport a trapped cat - can you come do it?

Answer: We may be able to coordinate picking up your trap or dropping off a trap but you will very likely need to do the actual trapping unless the cat is injured, there are babies, you need to catch more than 5 at one time because your colony is too large or the feeder is physically incapacitated. Schedule a consult with us on our trapping page to get more info

2. I don't have a trap - can you loan one?

Answer: Yes we have traps to loan. For $10 we will loan out traps for up to 2 weeks. You will get that back if the trap is returned. If it is not we will keep a payment form on file to charge the full cost of the trap to if it's isn't. If you are using No Nonsense Neutering - they too will lend out traps. If you are using the humane society - they may or may not lend out traps but if you have a confirmed appointment we will discuss with you lending you a trap to use there. To obtain a trap from us you must be trained on how to use it before we let you take it home. The pickup location for the traps is either in germansville or sometimes bethlehem or the main pickup is northampton, PA near the Ace Miller Supply store If you have a colony of more than 5 cats and will need to trap long term we recommend you purchase one or two on your own - the cheapest and sturdy traps are from tractor supply they cost $50 each and are a countyline brand. You may also obtain havahart traps from any ace or hardware store for $60-75. Trucatch and tomahawk traps have double doors and are very useful but they can only be purchased online via their websites or amazon. These are our preferred brands and come powder coated so they last much longer. If you are in the northampton area rockstar rescue may lend them out or you can try FURR (friends of urban feline rescue) or the sanctuary at haafsville to see if any traps have be donated or are avialable.

3. The cat i need to catch is injured what do i do?

Answer: If the injury is life threatening and the cat is not able to move well you can do an immediate good samaritan surrender to Valley Central emergency or Quakertown emergency vet. This does mean you relinquish any and all rights to that cat and they will have to decide if it can be saved and sent to a partner rescue or if it needs humane euthanasia. We recommend you call ahead and ask them before you take a cat down, explain it's a stray and where you may have found it. If this request or surrender gets denied, we may be able to organize a humane euthanisia please text us, it's not something we can do every day. Whenever trying to get a cat remember they like dark quiet places. Do not attempt to get this cat barehanded. if you don't have a fishing net or heavy blanket or towel or gloves to use to get the cat into a secure carrier please text us for advice. Cat bites and scratches can be very serious. If the injury is severe but the cat isn't actively dying - it's limping or it eats but has an ingection or it's dragging a broken leg - please text us. Normally we reocmmend they are left alone until vet care can be obtained. Vet care is not free. Carol's fund may be able to assist with up to $200 or fundraising for any animal that comes our way (even pet cats) but the average urgent care bill we get is $325. so you may need to cover or raise the difference. It costs a minimum of $150 to be seen and given basic pain and antibiotic medications. We do have access to reduced affordable care for amputations, growth removals, eye removals, dentals, CT scans etc. Emergency spays or broken bones. Please contact us for more info - for strays please be aware that if they will need extended recovery of 1-8 weeks we only have two medical fosters. We can always set people up with a cage or catio to care for the cat until it's ready to be released, it may be little more than feeding and litter box scooping , but we do not have a facility to keep the cats in.

4. If I can trap or secure a stray cat and I want to get it fixed, how quickly can I get a vet appointment?

Answer: We work with 6 different vets or TNR clinics : Rush hometown and Rush Urgent Care, Valley Central, Forgotten Cats in Willow Grove, forgotten felines and fidos in germansville, No Nonsense Neutering , Peaceable Kingdom and Furr Fix It Clinic. While most of these clinics accomodate everyone via their own booking systems they may book 3-6 weeks out. We on the other hand don't run a clinic we partner with them so we usually have spots reserved that can get people in within one or two weeks. In cases of an emergency (not Friday or Sat) we can usually get someone a vet appointment or spay within 48-72 hours. However, during kitten season we are very busy and we need to fulfill our slots so we don't lose them so please fill out our trapping form BEFORE YOU TRAP and wait for us to give you a date. Trap training (feeidng in a trap) is how we gaurantee that 90% of our cats can be caught. If you have a circumstance with a mother and babies need to be assessed or a different set of tools need to be used like a net or drop trap we will need at least a week to establish a date to help. For any pet cats or friendly cats that need fixing, planning ahead works better but if we happen to have cancellations (which usually happens when it rains or during a holiday week) please text us to see if we can fit you in last minute.