Help! I'm at my wit's end. A family of 4 feral cats has been living in
my parents' front yard for the last 6 months --- I'll call them Mama
Cat, Daddy Cat, and Big Sister and Little Sister (their 2 female
offspring). My mother feeds them every day, but we want to get them
"fixed" and vaccinated for rabies. I trapped the Mama Cat and Big
Sister with no problems. However, Daddy Cat and Little Sister have
been elusive. (Both witnesses Mama Cat and Big Sister being trapped.)

The trap I'm using is a Tru-Catch trap, which basically works on the
same principle as the popular Hav-a-hart traps. I've baited it with
sardines, tuna, Fancy Feast, and mackeral (even heated in the
microwave to make them really smelly). I've put food half way in the
trap to make a path to the food beyond the trip plate. I've put catnip
& catnip treats in the trap as well. I put newspaper on the bottom so
they wouldn't feel the metal cage under their paws. I also place Mama
Cat in a carrier behind the trap with a towel over both so any cat
wanting to get close to her would have to walk down the "tunnel" to
see her better. She was in heat, but Daddy Cat wouldn't fall for that
(even though he'd been chasing her around the yard the whole day
before). I also thought Little Sister would want to be with Mama Cat
but she too wouldn't go in either.

Unbelievably, Little Sister actually went into the trap one time,
tripped the plate but managed to zoom out as the gate was falling. The
gate falls very fast so I wouldn't have believed this if I hadn't seen
it with my own eyes. Little Sister also wandered into the living room
when I put a bowl of wet food near the cage where Mama Cat and Big
Sister are now recovering from being spayed. I hid behind the door and
tried to slam it when Little Sister was about 10 feet inside. Yes ...
she managed to get out as the front door swung shut.

Daddy Cat and Little Sister are now taunting me. I stopped feeding
them so they killed a squirrel and left its dismembered remains on the
porch. This was particularly upsetting. We like squirrels and keep a
feeder for them. As far as we know, these cats haven't killed anything
before when my mom was putting out lots of food for them.

I know the trap is reasonably effective. I keep catching the same poor
possum in it!

I'm actually laying awake at night agonizing over this situation. Any
ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'm desperate to keep Little
Sister from reproducing and would like to have Daddy Cat neutered just
so he'll stick around (and of course not contribute to the
overpopulation problem). I thought about buying a different brand
trap, but I'm afraid they won't go near any trap at this point.

Thanks,

Sheri