TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
3) Bar the carrier door by sliding the yardstick through both sides of the cage just in
front of the carrier door.
4) Open the cage door.
5) For extra security, lock the carrier door.
6) Clean up and leave food in front.
7) Unlock the carrier door, using a plate or book to avoid scratches.
8) Close and lock the cage door
9) Remove the yardstick
10) Use the yardstick to maneuver the carrier door open.
11) Twist-tie the carrier door to the side of the cage.
12) Cover the cage partially or fully with the sheet.
If you’d prefer, you can remove the carrier with the cat inside while you’re cleaning,
of course after you’ve locked the carrier door. When you’re finished straightening up,
put the carrier back inside, bar the door with the yardstick, unlock the carrier door, close
the cage door, etc.
• Feral Cat Handler (a better way?)
The Feral Cat Handler is a product that
may be an easier-to-use alternative for the
Feral Cat Setup then the carrier and yardstick
technique. The Handler comes in the shape of
a rectangular box and has dimensions (17” L x
12” W x 12” L) similar to a small cat carrier.
It has two doors – a sliding guillotine door in
front and a small porthole with a round
cover/door on the side.
When the Feral Cat Handler is placed in a
cage, the cat enters it through the open porthole. This would comport with typical feral
behavior in seeking out dark, enclosed spaces. The cover to the porthole can be tipped
shut and into a locked position from outside the cage by reaching in with a yardstick or
something similar. In effect, the porthole and its cover serve the same purpose in the
Feral Cat Setup as the yardstick barring the door of a normal cat carrier.
The Feral Cat Handler’s porthole system is certainly faster and easier than the
yardstick method, and its sliding guillotine front door allows for much safer and easier
transfers from traps. We ourselves are not experienced enough yet in the use of the
product to fully evaluate its usefulness as part of the Feral Cat Setup, but it looks like it’s
well worth checking out. A Feral Cat Handler is essential if the cage involved is one that
only has bars in the front, like most of those in veterinary and animal control facilities.
There are no sides in those kinds of cages for a yardstick to slide through and bar a carrier
door.
The product comes in two colors, blue or white. More importantly, the guillotine
front door comes either clear or smoked grey. You definitely want the smoked grey so
the interior will be darker and more inviting to the cat. Here’s how to order:
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