TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
Feral Cat Handler
White with clear or smoked door (No. 711 or 712); $49.50 (1 to 5), $47.30 (6+)
Blue with clear or smoked door (No. 721 or 722); $52.80 (1 to 5); $50.60 (6+)
Available from Tomahawk
1-800-272-8727; www.livetrap.com (click on “feral cat handler”)
A similar product called the Feral Cat Den is also available. It’s smaller (15” L x
11” W x 10” H) and only comes with a clear front door:
Feral Cat Den
White with clear door (Model M-FDWC); $49.00
Granite with clear door (M-FDGC), $52.00
Available from Animal Care Equipment & Services (ACES)
1-800-338-ACES; www.animal-care.com/cata06a.htm (listed on the website
under Safeguard Products)
• Trap-to-carrier transfers
A trap-to-carrier transfer should be a rare event and typically is not necessary during a
TNR project. Whenever possible, the cat should be confined and transported in the trap.
This is safer for all involved and lessens the opportunity for an escape. However, if
you’re using the Feral Cat Setup, you may need to transfer into a small carrier so that the
cat can be placed inside the cage.
If the carrier is a Feral Cat Handler from Tomahawk or a Feral Cat Den from ACES,
then the transfer from a trap is relatively easy and similar to a trap-to-trap transfer. (See
“Trap-to-trap transfer” in Chapter 8.) The Handler is butted up against a wall or
something immovable and its guillotine door is lined up with the rear door of the trap.
The trap at this point should be covered with a sheet. Weight is applied to hold the trap
down and, if a second person is present, she should hold the Handler in place. Both the
rear trap door and Handler front door are lifted and the sheet on the trap is unfolded
towards the Handler, causing the cat to move from light to dark and into the carrier. A
trap divider to gently push him forward may be needed if that doesn’t work. Both doors
are shut when the cat is inside.
If you’re transferring into a normal carrier with a
swinging front door, the process is trickier and requires
even more care. Butt the back of the carrier up against
an immovable object like a wall and open the carrier
door as far as it will go to the side. Then move the trap
so that its rear door is up against the front of the carrier,
blocking the carrier’s opening (Figure 6). Notice how the
carrier’s front door is positioned to the side, away from
the trap. If there are two people, one person holds the
carrier in place, the other keeps the trap from moving. If
you’re doing this alone, make sure the carrier is firmly
Figure 6
against the wall and cannot shift as long as your weight
is on the trap.
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