Trapping FAQs

If I think the cat may be friendly, should I try to pet him while he's in the trap?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

What's worse than a large dog's jaws crushing your bones?  Having a feral cat turn you into coleslaw!

A seasoned director of a popular veterinary clinic that sterilizes thousands of feral cats and rescues countless dogs from illegal dog fighting rings every year admitted that she would rather have a 145 lb. Rottweiler attack her than to tangle with a feral cat.

Large dogs have powerful jaws that can crush bone, but you may be able to protect yourself if you know what to expect.  A trapped and frightened or provoked feral cat can be like a whirlwind of razor blades.  They don't know what your intentions are and they will defend themselves as if their lives depend on it.  Cat's teeth are sharp, long and thin, allowing them to deeply penetrate and deposit dangerous bacteria (second only to human oral bacteria), whereas a dog's teeth & jaws tend to deliver crushing power.  Also, unlike cats, dogs do not have sharp claws that can slice & dice like an infomercial product.

Every experienced feral cat veteran will advise:  DO NOT mess with a feral cat.  They look sweet and docile like your domesticated cats, but they are wild, and like all living beings, will defend their lives if cornered and threatened. 

That is not to say that feral cats are vicious animals.  Humans cannot even come close to feral cats unless the cats are trapped or deliberately cornered.  Consider how many joggers have been attacked by a feral cat -- about the same number that have been attacked by a raccoon.  It never happens!  Wild, undomesticated animals avoid humans.

Depending on the circumstances and officials involved, if you get close enough to provoke a feral cat to bite you, you have just killed the feral cat.  Why?  Because in order to prevent a human enduring the very painful rabies pre-treatment process, officials will need to test to determine if the cat is rabid.  The only way they can do that with a feral cat, who lacks rabies tags & an owner to verify rabies vaccination, is to euthanize and decapitate the cat. 

Remember, your mission when interacting with a feral cat is to avoid contact at all costs, for your sake and that of the cat.