Time and financial costs of programs for live trapping feral cats.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the time and financial costs of programs for live trapping feral cats and determine whether allowing cats to become acclimated to the traps improved trapping effectiveness.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study.


METHODS
107 feral cats in 9 colonies.


METHODS
15 traps were set at each colony for 5 consecutive nights, and 5 traps were then set per night until trapping was complete. In 4 colonies, traps were immediately baited and set; in the remaining 5 colonies, traps were left open and cats were fed in the traps for 3 days prior to the initiation of trapping. Costs for bait and labor were calculated, and trapping effort and efficiency were assessed.


RESULTS
Mean +/- SD overall trapping effort (ie, number of trap-nights until at least 90% of the cats in the colony had been captured or until no more than 1 cat remained untrapped) was 8.9 +/- 3.9 trap-nights per cat captured. Mean overall trapping efficiency (ie, percentage of cats captured per colony) was 98.0 +/- 4.0%. There were no significant differences in trapping effort or efficiency between colonies that were provided an acclimation period and colonies that were not. Overall trapping costs were significantly higher for colonies provided an acclimation period.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that these live-trapping protocols were effective. Feeding cats their regular diets in the traps for 3 days prior to the initiation of trapping did not have a significant effect on trapping effort or efficiency in the present study but was associated with significant increases in trapping costs.
Nutter
Felicia B
FB
Environmental Medicine Consortium and Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
Stoskopf
Michael K
MK
Levine
Jay F
JF
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000191:economics*; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D002369:Castration / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D002415:Cats / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011155:Population Control / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies