Kitten Paparazzi

Last Oct. I placed a left a trap in what I considered to be a secure area. Surrounded by a fence and a locked gate, I was sure that any trap I left there would be undisturbed. After about 45 minutes of trapping at other sites nearby, we checked the trap and I discovered a pissed-off soaking wet feral kitten. A nearby sprinkler had drenched him and the trap cover. We transferred him to a dry trap and Joe took him home to warm up. What might his fate have been had I decided to leave the trap out all night? At best he would have been sick, at worst he could have died from hypothermia!

I often use this as a cautionary tale about leaving traps unattended for long periods of time. Unfortunately, now I have an even more convincing story. A few months ago, I warned a trapper about leaving traps even in a "secure" area, as I told her we can never anticipate what might happen while we are away. She assured me that she had done it lots of times and that there was enough physical security to prevent the traps from being disturbed. On sun morning she checked her traps to discover a cat  that had been killed by dogs. If you arm a trap and leave it somewhere, what happens to the cat is your responsibility! Helpless inside the trap, I can only imagine the terror the cat went through while being killed. Do yourself and the cats a favor and don't leave traps unattended!