How to Effectively Bait a Humane Cat Trap

Baiting Tips

• Don’t skimp on the bait!  Use something that your cat would love and is preferably very smelly.  Some suggestions are rotisserie chicken, tuna in oil, sardines or a fish-based wet cat food.  Most important though is to select something that you know your cat will eat. 
• If your cat prefers one specific food, this is probably the best bait to use.  If your cat doesn’t love fish or is on a special diet (that they like), then don’t use tuna or sardines just because someone told you they work best for trapping.  Likewise, if your cat only eats dry food, then use dry food.
• You don’t need a lot of bait.  Place 3-4 tablespoons or ¼ cup in the back of the trap behind the trip plate.  A small bowl, piece of cardboard, or half a paper plate all work well.  Using the can is not recommended since these often have sharp edges that may injure your cat.  I also do not recommend placing the food on the ground under the trap.  If you move the trap, this will leave behind food and/or food odors.  Also, don’t squish the food through the top of the trap because this will leave a lot of food odor on the outside of the trap. 
• Many cats are reluctant to enter a humane cat trap.  To get them to enter more quickly, you may need to lure them into the trap.  Place a teaspoon of wet food (or a few pieces of dry food or cat treats) at the entrance of the trap and another halfway to the trip plate. You can also place a small amount of food around 6" to a foot outside the front of the trap.  
•  If using wet food, be sure to change out any uneaten food every day.

Attracting Your Cat From Farther Away

If you placed the trap near the likely point of escape, I do NOT recommend using additional food lures to attract your cat from farther away.  There’s already a decent chance that your cat will be attracted back to that location, so it is not worth the risk of potentially attracting other cats or wildlife.  

However, if you are trapping farther away from home (even the back yard), you may want to try “chumming” to spread the food odors farther away.  One method is smearing wet cat food or tuna fish on nearby tree trunks.  Alternately, you could mix some of the food or tuna oil/water into a spray bottle with water and spray it around the immediate area.  Other strong odors include clam juice, Liquid Smoke or commercial hunting lures.

Using Non-Food Baits and Lures

If you are concerned about attracting other animals to your trap, you might want to try some of these non-food bait alternatives.  These alternatives may also be used in conjunction with food.  Keep in mind that your lost cat needs to find food to survive and if you do not put out food, then they may travel somewhere else where food is available.  Some non-food options may also potentially attract other cats or predators.

You could try adding a scent article such as some bedding or fur from your missing cat or other pets in your household that your cat has a strong bond.  Like food, these could also attract other cats or possibly predators.  If other cats spray (i.e. scent-mark) your scent articles, remove them. 

Alternatively, you could use a scent article that smells like you or another person that your cat has a strong bond.  The usefulness of this method is well-documented with lost dogs but not so much for lost cats.  However, owner scent articles are not likely to attract other cats and may even scare away predators, so it certainly can’t hurt to try. 

The best location for these scent articles is on the floor of the trap or on top of the trap.  Keep in mind that these items may be destroyed by any trapped animals, so don’t use anything that you really like.  You could also place scent articles up in a bush or tree to spread the scent farther, but make sure that they do not blow in the wind, which could scare your cat. 

Cat litter or feces are not recommended as attractants.  See the section on Cat Litter under Luring your Cat.

Some people try using other types of scent lures such as catnip or Valerian root, but there isn’t any evidence on whether these work well.  If your cat likes catnip, this could be something to try, but this may also attract other cats.  Research has found that stressed cats are less likely to be affected by catnip.  If you do use cat nip, only place it in the very back of the trap.  You don’t want to risk any intoxicated cats rolling around in the front of the trap and accidentally setting it off too soon.