Using Motion Alarms to Catch Cats
A motion alarm can be used to alert you when an animal has been caught in a trap or enters the house, garage, or porch, etc. This can drastically increase trapping success!
Types of motion alarms include baby monitors and driveway motion alarms. For best results, these should be used in conjunction with some sort of live video surveillance.
Alternatively, you could use a security camera or cellular wildlife camera by itself. For more information, see Surveillance Cameras.
Humane Trap Alarms
Using a motion alarm on a humane trap can:
- Significantly improve the likelihood of catching your lost cat by releasing non-target captures (e.g. other cats and wildlife) as quickly as possible. Any time that another animal spends stuck in your trap is time lost catching your own cat.
- Reduce the stress and potential risk to any animal caught in your trap by getting them out as soon as possible.
- Reduce the risk of your cat escaping the trap. I have seen cats escape several models of humane cage traps.
- Reduce the chance that your cat will see another animal in the trap and might avoid entering it. (Note: I have seen instances of a cat seeing another trapped cat and still entering the trap themselves.)
"House Trap" Alarms
You can also use a motion alarm to alert you when an animal enters your house or another part of your property. This is most effective when creating a "house trap" and works best when used with video surveillance.
If you leave a door or window open into your house, your cat may enter and then leave again without you ever knowing. This is even more common if you leave a door open to a porch, shed or garage. Sometimes a lost cat will enter a garage or basement and then hide so well that they aren't found.
Types of Motion Alarms Available
There are three types of motion alarms available.
- Baby monitors simply amplify the sound outside, which can help you hear an animal caught in a trap or a cat meowing at the front door.
- Driveway alarms sense motion and trigger a beeping alarm in your house.
- Surveillance cameras with apps. When motion is detected by the camera, a notification will be sent to your cell phone.
Baby Monitors
The simplest and cheapest type of motion alarm available is an audio or video baby monitor. The transmitter end can be placed near the humane trap. You should be able to hear when the trap door shuts and then some noise as the trapped animal tries to escape. This will likely only work immediately around your home, so be sure to test the range of the monitor.
If you aren't trapping, the baby monitor transmitter can also be placed near a bowl of dry food either inside your home or right outside your door. You should be able to hear an animal eating the dry food and will need to check and see if it is your cat or another animal.
In a few cases, a baby monitor has been placed outside a door, and helped the owner hear their cat meowing when they came home in the middle of the night.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion:
An audio baby monitor works best for monitoring a trap in a garage, porch or basement. They can also be used outside, but requires a power cord and protection from wet weather.
A video baby monitor can also be used to monitor an open door or window for a "house trap." These generally don't have a video time lag of a second or more found in wifi cameras. This can be critical for a drop trap or garage trap.
Examples of Audio and Video Baby Monitors
Driveway Motion Alarms
When a driveway alarm detects motion, it triggers an audio alarm inside your house. These can be used to detect motion in a trap or at an entrance to your home. If placed around your home, make sure that your cat cannot hear the alarm go off inside or this might scare them back outside.
Driveway alarms range from $20 to $100+. The cheapest ones are less reliable and will only work immediately around your home. The more expensive ones may work up to 1/4 mile or more from your home. I primarily use the Chamberlain Motion Alarm available on Amazon.com. In my experience, the actual range of the motion alarm is often half of the reported range. Be sure to test that the alarm actually works after you set it up.
Motion alarms are available online, but not in most hardware or department. However, I have seen a few of the cheaper ones at Tractor Supply Co and Harbor Freight Tools.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion:
Best for use on traps around your home. Loud alarm is sure to wake you up so you can check the trap immediately. This increases your chances of trapping your cat.
Also works well to monitor traps that require live monitoring such as enclosure or drop traps. Lets you sleep until an animal shows up.
Examples of Driveway Motion Alarms
Other Types of Trap Alarms
Many surveillance cameras and some wildlife cameras work with apps that will send an alert to your phone. See Surveillance Camera options to learn more.
There are some GPS and cellular trap alarms that don’t have the range limitations of wireless models. These are considerably more expensive and require a monthly subscription plan.
Trap Monitoring Devices are available at:
One other cheap option, is a wifi contact sensor such as those used in the Wyze Sense Starter Kit. These can be attached to a trap door to alert you when it is closed.
How to Set Up a Trap Alarm
If you use a motion activated alarm, you want to ensure that the alarm won't go off unless the animal is in the trap. You don't want to risk going outside too soon and scaring your cat away. Either place a board across from the alarm or cover the the trap (and alarm) with a towel. Alternatively, point the alarm downwards.
Either zip-tie the alarm to a board or the trap itself. Alternatively, place the alarm on a block of wood or container next to the trap.
The alarm can be placed across the back of the trap or near the entrance. Don't run outside the first time the alarm goes off because your cat may not have set off the trap. Wait for it to beep repeatedly.
Example Trap Alarm Set Ups
Trap with motion alarm zip-tied to back end of a trap. A piece of wood placed across from the alarm will prevent the alarm from being set off by animals outside the trap.
Trap with motion alarm zip-tied to board placed at the back end of a large trap. The alarm is angled downward so that the animal must be in the trap to trigger it.
Trap Alarm Demo
Here is a video of my dog entering a trap that is armed with a driveway motion alarm. In this case, I attached the alarm to a piece of wood and angled it downward. This way the alarm should not go off when an animal walks around the outside of the trap. For the video, I placed the alarm receiver next to the video camera, so you could hear when it beeped. Normally the receiver would be in the house with you and the trapped animal wouldn’t hear it.
