Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A pre-dawn attempt: The Quack walked right in...and out!

I was determined to carry out Plan B.

So before 6am, I had already fed Ginger and my brood.

I then went to the pavilion with a carrier, a towel and one piece of fish head. If the Quack was there, maybe we'd try Plan A (the grab-with-towel plan. It worked with Abg G, for Maslinda). Maybe Francis could help too.


 Francis had finished feeding the pavilion cats. I asked if the Quack came to eat this morning, Francis said no.



"That's him fighting with another cat", Francis said. Yes, we heard the sound of catfight in the distance.


Francis went to check. Yes, the Quack was fighting with another Bunny-coloured community cat at the other road. Gosh, how big is his territory? I come, I snarl, I conquer? What a rogue!


Our plan would be that Francis does NOT feed the Quack so that he would be hungry enough to walk into my trap. After all, he does come into my compound. Francis went for his walk, so I went back to my house. 



I took Ginger out for his walk and Daffodil came by for their morning family gathering.




 


 Peace in the early dawn.


Suddenly, Rosie was on guard and she crouched low. Rosie was so afraid she hid behind the big flower pot. It's the Quack!! I saw his tail. He had sneaked under one of our cars.


Quick, lay the trap!!



 Trap laid, very quickly. No time to lay the outside trail. The inside trail only had a few kibbles. That would do. No time to waste. I even threw in an extra fish head at the far corner of the trap to lure him. The smell was so strong, surely he would come.



Lock Rosie up.



 I hid and waited.



 Rosie was making a racket and pleading to be let out.



So I had to stay with Rosie and I prayed hard Daffodil would not be trapped.


The smell of the fish was so strong, we could even smell it from the patio.



Dawn broke and nothing happened. It was all quiet.



 Daffodil was outside my gate and this usually means the Quack is near.



 What's happening??



 As I sat with Rosie and Ginger at the patio, someone came a-peeking.



 Daffodil is hungry. She's still very scared, but she knows she can get food here.


This means, Daffodil had by-passed the trap. Oh good.



 What's happening, what's happening??



 Shh...quiet everyone. Shh..


Don't move a muscle. Be still.



 There he is...shh. Be still. Keep calm.


The Quack looked, then disappeared.


After a few minutes, I went out to check, tip-toed on barefoot.



 Oh my gosh...the Quack is INSIDE the trap!!


Oh yay!! Er...why didn't it slam shut?


He was inside happily eating the few kibbles on the newspapers and sniffing at the newspaper. I waited...but nothing happened.


I then approached slowly and gingerly...I had no idea what I was going to do, though. Maybe grab him with that towel or something?


The Quack sensed me coming near, so he backed out (on reverse gear), nonchalantly, like nobody's business, as though saying, "Well, it isn't much, but thank you for those few kibbles, you stingy-pot, you."


And he was walked away. Very calmly. Very slowly.


My heart sank...completely.


Now, why didn't the trap door slam shut? I went to test the trap. Hey, it works. The door is supposed to slam shut (by then, the Quack was far away and I tested the hook and door without making any sound). It does work.


Then I figured out why. He never touched the (fried fish head) bait at all! He only ate the kibbles on the trail. He wasn't even attracted to the fish head I had thrown at the far corner of the trap.


Is he smart or am I dumb? Both, I guess.



 Our friend came back soon.



 He walked in. I held my breath.



 And he sat.



 And he sat, while I too sat at a distance.


Mr Quack, there's fish in there, you know...fish? Nice delicious fish...


Nope, he wasn't falling for it. He just sat. And looked.



 Later, I tried Connie's idea of putting kibbles with some catnip.
What was there to lose, right? It's already The Quack - 3, Human -0.


Daffodil came for the catnip while the Quack looked on from behind.


Rosie (who had been let out now) was also going for the catnip, so that's that for the day. I removed the trap and called it for the day before Rosie got trapped! I have to go to work too.


If you are an experienced trapper and would like to help, I welcome you with open arms!


Help...!


Cats are highly evolved beings. Maybe that's why the Egyptians worshiped them!

7 comments:

Yen Ling said...

Quack is good looking! He has a 'leng chai' look. ;p Quack, Y U no eat fish head?

Andy said...

Some cats do not like fish. Er... may be replace with a chicken ?

Joy E. Saga said...

Last time we put a plank inside the trap. Light enough that it won't shut with it being there, and small enough to fit inside. Then when you pull up the door latch, you need to put the angle at just where it will keep it open without closing (at the edge - so any cats walk in and step on the trap, will release the catch and the door closes). Why we put the plank is so that there is enough weight to ensure that the door shuts. Some cats are light. Then u put the plate of wetfood right at the end of the trap slowly after setting it up. It worked when i manage to trap a Tom (and got bitten by Maori after).

Agnes said...

This cage works exactly like a wire-cage mouse trap. One slight tug at the bait (which must be securely tied to the hook) will trigger the door to slam shut as the movement of the bait will cause the wire (about 6ins long on top of the cage) to slide out of the ring. It's this wire set 1mm inside the ring that holds up the trap door.

Notes: (1) Make sure it's only 1mm of the wire that protrudes outside the ring. (2) The metal bar (which prevents the door from opening once it is closed) has to be moved to above the door when the trap is set. This bar will slide down as the door closes.

Why it failed??? Quack does not like overnight stale fish or the wire did not slide out of the ring because of the towel placed over it???

Agnes said...

Useful to have a long stick or pole ready. When you are sure that Quack's whole body (including his tail) is inside the cage and the cage still doesn't slam shut, use the stick to quickly but noiselessly slide the ring off the wire, without him noticing you! The cage will surely slam shut!

When he's caught, don't attempt to transfer him to a carrier or do anything. He would be banging his head on the walls of the cage, causing redness on his nose. You can cover the carrier with a towel and send him to the vet as he is.

chankahyein said...

The stick sounds a good idea. thanks!

nandhini sivanna said...

Tie a string to the bait and pull it when quack is inside?