Cats - attraction?

On my place - cats are the only thing that consistently kick my butt - mess up lot of my sets. When I start trapping next fall - I will start w some double sets to help w that - been too lazy on the double sets

Wanted to see if anybody had experience w this - same trapper buddy that put me on peat moss told me this and I blew him off on it. I told him my trap troubles w cats messing up my sets - he said - just get a silver Christmas ornament and hang it on a limb about 3 foot above your trap - he said - a cat is curious by nature - he will eventually try to grab or at least check out that ornament - he said - u can’t lead a coyote - but u can sure lead a cat (think i remember Deadeye saying on here u can’t direct/lead a coyote). Anyway - I blew what he was saying off - doubted him. Then I see basically the same thing on a trapping show. Guy used a white index card hanging above trap And he was catching cats w it - card just flaps and twirls in the wind about 3’ above trap - cats get curious

Any of u guys try anything like this? I will be doing the silver ornament next fall. Guy that told me this catches bunch animals and I wish I would hav listend earlier and he already has given me Other good tips

Use a feather.

Cubby hole sets and trench sets for cats

Thanks Deadeye

What is a cubby hole set ? Never heard that one

Watch this video from Clint Locklear.

Clint Locklear Bobcat Trapping, how too

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Dang that is interesting- good stuff Squadron - I catch coyotes - very hard on fox - I am pissing up hill w cats - that’s good stuff - thanks man

A cubby hole set works very much like a trench set
They both funnel the cat to the bait site and they cannot circle around or come from the sides
The cubby hole is a stack of sticks and brush that is in the shape of a V and about 24” front to back and no more than 14”-16” at the open end
The bait hole and lure is at the back of the cubby hole and the trap is bedded 16”-18” from the back of the cubby hole
To commit to the lure or bait he has to go to the trap first
This is basically the way the trench set works

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Good stuff

Never done - will try

This may sound stupid - on A cubby set do u always use 1 trap r do u sometimes us 2?

When it comes to trapping there are no stupid questions
The way the cubby hole set works is the cat will stay in the middle so it won’t touch the sides and the trap will cover most of the opening from the center to the sides
You could put a trap right in the opening and then another 6”-8” inside if you want

Thanks Deadeye - never done before - makes lot of sense

I use a lot of limbs and wood making a cat set. Way too much for a coyote set. It looks almost like a kids play fort at times. I put sticks across the top of the V sometimes. One thing I do is put a stick down in front of the trap so the cat has to step over the stick and onto the pan. You can use guide sticks to make the cat step where you want. The top of the thread mentioned using something to get their attention. An old CD tied with fishing line will spin and get their attention. Only tried that once but it worked.

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Good stuff

I made a bunch of cat attractors once, a piece of trotline cord, a fishing swivel in the middle and a turkey wing feather. The feather will spin in the slightest breeze, hang above your sets Worked real well.

Thanks man

I like a big flashy double dirt hole set for cats. Coyotes seem to shy away, so I will put a flat set in within 20-30 yards with the same bait/lure and that will usually catch them. Setting on sign will catch them over anything, whether it be tracks, a toilet or just historic sign. Cats are much easier to catch than coyotes, you can guide them easily, it is just finding consistent sign that is the hard part.

You are the second person I hav heard say cats are easier - they been eating my lunch - coyotes for me been way easier

But I think it’s been all me screwing up - I ready to catch one now w all this info - May start back trapping in Oct if work allows - so hot right now I gone let them hav it

I know a guy who hangs a CD about 4’ off the ground to catch a cats attention. It works well.

That works well on Cougars... Some folks hang them in front of their trail cams to get pics

I've always thought bobcats were much easier to catch than coyotes or fox, but I have never tried to catch them in warm weather. I have mainly caught them with regular dirt hole sets, using a downed limb or something similar as a backing. I wanted a backing that they could see over, but something high enough that they couldn't approach from behind.

A visual attractant of some kind really helps. I thought the best was bird feathers placed over a tall weed, with cat lure on it. Skin out a section of breast feathers and use something like a dogfennel plant to punch a hole through the skin and keep the feathers up off the ground. The feathers don't have to be right over the trap; just somewhere near enough to get his attention so that he will see the dirt hole. For bait, it's better for cats to use a fresh bait. I don't think anything beats part of a rabbit. Put the rabbit piece in the dirt hole and make sure that some fur is visible. A cat walking a road cannot resist checking out a set like this.

I mainly used rancid beaver for the fox and coon dirt hole sets. I would catch a beaver early in the fall and cut the meat into small chunks, then put it all into a quart jar and leave it outside. It would be very rank by the time I used it. Occasionally, I would get a bobcat in a fox set with the beaver bait, but most of them were caught with a fresh bait. I never passed up a road killed rabbit when I was trapping.

Y'all catch all of them.

Thanks guys - I ready to trap - wish it was early October - gone let it cool off - but ready

My cats kicked me in the nutts - surprisingly - fox seemed easiest - I would hv assumed they the smartest - but my sets may hav been unknowingly geared more for them - they were not geared for cats - good info for me on this thread for cats

I've caught cats with flashy sets but got to where I don't make them alot because they seem to make coyotes shy away. Soul taker and hell fire work good for me when it cools off for cats. Caught several with fresh baby dead chickens and skunky lures also. I've tried cubby sets several times without any luck. Sure I'm not doing something right.

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Soul taker and Hell Fire 🤣 cool names - i got to try that

I use Hiawatha a lot and wind walker and Cronic dog among others - but I gone try that. Like what u and PCP saying about real animals - want to try the rabbit

Dunlap makes them, work great for me

Hope to start trapping soon - bumping this up to top - lot of good tips In it