First time TNR and trapped a pregnant kitty! Nervous and accepting all advice.
Me and my husband trapped a skittish mom yesterday (Saturday 4th). This is our first time ever doing anything like this. We are really nervous about caring for her properly until her surgery on Monday morning and during recovery. She is so small and currently very frightened. 🥺
Her visits have been a little unpredictable, so we took advantage of seeing her around and decided to set the trap a little early even if just to see how she would react. Surprisingly, she went in right away and at first was so distracted by the little bit of tuna that she didn't even notice the trap door closing. Because of the pregnancy, she was our first priority in trapping so we were relieved by how well this first part went.
I borrowed the Tru Catch trap from a feral cat organization and it didn't come with a divider. At first, she was very quiet so we were able to just quickly slide in a bit of wet food and some water through a small opening of the back door while she was cowering on the other end of the trap. She immediately devoured the pate once she was left alone, and spent most of the first few hours lying down in a corner. She peed and we cleaned it up before going to bed. We're keeping the trap inside the bathtub in a guest restroom for easier cleanup, in the dark and covered with a blanket.
Overnight, I woke up to some noise and checked just to see that she'd gotten a little feisty, knocking over the little bit of water we had left and spooking herself. She's now quietly growling and sometimes hissing when I approach. Because of this, I couldn't figure out how to safely change the puppy pad we used to line inside the trap. We're also planning on giving her a bit more food and water before stopping overnight, so I have to see if she calms down a little. I hope she won't be too stressed out by being inside the trap for over a day plus the recovery time.
I have no idea how far along she is in her pregnancy, she is a tiny cat and I don't know enough to assess this. We really really cannot accommodate kittens so I can only hope she is eligible for surgery and all goes well. I am pretty anxious and wish I could just take her to the vet already, but for feral appointments we must wait until Monday morning. I know it's just one day but right now it's feeling like an eternity!
Please let me know if you have important advice, especially on keeping her as comfortable as possible in the trap, handling things without a trap divider, and anything else we need to know. She will appreciate it a lot. :)