Borrowing Traps
Many organizations lend traps. A rental fee or a refundable deposit may be required. The lending period may be limited, so it is important to plan your project, make clinic appointments and have a trajectory for cats BEFORE trapping, so you are not unnecessarily tying up equipment that other people need. Below are some of the organizations that lend traps. For additional resources, see also TNR Organizations.
Tree House Humane Society, 7225 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60645, 773-262-4000, info@treehouseanimals.org
PAWS Chicago, 3516 W. 26th St., Chicago, IL 60623, 773-529-7721 clinic@pawschicago.org
Harmony House for Cats, 2914 N. Elston Ave, Chicago IL 60618, 773-293-6103, mellowthecat@gmail.com
C.A.R.E, 4927 Main St, Skokie, IL 60077, 847-705-2653, CARE@CAREnorthshore.org
CatVanDo, Maywood, IL 708-829-6013, catvandotnr@yahoo.com
Cats in Action, Chicago, IL, 773-898-9899 (North side) or 773-517-2578 (South side), info@catsinaction.org
Hinsdale Humane Society, 21 Salt Creek Lane, Hinsdale, IL, 630 323-5630, info@hinsdalehumanesociety.org
Triple R Pets, La Grange, Tinley Park, Chicago Heights, IL 708-738-1438, triplerpets.org/request-help
NAWS, Mokena, IL, 708-478-5102
Paws & Claws, Evanston, IL, info@pawsandclawscatrescue.org
Paws for a Cause Vet Care (f.k.a. Spay Illinois), Naperville, IL pcvetcare.org, 630-961-8000
Red Door, 2410 W. Lunt, Chicago IL, 773 764-2242, info@reddoorshelter.org
West Loop Library, 122 N. Aberdeen, Chicago, IL 60607, westloop@chipublib.org, 312-744-2995
Buying Traps
If you plan on trapping more than just a few cats, or if you want to help other people with TNR, we highly recommend investing in your own equipment. In our opinion, the best, safest feral cats traps on the market are manufactured by TruCatch. TruCatch traps feature gravity-fed rings for a “soft” close, which are a safer option for kittens and cat tails that may be in the entrance when the trap door closes. Metal bars are coated to eliminate sharp edges. Traps have a back door, which enables quick loading of bait and easier caretaking of cats while they are in the trap. The standard feral cat trap is the 30LTD. FatCat traps are both wider and taller than standard traps. They are a great option for cats that are large toms, injured, pregnant or trap-shy.
TruCatch has a trap donation program. If you would like to donate a trap to Cats in Action, click here. Tomahawk has more recently come out with the GT606 Neighborhood Cats Gravity Trap , which is similar to the TruCatch trap with gravity-fed rings. Traps that have a spring-loaded angled trap door are indeed effective in trapping cats. However, the trap door can come down very quickly, potentially injuring cats. Kittens very often follow each other into a trap, so one kitten can trigger the trip plate while another kitten is closer to the entrance where the door comes down. We do not recommend using “snap traps” for trapping kittens.
Standard 30LTD
FatCat 30FCD