this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2025
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BULLSHIT, I specifically have LOTs of experience tapping cats - for the local humane society usually to neuter. The thing is they aren't easy to trap, and once you successfully trap a certain cat, it's going to super warry of that trap for 6-8months. You have to completely rebuild its trust in the trap if you want to catch it again. Cats aren't dumb, especially about this type of thing. And they are not super likely to enter the trap at all without the sides being covered, so they can't see the mesh wireing. I used to be the moderator of R/live_trapping on Reddit before I left.
Most cats aren't.
Also, one thing you might have failed to notice in the picture, is that good little Frank there appears to be orange.
Now, I assume some orange cats aren't completely dumb as fuck... but that's evidently not the case with exhibit one in the OP.
Like you said, cats aren't dumb. There's something called trap happy - when an animal comes to associate the trap with good things and willingly triggers it multiple times in response.
Just like in the wild, this is probably due to getting a free zero-effort meal out of it. It probably also helps that a domestic cat already associates human smells with food and safety, whereas a feral cat will be wary and prone to extreme panic when caught.
I've had this experience with non target species before, specifically with skunks. I must have trapped two dozen skunks over the years, I had to elevate my traps due to that. I have yet to experience that with a cat, but it makes sense and I believe you.
Ha! Skunks are one step away from domesticating themselves, the fearless furry little bastards. Though I'd be fearless too if I carried around a chemical weapon everywhere I went.
I've caught my neighbors cats repeatedly. One is like the Tasmanian devil on meth, releasing that one is a pain in the ass, the other one is super sweet and doenst want to go home lol. (Probably wants peace and quiet from the murder kitty)