Do you use cages if foot holds are legal - bobcats

Thanks guys. I don't really want to spend the money or time if they are less effective.

I was also worried I'd be catching coons and possums instead of cats.

Gotta video on buildinghour own cage traps on Youtube if your intrested

Stick to using foot holds. Your options are so much better then using a cage trap.

Well........being from a cage trapping state I will throw in my two bits.

As stated cages can be very selective, kick out the ones you don't want, keep the ones you do.

A lot easier and safer trapping trailheads, close to houses, without making the headlines of the daily newspaper.

And will take ALOT of weather.

Well........being from a cage trapping state I will throw in my two...

And will take ALOT of weather.

Worse thing a coon does to your bobcat cage is ruin your flagging inside the cage. Coon in your nondragged foothold ruins your entire set location.

I'm betting CRs will kill every cat you catch. I've killed cats just by using a choke stick to remove them from foot holds. They go down real easy.

Should flagging really go INside the cage?

Few freeze ups is probably what you're talking about. Though I suppose fresh snow could keep the door from closing. Rain will wash away lure.

[video:youtube]https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DtAohc2zZKRI&ved=0ahUKEwjb--7Lt6PXAhWI5oMKHTDKDqcQwqsBCCQwAA&usg=AOvVaw3DbrZpzw1EwfXBhmDqgHSv[/video]
Her ya go man ,hope it helps

a Few freeze ups is probably what you're talking about. Though I suppose fresh snow could keep the door from closing. Rain will wash away lure.

Just stack any kind of brush or natural covering on top and this will alleviate any problems with snow, rain, or freezing conditions putting your cage trap out of working condition. This alone makes them better than legholds for some purposes. Also helps conceal your traps very well, almost impossible for anyone else to find.

Good info. Thanks

Never used cages but just seems logical that it would be easier to get a cat to step on a pan of a trap than to walk into a confined space. As far as weatherproofing, a exposed trap with a enlarged pan takes a lot of weather. Not saying that cages don't have a place.

And you probably don't want to go setting a bunch of cages out In the open spaces. So I'm assuming that cages are more location specific. While you can place foot holds no matter what.
I've caught cats In cage traps but foot holds are more effective.

I started using cages several years ago because of my work hours. I always trapped beaver because it didn't matter that I couldn't check traps until late afternoon. Then I started using cages for bobcats since I could check them late and not worry about damage, etc. I played around for several years until I came up with a system that worked for me. I would place the skinned beaver carcasses in 'catty' looking places and check on them every day or so. When one would be covered with pine needles, leaves, and such I would be sure it was a cat. I would uncover the beaver carcass, drag it four or five feet away. Then I would dig a hole big enough for the beaver to be just under ground level. I then place a cat sized cage trap over the hole with the beaver just past or underneath the petal. It seemed to help if I dug a small hole just to the side of the door and added a cat dropping with a little pee or gland lure. You would be surprised how many cats I would catch the first night, and very seldom non-target species. I attribute it to the fact that the cat that covered it knows exactly where it is, and now thinks another stole his cache. While other non-target animals have trouble smelling the beaver under the cage.

Most of the time I could give a pretty good guess as to what hit on the beaver. When it disappeared completely, with a small drag trail, then guts, then disappeared....almost always coyote. When the beaver is largely eaten at the place I left it, most of the time it would be dogs..... When small portions of it are eaten it was usually coon, possum, or fox. When it's covered almost always cats. You can place several stations out and catch some pretty good catches since you don't have the traps out unless you already have a participant. It's harder to keep the carcasses from being discovered by buzzards than anything else, try to keep under thick canopy like cut-over timber. When the buzzards do find it you'll know by the feathers, or them hanging out nearby.... They hardly ever leave until everything has been picked clean.

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I think I'm going to try one.

Where coons and possums are prevalent, how would you bait/lure the cage to try to exclude them?

I've tried posting this link in Google to find it, but can't. Can you post the title of the YouTube video or you YouTube user name? Thanks!

If you want to collect pee I bet a cage makes it easier to handle the cat.

There must be a learning curve to them. Back in the late 90's I used a trap designed to keep a live chicken in. Cat tracks all around it in the snow and door closed. Several days in a row. I think it was jumping on top the cage. Chicken survived it all. I got mad and foot trapped the cat. I have used the trap as a cage several times but never set it again.

Wolfdog
Where do you get the channels that your door drops down in?

Great discussion. Lots of good information on this thread.