Trap Depot & Administrative Office:
912 NE 2nd St Gainesville FL 32601
Open Tuesday-Saturday 11am-5pm
Operation Catnip’s inventory of humane, live traps is available for use by the public to trap and transport cats for our spay-neuter clinics.
We do not loan our traps for the purposes of trapping wildlife.
Requirements to borrow a trap:
A photo ID and a deposit is required to borrow a trap. Accepted deposits are a valid credit or debit card number or check, in an amount equaling the value of the number of traps loaned ($70 per regular trap or feral box, and $100 per drop trap). No funds are held or withdrawn electronically, and no payment is processed at the time of loan, but fees ($10 per trap) may apply upon return of the trap if it is late, damaged, or dirty. Full replacement fees will be charged if a trap is not returned at all or returned damaged beyond repair.
How many traps should I get?
Caregivers should plan to borrow as many traps as they have cats, and as many traps as can safely be transported in a covered vehicle. There is no limit on the number of traps a person may borrow, provided we have enough in stock to loan.
Each cat must have its own individual trap. If, during trapping, two cats are trapped in the same trap, please do not try and separate them in the field, as you may risk releasing one of the cats. Instead, bring the trap with two cats in it to the clinic, along with a second empty trap. We will be happy to separate the cats once they’ve been anesthetized and can be safely handled.
What if I don’t trap all the cats?
We know that trapping can be an art, and that the cats don’t always cooperate! If you don’t catch all the cats you were hoping for for your clinic, feel free to reschedule online or by contacting us. We will be happy to set you up with another clinic date so that you can try again. If you have additional traps that you are no longer using, we would appreciate it if you could return them during our office hours, so that other caregivers may have the chance to use them.
What’s the sheet for?
We will provide a clean trap cover with each trap. Cover any trap that has a cat inside, as this helps keep them calm.
How do I clean the traps?
All traps that have held an animal (cat or otherwise) inside of them must be cleaned before return to Operation Catnip, ready for use by the next caregiver and cat! To clean the trap, first remove any debris inside such a animal waste or newspaper. We also request that you remove the blue masking tape on the bite plate, used to label the trap with your cat’s ID, as the longer this tape stays on, the harder it is to remove. You can rinse it with a hose or submerge it in a tub of clean water. Using a regular dish soap, scrub the four walls of the trap and the trip plate inside. Allow it to air-dry. Launder the sheet if possible, but if you can’t, just let us know at trap return and we will put the cover in our laundry.
Transportation Requirements:
We do not allow cats to be transported in the bed of a pick-up truck. They must travel in a climate-controlled vehicle. If you have significantly more cats to trap than you can transport over the course of three separate trapping appointments, contact us, we may be able to offer assistance.
To protect your vehicle, we highly recommend laying down first a non-absorbent material such as sheet plastic or a trash bag, and then an absorbent material such as towels or a comforter on top. It’s quite possible that the cats will urinate or defecate, especially when stressed by the movement of a vehicle. This protective layering of materials underneath the traps works well to keep your car safe and clean!