I have a guy in town that claims he has three skunks living under an old shed in his yard and he wants them removed before Halloween so kids don't kid sprayed.

I'm sure there is at least one skunk because he has 25 cats in his yard and house that he feeds outside in large bowls. I live a block away and I have them in my yard often.

My question is what kind of bait or bait/lure combo will not attract cats into the cage? Will cats be lured by tainted meat with a dab of gusto? I tried honey/cereal and marshmallows once for a coon and a cat was in the trap first! I didn't realize some cats liked super sweet foods.

I know I can just let the cats go but I dont want to waste my time over there with cages full of cats every morning either. Thanks

use a sweet bait with anise as a lure. a Qtip works good for this as a lure

Positive set?

I haven't been over there yet but I figured I would use positive sets on the shed but they might not be under there and could be coming from an abandoned house a couple blocks away. I wanted to bait a couple cages just in case.

We use our own lure for skunk and don't have trouble with cats when setting in an area that is populated with them. I would block off the shed and leave the area that is being used alone regarding blockage. Then "positive" set the entry point. They shouldn't avoid it and dig around it, but it could happen. Stay away from trailing sets. Good lure in a cage that's placed in an area where the skunk roams is all that is needed. Start over thinking things and most times it will reflect on your confidence while setting for the "desired" target and not in a good way...jmo

Buttered popcorn puffs. Awesome skunk bait, and you'll only catch the cats with mental illness!

Dogfood, works every time for me in a cage trap. They are probably there to eat the cat food, so that might work too. I set my cage traps covered with a blanket so they can only see out the end.

Marshmallows, vanilla and cheap Oreos Cookies.
Cats don't do the sweets. Use the vanilla with some butterscotch as a trailing scent. Out marshmallows around the cage and trail them into the cookies.

Skunk for sure

Cats not likely

25 cats ???
He's the one that needs removed !

There's a few people in this town that need to be removed!

I'm starting to think I should keep getting rid of the skunks ASAP because I'm quite sure half of the 100 cats in town don't have rabies shots and they are all community fed all over town. The skunks even share the same food dishes.

Duckstick80, you're in a situation where a population reduction and control trapping program makes a lot of sense for both skunks and cats. You are probably allowed by law to trap skunks (and other pests) year round. Using cage traps you get to decide which animals you get rid of and which you release.

Your neighbors will realize pretty quickly that you are reducing the skunk population and think nothing of it when they see you putting a covered trap or two in the back of your truck.

You will also have the added benefit of lots of skunks to process for fur, essence, meat (for bait making) and fat if you so chose.

I've tried Lucky charms with marshmallow topping, dried sweet plums, buttered popcorn Puffs and cookies. Every single one had a cat inside the next morning. I even added a good dose of anise seeds to the bait everytime. Tonight I'm trying nacho cheese doritos. It hasn't been the same cat twice yet so at least they are being educated some. Maybe if I catch everyone in town once I'll be able to catch the skunks.

FWIW, anise is extremely attractive to felines.
Banana pudding may help cut down on the cat catch.

I'll have to stop using anise seeds. Skunks do like nacho cheese Doritos. I have one in the cage this morning!

Sharp cheddar cheese. I have caught many a skunk using only that. Decent chunk in the back of the cage and a couple small pieces at the front to entice them in.

Problem skunk is what they're called depending on what state you reside in. Jmo, way too much overthinking for the trapping of a skunk. I have one skunk lure I use. I dip a lure stick in it and it's suspended in the rear of the cage using prevailing wind for crossing route is all I use for the majority of the sets. it's been talked about numerous times but you need trail cameras when You Face issues like this. you need to see what's going on with the job. Are they walking up to the traps or walking by the traps? Coming up to the traps but not entering the traps etc. Once you hit a certain number of days and the problem still exists, now you're wasting time and money. Trail cameras are inexpensive valuable tools for problem wildlife. Removed cover for pic. The skunk avoided homeowner traps for a little over 2 weeks and continue spraying under his shed and in the area. homeowner had a snack shop setup for it and it disregarded the whole setup.

If you can legally trap the cats, maybe consider keeping them. They will freeze solid soon enough. Once frozen simply chop in half and present in a post hole set, or compass set. A little call lure cause the meat is frozen. Even not exposed, yotes seem to know they have some big bait. All season location too.