A cat is very purposeful about where to place their feet. They constantly look before stepping. When they see that big square pan, they will place their foot right in the center on purpose. The more that flat, stable surface stands out, the more likely they will step on the middle of it.

^^ this man knows cat trappin

Don’t remember any catch photos of cats caught in that set up by Carl that I can remember seeing but my memory is getting shorter. LOL I might of missed them. The problem this year was smaller non target furbearers going in and out of the cubbies removing the waxed dirt from the pans I don’t think some cats would like cold steel to step on with those sensitive paws.

Law dog i read all your baited cubby thread.pretty slick how you set those up! I don't post on here much but this weather has got my trapping completely shut down.kinda wish now I would have set something like that up in anticipation of this weather.

They are not weatherproof but a little overhang can help some I need to make a full roof and see how that works in bad weather, sleet and ice are a set killer. Not bashing your post I just put dirt on my pans for texture try the paper a cats foot thing it might clear some of that up. I think adding a piece of shingle for texture might help with some cats.

I have debated puting shingles on a few to try out.i do still cover probably 75% of my sets tho.

I don't use alot of cubbies but il put some of these out on occasion.made from welded wire fence with burlap attached to it.

I keep them flat till I get out to the set location and bend them how I want and throw leaves and grass over them.makes for a less time consuming set

The set before I put guiding in

Here in arkansas we cant use any exposed bait.but with these you can throw real feathers in the back if you want because they cant be seen from above

I use alot of walk through sets like this.sorry for the red circles.its an illustration i sent to a friend to show where the trap was and where a track was

When I cover my pan I use a nylon screen then cover with waxed dirt the flick out anything that might be a problem lump wise , when I’m done it’s a level shelf with a sweet spot over the pan. Sometimes the smaller critters going in and out while going over the trap can make a mess out of that I think a shingle would do better in that situation harder to move.

Is a cubby considered exposed there the long barrels work the best to hide the bait the shorter barrels get some tall folded grass and leaves tossed over the baits.

The way I interpret our law it is.but eaven then I still don't use real feathers much

I have also thought about taking some spray glue and spraying the pan,then sprinkling some fine dirt or sand on it.

I’d do that way ahead of time and sun bake it to dry the glue, I was thinking a wire clip kind of like a over size money type clip or bobby type pins to hold the shingle on the pan. A short bolt through the pan would have the lest odor.

Since I have a spotted skunk messing with one of my sets I’m going to add a piece of shingle seeing I can’t keep dirt on it anyway.

Yep your probably right.i already have shingles laying around.dont know why i would go out and buy glue lol.when all this stuff melts off,I'm going to give it a try.

Exposed pans work great with a red laser pointed dead center of it.

Right on brother! lol