If baiting, check out MI's now-required dog-proof 'coon trapping boxes on page
23, figs 2 & 3 here:
DNR - 2012 Michigan Hunting and Trapping Digest (PDF and Flash)
While not exactly cat-resistant (see fig 4 for that), they
do work for coons & GHs and my neighbor's dobermans just sniff around & leave. Only cat I caught was feral, underfed, and a bit too curious this Spring to resist a 1/4 can of shriveled tuna that had been in the box for a good 4 mos over the winter. (yuck!) PB, fruit, jelly work so well 'cuz when the scent draws 'em in from a distance. :thumbsup: (Shooting pests is still more fun.)
I use conibear 160s for most trapping, including muskrats. 220s are a beast to set & a bit wide to fit deep into a GH's hole & safely away from ol' Shep's sniffer. Got one two days ago in a spot they seem to be drawn to under a big rock on the edge of the lawn. I had rushed/missed a shot with the .22 and scared him back into the hole. Set up within minutes, and he came out within an hour or two. Haven't seen anything make it to the end of the chain with a conibear, so
disregard that option if you're worried that kitty will get too nosey. btw: Beloved buzzards have been dining and scrapping over what's left of the garden muncher, sending crows & a hawk to wing when they swoop in for a snack. "You never stand so tall as when you stoop to stomp a varmint."
