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No Help Available For Ferals?



 
 
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  #11  
Old March 26th 04, 04:49 PM
Lotte
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"Robyn" wrote in message
. ..

I'd still like to know what to do with the cat if I'm lucky enough to
catch one in my carrier? Will it be calm until an appointment can be
arranged, or go ballistic? Also, how fast do these cats tame down?
They're always wanting to get in the house. They know their brother's in
there, and they're friends with my big male, Squidly. If I just let them
in on the porch, would they adjust enough within a couple of weeks to be
handled so I could transport them? I could probably afford to fix a cat
every week or two until they're done... Maybe that's a bad idea, I don't
know. Hopefully today's phone calls will yield some help. :-)


The trick is to make the appointment for the neutering before you catch the
cat -- kind of tricky, I know, but people who do neutering for ferals
usually understand that they don't just walk into the trap on schedule.
Here in Austin, Animal Trustees of Austin has a low-cost spay/neuter clinic
that is open Thu-Sun. They take animals in early in the morning on a
walk-in basis, and discharge them later that day. So I usually set my trap
on Wednesday night, get up early Thursday and take the trap (if I've caught
anybody) directly to the clinic. That means they have to spend the night in
the trap, but 'them's the breaks' at our house. It's actually good in the
sense that I know they haven't had anything to eat or drink the night before
surgery.

If you catch one in your carrier, throw a blanket over it as soon as the
cat's in there -- this will help to keep it calm. You *might* be able to
get one of them into the carrier with a treat or something, but let me warn
you, though, most ferals are tough cookies, and as soon as you move toward
them, they're going to be out of there like a shot. Unless the door of your
carrier can be snapped securely shut with the string, you're probably not
going to be able to contain the cat. The fact that they're trying to get in
your house makes me think they're probably not 100% feral -- really wild
cats won't go near humans -- you rarely even see them. So they might calm
down enough if you kept them on your porch (I'm assuming we're talking about
an enclosed porch?) -- I doubt you'd be able to actually handle them, but
they might let you shut the door of the carrier with them inside if you're
quick enough. Put a treat in the carrier and see if you can sneak up on one
quick enough to get the door shut. DO NOT try to "catch" the cat with your
bare hands if it flies out of the carrier though -- you will regret it!


My S/O is now telling me we should just say the hell with it and take
all four of them in. ACK! Even with only 4, I can't sit down without
shooing a cat. I had to chase one out of the bathtub to take a shower
this morning. (The water tastes better than what's in the dish,
apparently.) Last week I woke up with a weight on my chest and a tail in
my mouth. I can't imagine having 8, especially with 5 of them being wild
things. I think my S/O needs his meds adjusted. :-)


Really wild ferals won't want to live in your house with you, and will
prefer to be outside, so don't try to domesticate them into house cats.
Once they're neutered, just continue to feed them and watch for signs of
injury or illness. They will be your own little feral cat colony.

I know what you mean about the cat crowding -- we also have four, in our 750
square foot house, and it's a damned good thing I love them all. My
youngest cat, Rigby, who weighs close to 10 lb, has taken to "surfing" my
head in the morning to get me out of bed to feed him. Nothing like a fat
cat sliding across your face to start the day. Obviously, you love cats as
well, or you wouldn't be doing what you're doing. Please keep us posted on
what happens.

Lotte


  #12  
Old March 26th 04, 10:04 PM
Sharon Talbert
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Seattle

Thanks Sharon, I'll take a look, but Miami is a different county and
quite a distance. (I don't have easy transportation.) Still, you never
know.


I am hoping they can help you network and find a rescuer or rescue org
closer-in. Meanwhile, let's hope the locals you have found will return
your call. Hound them for a referral if they won't lend a paw. Also talk
to your vet; you may be pleasantly surprised.

You may have to involve several rescuers/orgs/vet clinics in this
operation. You may be able to borrow a trap or two from one place and
get some free or low-cost surgeries from another. Some vets will
vaccinate at no charge if you provide the vaccine (bought mail order,
though I prefer to pay $5 a pop for my vet to do it with her stuff, which
I know has been handled properly). Surf the web for low- to no-pay
spay/neuter coupons. Check out the Ally Cat Allies website and look
under "Find Feral Friends," which lists orgs by state. Keep networking.



I'd still like to know what to do with the cat if I'm lucky enough to
catch one in my carrier? Will it be calm until an appointment can be
arranged, or go ballistic? Also, how fast do these cats tame down?
They're always wanting to get in the house. They know their brother's in
there, and they're friends with my big male, Squidly. If I just let them
in on the porch, would they adjust enough within a couple of weeks to be
handled so I could transport them? I could probably afford to fix a cat
every week or two until they're done... Maybe that's a bad idea, I don't
know. Hopefully today's phone calls will yield some help. :-)


The carrier trick is risky business but can be done. Have a vet in place
to do the surgery (with or w/o appointment; just agreeing to take on a
feral cat is the first challenge). We've had success with trap-wise cats
who have a devoted feeder by supplying an over-sized carrier and having
the feeder use the carrier as a feeding station. One cat, Lurchie (read
about her in the website) was trapped in a shelter/feeder the size of a
dog house that we converted with a slider door. A trap is best, though;
safer for the you, safer for the cat, safer for the vet.


My S/O is now telling me we should just say the hell with it and take
all four of them in. ACK! Even with only 4, I can't sit down without
shooing a cat. I had to chase one out of the bathtub to take a shower
this morning. (The water tastes better than what's in the dish,
apparently.) Last week I woke up with a weight on my chest and a tail in
my mouth. I can't imagine having 8, especially with 5 of them being wild
things. I think my S/O needs his meds adjusted. :-)


Oh, sweet S/O! But don't get me started on house ferals. You have to
respect your own limits. Ferals can become your friends; they can even be
"tamed," as much as each individual spirit will allow. Lurchie came to us
as a middle-aged feral (she had been born on UW campus). She never quite
became a lapcat, but she was soon content and glad to be inside at last,
warm and dry and never hungry. And never lonely; ferals are sociable
beasties and need the company of the feline kind.

Keep us posted.

Sharon Talbert
Campus Cats
Seattle
  #13  
Old March 28th 04, 10:33 PM
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well i actually trapped two cats in a carrier with string....i tied the
string to the top corner of the door(not on the side where its attached
but on the side where the lever is to open the cage...I used a cage
about two feet long(its a large size pet taxi) and i baited it with
tuna...firsst cat it took me a few trys but i got him....i braced the
cage against the wall of house and just pulled the string when i saw him
almost all the way in...my second cat was easier to get as i knew what
to do but it took her hour to finaly go into it. tip is to use dry food
for regular feeding and then baiut it with somethign that is realy a
treat for them(tuna or some sort of actual meat)

  #14  
Old March 29th 04, 06:53 AM
Arjun Ray
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In , "Lotte"
wrote:

| Here in Austin, Animal Trustees of Austin has a low-cost spay/neuter
| clinic that is open Thu-Sun. They take animals in early in the morning
| on a walk-in basis, and discharge them later that day.

In New York city, the Humane Society of New York has a specially funded
program for ferals with a similar in-by-8:30am and out-by-5pm protocol:
physical exam, spay/neuter, rabies shot, flea+mite treatment and eartip,
all for free (provided they know you.) Appointments need to be made in
advance, of course, but on occasion we've been squeezed in on short
notice (they know what it's like, and they care.)

| So I usually set my trap on Wednesday night, get up early Thursday and
| take the trap (if I've caught anybody) directly to the clinic. That
| means they have to spend the night in the trap, but 'them's the breaks'
| at our house.

I would never leave a trap unmonitored overnight. What if the cat
thrashes and hurts itself? (I've seen this happen.) What if it rains?
(Ditto.) What if some clown stumbles on the trap and lets the cat go?
(Ditto.) What if someone just walks off with the trap? (Ditto.)

In my case, they also spend the night in the trap, but the trap is at
home. For recovery, I have dog crates and a playpen as needed, and for
the trip to the HS and for release I use transfer cages (much less
unwieldy than traps.)

| You *might* be able to get one of them into the carrier with a treat
| or something, but let me warn you, though, most ferals are tough
| cookies, and as soon as you move toward them, they're going to be out
| of there like a shot.

Agreed. That trick is more likely to work with strays.

  #15  
Old March 29th 04, 09:48 AM
Lotte
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"Arjun Ray" wrote in message
...
In , "Lotte"
wrote:
I would never leave a trap unmonitored overnight. What if the cat
thrashes and hurts itself? (I've seen this happen.) What if it rains?
(Ditto.) What if some clown stumbles on the trap and lets the cat go?
(Ditto.) What if someone just walks off with the trap? (Ditto.)


Well, it's not really umonitored, because I set it right below my bedroom
window (feral highway) and can hear it when it trips. If I hear it trip,
I'll get up and go throw a blanket over it. That usually settles down the
thrashers and keeps the cat and trap protected until morning. Thrashers
are, unfortunately, just as likely to hurt themselves in carriers as in the
trap, at least the one I use (hav-a-hart knock-off). If I get a major
thrasher, I'll usually turn him/her loose if they don't settle down under
the blanket. Since they're right under my window, I can hear if they're in
distress.

I did try transferring cats when I first started doing TNR and it seemed to
just stress the cats more. The way I do it now, they never even see me
except for the few seconds when I throw the blanket over them -- I take the
covered trap, cat and all, to the clinic early in the morning. I don't
worry about my trap walking off because I know all my neighbors, and if any
strangers came into my yard to get it (highly unlikely because it can't be
seen from the street), the dogs next door would go ape-****.

In my case, they also spend the night in the trap, but the trap is at
home. For recovery, I have dog crates and a playpen as needed, and for
the trip to the HS and for release I use transfer cages (much less
unwieldy than traps.)


I'm not really sure what you're saying here -- mine spend the night in the
trap, and the trap is at home... that's where I do my trapping. Maybe I
missed your point? Do you trap away from your own home? I have two crates
I use for recovery, a wire-type one for more sedate cats, and a plastic one
for the really wild ones -- it's more enclosed so the nervous cats feel more
secure in that one.

I think my situation isn't a typical TNR scenario -- I only trap cats in my
own neighborhood (tho I'd be glad to help anyone elsewhere who wanted to
trap), and we have a 'hoarder' down the street that feeds the 'hood strays
but is absolutely clueless about neutering -- I'm sort of 'working under the
radar,' so to speak. I'm sure I've caught and neutered people's pet cats,
because people here let them wander around at will, without collars on.
Incredibly stupid.

Keep up the good work.

LV


  #16  
Old March 29th 04, 02:34 PM
Arjun Ray
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In , "Lotte"
wrote:
| "Arjun Ray" wrote in message
| ...

| I would never leave a trap unmonitored overnight.
|
| Well, it's not really umonitored, because I set it right below my
| bedroom window (feral highway) and can hear it when it trips.

I'm sorry, I misunderstood. If the trap is on your own premises, that's
different.

| If I hear it trip, I'll get up and go throw a blanket over it. That
| usually settles down the thrashers and keeps the cat and trap protected
| until morning.

Do you still leave the trap outside overnight? (We don't do that.)

| Thrashers are, unfortunately, just as likely to hurt themselves in
| carriers as in the trap, at least the one I use (hav-a-hart knock-off).

In our experience, thrashers settle down when they're removed to an
indoors holding area. There seem to be two main factors in their panic:
first, that they're out in the open, and that they're on familiar ground
(but in a strange predicament). Moving them to an unfamiliar location,
and keeping the trap covered of course, seems to kick in their natural
instinct to be as quiet as possible.

| I did try transferring cats when I first started doing TNR and it
| seemed to just stress the cats more.

That may have been a matter of technique - how did you transfer them?
We exploit their preference to stay hidden - putting the trap and cage
end to end, covered, and then uncovering the area where we don't want
the cat. It may take a few minutes, but eventually they move. We
generally don't use carriers except perhaps for release (in which case
they were recovering in a crate, so we use the same principle: put the
carrier in the crate and then uncover the crate.)

| I'm not really sure what you're saying here -- mine spend the night
| in the trap, and the trap is at home... that's where I do my trapping.

I meant holding them overnight indoors.

| Do you trap away from your own home?

Yes. I live in an apartment, so I don't have "visitors". I help with
various colonies in the area (and in other parts of the city.) I've
used other holding areas, such as the basement of a church for one
colony that I stabilized[*], but it's more convenient for me to take
them to the HS directly from home in the morning, so I bring them home
when I trap them.

| we have a 'hoarder' down the street that feeds the 'hood strays but is
| absolutely clueless about neutering -- I'm sort of 'working under the
| radar,' so to speak.

Oh man. This feeder is guaranteeing a constant stream of visitors for
you.

| I'm sure I've caught and neutered people's pet cats, because people
| here let them wander around at will, without collars on. Incredibly
| stupid.

Same here, in my neighborhood. It's a nuisance.
[*] Pictures: http://www.picturetrail.com/aray/ . The colony is in
"Colony 5"; one of my favorite fellas, Greystoke, is also in the
"Ferals" album; my foster kittens Katrina and Calvin were also from
there.
  #17  
Old March 29th 04, 04:56 PM
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In article ,
Arjun Ray wrote:

I would never leave a trap unmonitored overnight.


Yeah, when I started trapping, I ran into the same question and decided
against leaving the trap for more than an hour at a time--and even an
hour seemed excessive. My reasoning went like this: when a animal is in
the trap, it is helpless and completely exposed.

Already under a great deal of stress just from being trapped, the
animal is also abjectly subject to any passing adversity or threat. If
the trapper's intent is to help the trapped animal, then best to
quickly isolate it safely and comfortably so it isn't at the mercy of
whatever vagaries it might encounter.

If I cannot monitor my traps in a timely manner, I don't trap.
  #18  
Old March 29th 04, 07:50 PM
Lotte
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"Arjun Ray" wrote in message
...
| I did try transferring cats when I first started doing TNR and it
| seemed to just stress the cats more.

That may have been a matter of technique - how did you transfer them?
We exploit their preference to stay hidden - putting the trap and cage
end to end, covered, and then uncovering the area where we don't want
the cat. It may take a few minutes, but eventually they move. We
generally don't use carriers except perhaps for release (in which case
they were recovering in a crate, so we use the same principle: put the
carrier in the crate and then uncover the crate.)


Hmmm.... maybe I was doing it the hard way! I might try this transfer
strategy. The point another poster made about them being left where they
have been trapped struck a nerve also -- makes sense to me that it would
cause them some anxiety to remain where they were trapped. At the very
least I could put the trap in the garage and cover it so they're in a
quieter location that smells different than where they were trapped. Give
them more a feeling of safety.


| we have a 'hoarder' down the street that feeds the 'hood strays but is
| absolutely clueless about neutering -- I'm sort of 'working under the
| radar,' so to speak.

Oh man. This feeder is guaranteeing a constant stream of visitors for
you.


Tell me about it. I've talked to them until I'm blue in the face, and they
just don't get it -- so I took the path of least resistance and am now the
"invisible caretaker" of their "colony." The only upside really is that
they're very good about feeding. I put a feeding station near where I trap
to keep them coming thru my yard, but the hoarders keep them fed on a daily
basis pretty well.


| I'm sure I've caught and neutered people's pet cats, because people
| here let them wander around at will, without collars on. Incredibly
| stupid.

Same here, in my neighborhood. It's a nuisance.


It's worse than a nuisance, it's practically guaranteeing that their pets
will live short, miserable lives. If I could change *one* thing about what
people understand about cats, it would be DON'T LET THEM FREE-ROAM. It's a
bit like letting your three year-old out at night and expecting him to
return in the morning in one piece.


[*] Pictures: http://www.picturetrail.com/aray/ . The colony is in
"Colony 5"; one of my favorite fellas, Greystoke, is also in the
"Ferals" album; my foster kittens Katrina and Calvin were also from
there.


Those are some good-looking cats! Nice mix of colors and stripe variations,
you've probably got a nice genetic range in there. Greystoke looks just
like my pet male Rigby -- tho Rig isn't quite that big (yet). I've always
had at least one gray tabby -- my old grinch, Bullet is a grey tabby a
friend rescued in the middle of our busiest downtown street. She's going on
14 now.

Thanks for the tips -- I'll let you know how it works out down here.

LV


  #20  
Old March 30th 04, 01:20 PM
Wendy
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"Lotte" wrote in message
...
"Arjun Ray" wrote in message
...
In , "Lotte"
wrote:
I would never leave a trap unmonitored overnight. What if the cat
thrashes and hurts itself? (I've seen this happen.) What if it rains?
(Ditto.) What if some clown stumbles on the trap and lets the cat go?
(Ditto.) What if someone just walks off with the trap? (Ditto.)


Well, it's not really umonitored, because I set it right below my bedroom
window (feral highway) and can hear it when it trips. If I hear it trip,
I'll get up and go throw a blanket over it. That usually settles down the
thrashers and keeps the cat and trap protected until morning. Thrashers
are, unfortunately, just as likely to hurt themselves in carriers as in

the
trap, at least the one I use (hav-a-hart knock-off). If I get a major
thrasher, I'll usually turn him/her loose if they don't settle down under
the blanket. Since they're right under my window, I can hear if they're

in
distress.

I did try transferring cats when I first started doing TNR and it seemed

to
just stress the cats more. The way I do it now, they never even see me
except for the few seconds when I throw the blanket over them -- I take

the
covered trap, cat and all, to the clinic early in the morning. I don't
worry about my trap walking off because I know all my neighbors, and if

any
strangers came into my yard to get it (highly unlikely because it can't be
seen from the street), the dogs next door would go ape-****.

In my case, they also spend the night in the trap, but the trap is at
home. For recovery, I have dog crates and a playpen as needed, and for
the trip to the HS and for release I use transfer cages (much less
unwieldy than traps.)


I'm not really sure what you're saying here -- mine spend the night in the
trap, and the trap is at home... that's where I do my trapping. Maybe I
missed your point? Do you trap away from your own home? I have two

crates
I use for recovery, a wire-type one for more sedate cats, and a plastic

one
for the really wild ones -- it's more enclosed so the nervous cats feel

more
secure in that one.

I think my situation isn't a typical TNR scenario -- I only trap cats in

my
own neighborhood (tho I'd be glad to help anyone elsewhere who wanted to
trap), and we have a 'hoarder' down the street that feeds the 'hood strays
but is absolutely clueless about neutering -- I'm sort of 'working under

the
radar,' so to speak. I'm sure I've caught and neutered people's pet cats,
because people here let them wander around at will, without collars on.
Incredibly stupid.

Keep up the good work.

LV



Any idea why some cats flip out in the trap and others just seem to resign
themselves to their lot in life?


W


 




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