No Help Available For Ferals?

"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