ADIVCE ON HOW TO CATCH A OVERLY TIMID CAT

Lynne wrote:
on Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:29:20 GMT, "sheelagh"
wrote:

I have just been out there to go and see how she is doing.She looks
good.We go tommorow to have the rest of the stitches taken out.I am
looking forward to seeing how she gets on once they are out.I have
decided not to let her go just yet too.I was worride that I wasn't
getting anywhere with this young lady....but just when I was about to
throw the towel in,she came up to me today as I took her fresh water &
food, & she must have had an incling of what I was thinking cuz she
gave me a nice little head butt then a semi leg weave before backing
off & waiting for the food to be put down.Antibiotics are all finished
now as well.

I'm so glad she is healing and coming around to realize that some humans
are trustworthy! I still cannot believe someone left that poor girl with
a collar that she couldn't escape and also one that would become too
small for her as she grew. ARGH!

Once the horride neck lamp comes off( the thing that the vet uses to
stop her nibbeling at her wounds?Any idea what they are called?)

E-collar, where the e in this case stands for Elizabethan (as opposed to
electronic). They are also called cone collars sometimes, and probably a
lot of other stuff, too.

The
kids have called her Lucy(furr),ROFLOL.

I LOVE THAT NAME! I wanted to name Rudy Lucifer but my daughter wouldn't
hear of it.

She iss much better with my little girl for some reason.Maybe an adult
has hurt her in the past?She does not like men, that is for sure!!I
think I sam going to keep Lucy(furr) for another week and see how it
goes, then take it from there.....

I wonder if it's just the size of your daughter that makes her feel less
threatened? Roxy, my dog, is very wary of men in our home, even though I
know for a fact she has never been abused by one. I think their size
intimidates her. (Oddly, when we are out--no matter where--nothing
intimidates her!)

OT.I was reading about your little girl,.I hope that she gets better
soon too.Cant have been much fun spending the whole holiday indoors?
S)

Thank you, Sheelagh. We found out yesterday that on top of the mono she
also has strep throat. She started antibiotics last evening and is
starting to perk up a bit. Thank goodness! Her holiday has been
miserable and it truly sucks being stuck at home, but now that her fever
is down and she's eating a bit, I'm feeling more relaxed.

--
Lynne

Good.I am ever so Pleased to hear that.With 5of my own, I know only too
well what It is like to have a sick little one when everyone else seems
to be partying.You can't help but worry, can you?Hopefuly within 24
hours of the antibiotics, she should turn the corner once they kick in
& she will start to feel a lot better too.At least she has the moggies
to help her out & keep her all wsarm & furry as well.There is nothing
that can beat a real live hot water bottle & that gives you cuddles &
strokes you also,is there?It is just a shame about the holiday's, but
as cheryl point's out,I am sure that she will make up for It this time
next year.I think this is the first year for a many a year that no one
had toothache, tonsilitis, or ear ache for a change ,so we did pretty
well there.

I wonder if it's just the size of your daughter that makes her feel less
threatened? Roxy, my dog, is very wary of men in our home, even though I
know for a fact she has never been abused by one. I think their size
intimidates her. (Oddly, when we are out--no matter where--nothing
intimidates her!)

You could be right there.I hadn't thought of that one.I assumed( as we
all do from time to time), that someone has let her down big time~ as
you say, fancy putting a collar on that had no extension
elastication?!!!BLOOMING IDIOTS...I am just pleased that Phil gave me
the inspiration to at least try,because things are looking so much
better now than they were around a week ago.I had got to the stage
where I thought I was just going to have to count my losses & allow her
to roam free again-so It is a huge ego boost that she is finally
accepted that we won't hurt her, & only want to help her If we can.

The
kids have called her Lucy(furr),ROFLOL.
Yes, I thought It was rather funny too.Isn't It strange what the kids
come up with.She is jet black,so lucifer would have bween rather apt,
but when Tilly came out with that one, I just thought "perfect",lol )
get it...? god I am so not funny-Purr-fect )

Presently got Ringo on my lap, wating for me to go and make a cup of
tea, so that he can drink the sweet bit left In the bottom of the
cup-He nakes me leave at least 1/2 a cup full, so that he can get his
big fat muzzel in & still reach it too.
Well, It is 05.00am over here, so It is time I crashed out for a
littlel while before I end up nose down on the Pc-It wouldn't be the
first time,I assure you!

We have 80miles per hour wind over here right now & It is howling with
rain too.Poor old Pussy cats haven't got a clue whats happeneing so
they are holed up hiding all over the house, except for the braver
one's, such as Ringo spice & Lilly too.I think I am going to have to
seperate her later.Taz Is doing his pre-mating dance in front of her, &
she keeps swiping him one around the chops,so It would appear I had
better move her out for a little while until she stops calling.Maybe
later in the year I will allow her to have a supervised mating so that
she can have a smaller litter with Biffy.I have some really nice homes
lined up, but I would rather wait until the ringworm incident is well
and truely out of the way before even consider it.I could sure do with
the cash injection to help out with all of the other projects that we
have running presently...a new run would help out no end as we have no
room left at the Inn,lol!!
Hope your little girl gets a lot better very soon,
S.

Hello "S" I also had the same problem myself, It was a" Beautiful"
stray Angora long hair female kitten about 6 months old,I didn't want to
see her get hit by a car or something. I got one of those "Live traps"
from a Farm Feed & grain store, and used Can Catfood like 9 lives,and
place the Catfood to the" back of the trap" where the kitten would trip
the trap closed.Just make sure that it is the desired kitten you
catch,not another cat when the kitten is around because the suprise
would be lost and the kitten too. "Another Warning" When and If you
catch her or him and bring it into the house to release,Its going to act
like a "Tasmainian Devel" because it is "Scared as hell" the poor thing,
Have No-other pets and Children around to get scratched and bitten
because it my have rabies or not,you don't know, take it to a small room
with little to hide and that can catch her again by hand." Wear
Protective Gloves and Clothes" so you wont get scratched and bit.Work
Slow,and be kind to her,"Shes Scared" and so would you if you would be
her right?. When you tale her out gently,Pet her slowly till she calms
down,and give her food and talk to her softly,Shes got to build a trust
in you that you won't hurt her,and in Danger.Warm milk helps alot.
~Ginger~

Hi Sheelagh, Please disregard my message,I didn't realize that you have
cought the kitten untill I read the message later.I am glad that there
was a happy ending to this,and that the kitten/cat is doing fine for
now,Perhaps if you would goahead and have her spaded,she would stand a
better chance of getting a new home,and better for her health aswell.
Goodluck. ~Ginger~

Oh Sheelagh, Please dont place her in a Animal Shelter if they dont get
a home in a serten amount of time,They put them to DEATH They can't
afford to keep animals for the rest of thier lives.I don't know about
England,but Sadly thats the way it is in America. Please try to find a
loving home on your own. ~Ginger~

Ginger Rose wrote:
Oh Sheelagh, Please dont place her in a Animal Shelter if they dont get
a home in a serten amount of time,They put them to DEATH They can't
afford to keep animals for the rest of thier lives.I don't know about
England,but Sadly thats the way it is in America. Please try to find a
loving home on your own. ~Ginger~

Hi Ginger,
Thankyou for your posting,It Is brilliant to read most of them, & I
have had some excellent support throughout this one.
I will try and bring you up to speed with what has happened so far
,very briefly.
I caught her In a Tru Trap that a very kind Usaf american family lent
to me.As you say, Once caught,she was like a true Tasmanian Devil.(As I
think I said in an early posting,I knew those welding gloves would come
in handy one day, & true to form, they did,lol).
Once caught, she went ballistic, but I put her into our extension, then
called the vet.Even though It was so close to xmas, she came out to see
us & In true festive spirit, didn't even charge me a single penny for
coming out, or the consultation fee either-all I had to pay for, were
the drugs that she administered & the anibiotics that she left with me,
to treat her with in the coming week.

Rest assured that when I spoke of taking her to a shelter, that in UK,
we have many shelters that do not believe in killing cats that are
un-homable.(one such group would be the cat protection League).I would
*never* have dreamt of taking her anywhere that would have possibly
euthanaised her.In any case,Now that she has been with us for a week,
She has now officially been downgraded to a Lucy(furr),get it...lol?She
is much improved in nature, even though It has only been such a short
time.She seems to respond to my youngest daughter (10!) best, so this
morning when It was time to take her to the vets to go and have her
spayed(I think that you might call it desexed?)...we all voted her as
the best candidate to break the news to her & try & get her into the
dog basket.Tilly managed to do this with the minimum of fuss too.
Having got to the vets clinic, we took her in & I got my trusty welding
gloves out & helped restrain her whilst they administered an anasthetic
to her so that they could remove her stitches in her neck @ the same
time as spaying her too.I was asked to wait in the waiting room whilst
the opreation was performed-So Now I know how my partner felt when he
had to wait outside the operating theater when 3of our children were
born;the other two he attended because they were planned c.sections.

The operation went very well indeed, & we are asked to leave her there
for a few hours for observation,just to make sure that she didn't start
chewing at the site where she had the stitches taken out & the collar
was embedded into her poor little neck , & also to make sure that she
had no adverse effect's from the anasthetic.A few hours later, we
picked her up & brought her straight home.Sice bringing her home, we
have put her back into her run & I have bee doing 1/2 hourly check's on
her to make sure that all is well.. & I notice that she is drinking
well & but not so very intersested in food, but who can blame her?I am
sure that she must be feeling extreemly sore!I have also noted that she
is passing urine with no problems, but no bowel movements yet,probably
due to lack of food because we starved her in view of her being
spayed.I feel sure that her appetite will return with fervour soon
though as she has a very healthy appetetite indeed..

Having spoken to our vet, she recommend's that we keep her in the pen
for a further week to ensure that there are no post operative problems
such as infection, and suchlike.This is no problem as we do have the
room to spare at the moment anyway..& also I think my daughter would
most vociferous had I suggested any differently!!

Now that she has started to respond to us in a positive manner, It is
my intention to try and get her to accept all of us without fear, in
the hope that I might be able to re-home her with a lady that came to
see me yesterday about adopting a kitten.I asked her if she was willing
to take a look at her, & she agreed to.After seeing her & her wonderful
black shinny coat & huge green eye's too, she has decided that she is
prepared to wait for a month and see how we get on with her.Having
never owned a cat before, I can see that I will have to educate both of
them to accept each other & also how to love each other too, just until
It comes naturally to both parties.

I had intended to let her loose & just allow her to come over for
dinner every day & to stay if she wished to.I had no problem with
letting her loose again because she is so obviously an outdoor cat &
used to things such as traffic, & even nasty humans too.But If this
lady is willing to accept her, then It would be the best mutual answer
for all parties involved.I have invited this lady to visit her as often
as she wishes to so that they can become aquainted with each other as
much as possible so that when Lucy(furr!) is ready, she can can go home
with this lady who happens to live about 6miles away in a village,
nearby.

I intend to keep her out in the pen for a another few day's, then allow
her to start coming indoors by this time next week, so that she can get
used to the idea of being indoors again.
It is also worth mentioning that when the previous owner of this little
young lady got her, there must have been some caring involved, because
the collar that we removed looked extreemly expensive, If inapropriate
for her.I just think that It is a shame that it came to
this.Nevertheless, I am certain that It will be possible to rehome
her,& now we even have a possible owner who want's her too.I couldn't
have asked for a better ending to such a sorry story really, could
I?Thanks for the input and advice all the same though)
Sheela

I'm so glad you take the trouble to keep us updated on her progress. So
many times, there's just silence on the posts after all he advice thas
been given. Now there's at least the satisfaction of knowing the poor
thing has been taken care of. Such stories haunt me if I don't know how
they ended. I'm so glad she found you and got a second chance.


sheelagh wrote:

one of our own cats,until I was satisfied that I wouldn't get it
wrong,or hurt her in any way.At 9.30,I heated some canned cat meat up,
then as sure as eggs are eggs,she turned up @ 9.45 to see what was on
offer today.I waited until I could see that she was clearly in the
trap, then triggered it


I don't understand. If you were using a Tru-Catch the cat would have
triggered the trap when she stepped on the trip plate- you didn't have to
tigger it. How did you trigger it??

I have just read through it again,& now understand why you thought I
triggered it.I should have said, once she was fully inside, *she
triggered it* whilst I watched from the kitchen window,lol!My
mistake,soz!
Just been out to see her again, & she pressed against the wall of the
pen,but wasn't nearly so angry today &allowed me to fill her bowl,then
fell on it with with a favour & passion too,which also means she took
this mornings antibiotics fine which is brill news isn't it?
& went straight out to see that she was


Great news! Well done! You've probably saved her life- and many more lives
after she's neutered.
Hey thanks,but never forget that it was you that gave me the confidence
to try!
I will give you updates as it happens too.Have a good xmas!
Sheelagh
Phil