Best Way To Capture And Handle Feral Cat ??

BigPoppa88

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Hi all. New to the board.

I have a small feral black cat who's been visiting my back porch for about the last year and a half. It's all jet black from head to tip of tail without any spots and I think it's a Bombay breed but not sure. At first, I showed no interest in having a stray cat around my house, but this little sweetie kept showing up and giving me a very forlorn look like it was hungry. So I finally gave in and started feeding it hot dogs, leftover chicken and sliced turkey. So now this cat shows up every day for dinner! Needless to say, I now consider this cat my "pseudo pet".

My big question now is --- I noticed recently the cat has a bad case of mange. Doesn't look like infected sores or bleeding, although I can only get withing about 3 feet of it before it gets scared and scurries away. I want to take the cat to a vet to get checked out, and also get some routine vaccines that are probably long overdue.

What is the best way to capture a wild cat without causing it to freak out and possibly bite or scratch me to get away? I'm assuming that buying a pet carrier would be the obvious choice, but I'm afraid I will lure the cat into the carrier with a tasty snack and when I go to close the cage door, it will FREAK OUT and escape and never wanna go into the carrier again. I also thought about throwing a large blanket over it but this will surely cause a feline freak out, yes?

I'm not really in the mood to get tetanus and rabies shot all because a feral cat goes beserk on me when I try to capture it. Any ideas?
 

walli

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You will have to trap the kitty, you may be able to get one loaned to you by a feral cat association in your area, you will have to plan ahead for the vet visit and find a vet that will handle a feral, the trap is the best way for a vet to handle a feral also. since the cat is fairly new to you, you don't how she will react.
You are doing the best thing for the kitty by taking it to the vet, it will need to get spayed/nuetered also.
I am new to this but others will be along shortly!
 

surya

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Luring the cat into a carrier will work too. You just have to be quick about shutting the door once they are inside. Cover up the carrier with a towel after the kitty is inside and it will calm him down. They will be leery of the carrier for awhile, but they get over it. Make sure the vet knows the cat is semiferal. Some vets are better about working with ferals than others. I would recommend getting the kitty fixed too. It has health benefits as well as preventing babies. If you search online you may be a TNR program where you can get this done low cost or free. They do notch the ear with a TNR program. Left untreated mange can be deadly and it is pretty easy to treat. Thank you for taking care of this sweet kitty.
 
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BigPoppa88

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You will have to trap the kitty, you may be able to get one loaned to you by a feral cat association in your area, you will have to plan ahead for the vet visit and find a vet that will handle a feral, the trap is the best way for a vet to handle a feral also. since the cat is fairly new to you, you don't how she will react.
What does a kitty trap look like? Same as a standard cat carrier?

You are doing the best thing for the kitty by taking it to the vet, it will need to get spayed/nuetered also.
Not sure I wanna get this involved with a wild cat. Doesn't spay/nuetering cost around $300?
 
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BigPoppa88

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Luring the cat into a carrier will work too. You just have to be quick about shutting the door once they are inside. Cover up the carrier with a towel after the kitty is inside and it will calm him down. They will be leery of the carrier for awhile, but they get over it. Make sure the vet knows the cat is semiferal. Some vets are better about working with ferals than others. I would recommend getting the kitty fixed too. It has health benefits as well as preventing babies. If you search online you may be a TNR program where you can get this done low cost or free. They do notch the ear with a TNR program. Left untreated mange can be deadly and it is pretty easy to treat. Thank you for taking care of this sweet kitty.
Wow, this is getting complex! Not sure I wanna commit to a spay/nueter job. And why does a vet care if a cat is feral or not? They have ethics to treat all animals -- wild or domestic?
 

surya

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Not sure I wanna get this involved with a wild cat. Doesn't spay/nuetering cost around $300?[/QUOTE]

I've got a whole bunch of cats fixed free through a TNR program. It just takes a little bit of searching to find a program. And there are a lot of health benefits.

Some vets just don't want to bother working with feral cats. I agree that ethically if they care about animals, they should be willing to do so. But you should check with them.
 
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BigPoppa88

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I've got a whole bunch of cats fixed free through a TNR program. It just takes a little bit of searching to find a program. And there are a lot of health benefits.
Some vets just don't want to bother working with feral cats. I agree that ethically if they care about animals, they should be willing to do so. But you should check with them.
Hmm well fixing a cat for free sounds good to me. I found a couple TNR centers about 25 min. from me but the problem is that I don't have a car right now. Don't these animal shelters usually hire college kids to work in the summer -- maybe one of them can come to my house and capture the kitty?
 

walli

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Yes a TNR program is quite cheap, what area do you live in?
maybe we can help you find someone to help you.
I TNR'd (Trap Nueter Return) a Feral and they only charged me 10$
 

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I don't have a car either. A nice lady with a rescue group take's the kitties to the vet for me. If you call around to rescue groups who do TNR and explain your situation, maybe you will get lucky and someone can do it for you too. If you decide to use a trap to catch the kitty, they often loan out traps too. TNR includes the rabies shots too. You could ask to get it treated for the mange on the vet trip. They may charge you for that. There is some after care needed after they get fixed. If it is a female it needs a little recovery time in a safe place. You can keep it in the trap and keep it in your garage or a bathroom.
 
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BigPoppa88

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I don't have a car either. A nice lady with a rescue group take's the kitties to the vet for me. If you call around to rescue groups who do TNR and explain your situation, maybe you will get lucky and someone can do it for you too. If you decide to use a trap to catch the kitty, they often loan out traps too. TNR includes the rabies shots too. You could ask to get it treated for the mange on the vet trip. They may charge you for that. There is some after care needed after they get fixed. If it is a female it needs a little recovery time in a safe place. You can keep it in the trap and keep it in your garage or a bathroom.
I hate to come across as aloof but I just do NOT wanna get attacked and bitten by this kitty. I'm a calm and reasonable person but if this cat attacks me I will be in a really sour mood LOL. My friend got bit by his cat about 10 years ago and his hand swoled up to the size of a grapefruit and the doctor said he almost lost his hand because of the deep infection from the cat bite --- cost him $15,000 in hospital care and IV antibiotics! I just figured these animal shelters have college kids working or volunteering during the summer and one of them can drive out to my house and capture the kitty and do all the vet stuff for me. I'm a nice fella and will give them a $20 Starbucks or Apple gift card for the trouble LOL.
 

surya

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They might be able too. I have never gotten bitten trapping a kitty and I have trapped over 200. If you decide to trap the kitty yourself, there are a lot of video's on youtube which show you how to do it.
 
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BigPoppa88

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They might be able too. I have never gotten bitten trapping a kitty and I have trapped over 200. If you decide to trap the kitty yourself, there are a lot of video's on youtube which show you how to do it.
I will check out some YouTube videos. I'm sure there is a good technique for trapping a wild kitty without getting bitten.

What breed of cat is your profile pic? My cat looks just like it.
 
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BigPoppa88

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I TNR'd (Trap Nueter Return) a Feral and they only charged me 10$
Yeah $10 is a very reasonable cost. I seem to remember my vet quoting me $300 to neuter my beagle about 15 years ago. I never did it because it was too pricey.
 

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I will check out some YouTube videos. I'm sure there is a good technique for trapping a wild kitty without getting bitten.

What breed of cat is your profile pic? My cat looks just like it.
That is a little black kitten I rescued from behind a dumpster. A domestic shorthair. She is waiting to get adopted. Black kitties have the best personalities. :)
 
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BigPoppa88

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Black kitties have the best personalities. :)
Based on your profile pic, I'd say my cat is the exact same breed.

My feral cat is a very sweet creature. It never hisses at me or scratches at the door. Just patiently waits for a tasty snack! I'd like to train it to sit on my lap when I go on the porch for my evening beer but I get the feeling it will forever be a wild cat --- domestication is not in it's DNA.
 
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