Spooky

I accepted five ferals from a local farmer and had them all spayed and neutered. Four are free on the property, and one is hiding inside my house. She was the only one consistently amenable to petting. I named her Buttercup (or "Butterkeks" in German, meaning tea-biscuit). She is a DSH-tortoiseshell.

But the one I want to write about is Spooky. He showed up out of nowhere on my property. Beautiful cat, and the most feral of the bunch. Two months of keeping him inside an empty house and feeding him chicken and catfood and raw milk most days did not even teach him I was friendly. Finally he escaped. I have not seen him again, although I imagine he may be hanging out with my five acquired ferals. I wonder: now that he is free again (and wary of traps): how can I retrap him for neutering, without continually trapping another (already neutered) feral, or one of my cats?

Hi L LeniGish How are you feeding these cats? Do you have a feeding station set up and regular feeding times? If Spooky is still around he is probably showing up for food. I suggest you try to film your feeding station, either with your phone, or a Go Pro or a trail camera (Motion activated camera) That way you'll be able to see if he is still close by.

If he is trap wary a drop trap is probably the only way you'll get him. Check online, there are lots of suggestions for how you can make your own drop trap. This video shows you how they work.

Norachan , I usually feed in the morning and/or before dusk, but not at a set time. (sometimes I add chicken to the food at any time the chicken is ready). They stay up on the roof of the garage, sheltered by an overturned canoe. That is where I have been putting the food. There is also an extremely cluttered garage with a food bowl (and... frozen.... water) where they also take food. I can't be certain whether my cats do not partake as well. The good news is that there is a concrete surface nearly adjacent to the garage, so setting up a drop-trap as shown in the video might not be impossible. The impossible part might be sitting around for long enough for Spooky to come back. He is extremely wary of humans.

Your ideas are all excellent. I will let you know whether I am able to apply any. Thank you!

I don't know how you would be able to trap Spooky in a drop trap without the others going into it unless you sat close by and chased them away from it. You'd need to establish a feeding time and space for Spooky, preferably away from the others. If you do trap him, arrange beforehand to take him directly to a clinic for neuter, not into your house. Then after the neuter, confine him for a few days to recover, then release him back outside. Your best bet would be to call a clinic that's open 24/7 (usually an emergency clinic) and ask if they would allow you to bring him in as soon as you trap him and then fit him into their schedule for the neuter. This is what I do--I use a 24 hour clinic, and they will even board the cat before and after without charge. Explain this is a feral. Worst case scenario is that you'll have a Tom on your property for quite a while, but since your other cats are fixed, it shouldn't be too much of a concern right now. Work on gaining his trust again. Thanks for helping these cats!