I'm looking for some expert advice from those experienced with rescue.
We live in a rural setting and about 6 months ago were adopted by a stray/semi-feral young cat who started coming to our property. We are guessing the cat is a she and around a year old. I've asked around to all our neighbors and no one knows who she is. It was summer when she first started coming around, and I began feeding her outdoors, often on our porch at the same time in the evening. She then started to look for me, and would call out to me when she came around. Once the weather started getting colder, we started feeding her in our garage and then set up an insulated shelter for her in there. Temperatures became frigid this past week and she disappeared for a few nights. Then she reappeared on Christmas Eve, looking for me. It's freezing where we live, and the area is filled with predators, such as coyotes, fisher cats, etc. We captured her quickly in a Havaheart trap on Christmas and brought her into a secluded warm room in the house.
She is scared and hiding in nooks in the room, but she has been completely quiet when by herself, and is eating and using her litter box. She holds vocal conversations with me meowing when I go into the room, and even played briefly with a wand toy with me last night.
We want to bring her to the vet to have her tested, get vaccines, and to have her treated for parasites. We then want to get her fixed. If she passes a bill of health and seems adaptable, then we are willing to adopt her into our household. We have 2 other cats who are 1-year-old brothers that we rescued as motherless 6-week-old kittens.
We are wondering how soon we should get her to the vet. We think she is probably traumatized already from being fully indoors for the first time, so we wonder if we should allow her to get completely adjusted in her room first before another round of trauma happens for her (trapping her and bringing her to the vet for the first time).
Likewise, once we do need to get her to her first appointment, we are not sure how to get her into a carrier. She is understandably gun shy about the Havaheart trap that we lured her into, to get her out of the cold. I'm going to put her food in a carrier for her upcoming meals, but she likes to eat with me out of the room, so I'm not sure how I'll catch her inside eating once we do need to close her in.
I also have access to some gabapentin and am considering giving her some to get her calm enough to get her into the carrier. Does anyone have experience with this
And finally, how and when will I know if she is meant to stay with us indoors, or if she should eventually just be released back into the wild after getting fixed. I know it will be a hard life for her out there, but I also don't want her to be miserable indoors.
This is my first experience rescuing a stray who is not a very young kitten, so I need a little guidance! Many thanks in advance.
We live in a rural setting and about 6 months ago were adopted by a stray/semi-feral young cat who started coming to our property. We are guessing the cat is a she and around a year old. I've asked around to all our neighbors and no one knows who she is. It was summer when she first started coming around, and I began feeding her outdoors, often on our porch at the same time in the evening. She then started to look for me, and would call out to me when she came around. Once the weather started getting colder, we started feeding her in our garage and then set up an insulated shelter for her in there. Temperatures became frigid this past week and she disappeared for a few nights. Then she reappeared on Christmas Eve, looking for me. It's freezing where we live, and the area is filled with predators, such as coyotes, fisher cats, etc. We captured her quickly in a Havaheart trap on Christmas and brought her into a secluded warm room in the house.
She is scared and hiding in nooks in the room, but she has been completely quiet when by herself, and is eating and using her litter box. She holds vocal conversations with me meowing when I go into the room, and even played briefly with a wand toy with me last night.
We want to bring her to the vet to have her tested, get vaccines, and to have her treated for parasites. We then want to get her fixed. If she passes a bill of health and seems adaptable, then we are willing to adopt her into our household. We have 2 other cats who are 1-year-old brothers that we rescued as motherless 6-week-old kittens.
We are wondering how soon we should get her to the vet. We think she is probably traumatized already from being fully indoors for the first time, so we wonder if we should allow her to get completely adjusted in her room first before another round of trauma happens for her (trapping her and bringing her to the vet for the first time).
Likewise, once we do need to get her to her first appointment, we are not sure how to get her into a carrier. She is understandably gun shy about the Havaheart trap that we lured her into, to get her out of the cold. I'm going to put her food in a carrier for her upcoming meals, but she likes to eat with me out of the room, so I'm not sure how I'll catch her inside eating once we do need to close her in.
I also have access to some gabapentin and am considering giving her some to get her calm enough to get her into the carrier. Does anyone have experience with this
And finally, how and when will I know if she is meant to stay with us indoors, or if she should eventually just be released back into the wild after getting fixed. I know it will be a hard life for her out there, but I also don't want her to be miserable indoors.
This is my first experience rescuing a stray who is not a very young kitten, so I need a little guidance! Many thanks in advance.