Oh, can you like just do a drop off?
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Botched trapping attempt…
- Thread starter txcats
- Start Date
T
txcats
: Just came across your thread and have read the posts. Thank you for caring about this cat and working towards getting him neutered, and his injuries looked at. I don't have any feral experience, so no advice to offer, but will be following your thread for updates. Sorry if I missed it, but does kitty have a name?
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- #43
Thanks to all of you for the drop trap videos, those are really helpful!!
Margot Lane
thank you, we need all the luck we can get with him.
Meowmee
I’ll talk to he vet clinic and the tnr folks tomorrow. when i picked up the antibios I asked the tech if the vet thought he'd recover, she said yes, most likely, and the antibios should help a lot. I am so glad my husband suggested to email them pics and ask for meds.
He did look better on last night’s footage and has been eating a lot of good quality food. So hopefully that’ll help him heal. Likely can’t get the trap til Wednesday anyway because they need it back early a.m. Tuesday and throughout the day. And i need to check if the clinic would even be able to see him right away, once he is trapped.
tabbytom
No, normally it takes weeks to even get them spayed/neutered. That’s why I have to talk to them tomorrow to see if they may be willing to look at him as soon as he has been trapped. Can’t keep him caged for days.
rubysmama
“Working towards” is a good way to put it! Everything is so much harder with ferals, no scooping up and taking to the vet like with our indoor feline overlords. He does not have an official name yet, just “the poor cat”. When I first saw him last summer, he was drinking water from a dish I had put out for a neighbor’s neglected kitty (lives in their garage, was much too thin but has been fattened up now and comes twice a day for meals). He was so thirsty and looked so thin and weary and exhausted, it broke my heart.
Margot Lane
thank you, we need all the luck we can get with him.
Meowmee
I’ll talk to he vet clinic and the tnr folks tomorrow. when i picked up the antibios I asked the tech if the vet thought he'd recover, she said yes, most likely, and the antibios should help a lot. I am so glad my husband suggested to email them pics and ask for meds.He did look better on last night’s footage and has been eating a lot of good quality food. So hopefully that’ll help him heal. Likely can’t get the trap til Wednesday anyway because they need it back early a.m. Tuesday and throughout the day. And i need to check if the clinic would even be able to see him right away, once he is trapped.
tabbytom
No, normally it takes weeks to even get them spayed/neutered. That’s why I have to talk to them tomorrow to see if they may be willing to look at him as soon as he has been trapped. Can’t keep him caged for days.
rubysmama
“Working towards” is a good way to put it! Everything is so much harder with ferals, no scooping up and taking to the vet like with our indoor feline overlords. He does not have an official name yet, just “the poor cat”. When I first saw him last summer, he was drinking water from a dish I had put out for a neighbor’s neglected kitty (lives in their garage, was much too thin but has been fattened up now and comes twice a day for meals). He was so thirsty and looked so thin and weary and exhausted, it broke my heart.
Ok, ok. I hope the timing will be good.
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- #45
Update: Suggestion is to let him finish antibios and then use drop trap for neuter trapping next apptm. availability, unless he deteriorates. Reason: he seems to be recovering, swelling is down since Friday, and he is eating well and taking the antibios hidden in the food. Risking scaring him off while he is on meds is no good, and he would have to be re-trapped again for neuter as they are booked up.
I don’t really like it, but we’ll keep a close eye on him to make sure he keeps improving. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to reconsider again. I really wish we could just immediately trap, examine, and neuter at the same time.
I don’t really like it, but we’ll keep a close eye on him to make sure he keeps improving. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to reconsider again. I really wish we could just immediately trap, examine, and neuter at the same time.
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Could give him time to consider the drop trap a non threat?
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It’s frustrating that you can’t do it all at once but since he’s injured, even if they could do the neuter now, you wouldn’t be able to do it because usually you’re not supposed to do surgery when they’re ill.
If he just had a minor scratch or something that would be different but it looks like he has two large wounds.
I’m trying to remember what happened when I brought Byron inside- he was an outdoor cat that Tess made friends with and he became friendly with me and would sit on my lap and let me pet him. Eventually, I had opened the garage door for him to come in and sleep because I realized he wasn’t someone else’s cat. He was getting in fights and had abscesses on his rear end so I took him and they put drains in etc.. I don’t remember now if they did neuter at the same time. But it’s possible, prolly later though.
I don’t like trying to trap cats for an appointment as there’s no guarantee you will get them. However, this will give you time to get him used to eating in the drop trap, assuming they leave it with you for a few days.
If you had your own drop trap, you could take him in inside to keep him in the drop trap and medicate him and let him recuperate and then bring him in for the neuter appointment later. It depends on how long it takes to give you an appointment I guess.
I guess these groups are overwhelmed. Because this seems to be typical. A group was supposed to help me with another cat last year because I had fractured my spine and couldn’t do anything like lifting the cat, etc. By the time they contacted me, he had stopped coming around. But they brought the trap over anyway, and I kept setting it, but he never showed up. I said you should have come when I called you three months ago. They said they are volunteers and there’s too many cats. So for all I know that guy is still out there breeding if he is still around.
Some regular Dvm will treat untouchable cats/stray cats because if you keep them in the trap, they can inject them and sedate them ahead of time, do whatever needs to be done, and then return them back to you.
They never came to get the trap and then the woman texted me maybe three months ago and said what happened I said I never heard from you again you didn’t even contact me to get the trap. I said he hasn’t shown up. I only saw him once a few weeks ago on camera then. I told her the trap was terrible because by that time I had used it inside to get Fred to go to the DVM because it was quieter. And every time you even moved near it / brushed it, it was triggered, by the least thing and closed. Then I never heard from her again at all.
At the time I told them I need help because of my injury, but when she contacted me, she seemed to think I was going to trap him and then drive him somewhere early in the morning to her….and I had to explain to her that I still can’t lift anything over 5 pounds etc.
In the past most of the cats that I took to be neutered, I was able to either put them in the carrier or get them in my house and put them in the carrier and take them to a regular dvm. One turned out to be maybe not socialized though, as he started climbing the wall when he came out of the carrier there. I had no clue because he let me put him in the carrier.
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #48
Meowmee
we can’t keep him in a drop trap and take him inside, we don’t have any place to put him with 4 other cats in the house. But things are going well, I fried a couple chunks and hid the pill pieces and he showed up only a few mins after putting them out and gobbled them up. Easy, for a change.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #49
He was on the back of the property in daylight this afternoon, so we got a good look at him with binoculars. He looks much better, wounds on head and cheek are healing up, left eye is open and normal, and head is not swollen. So the zeniquin is working. He patrolled along the fence, sprayed, and then jumped the gate. So it looks like he is recovering. But he looks so battle scarred and rough, husband said “i just want to pick him up and cuddle him”. I feel the same way. 
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That’s goodHe was on the back of the property in daylight this afternoon, so we got a good look at him with binoculars. He looks much better, wounds on head and cheek are healing up, left eye is open and normal, and head is not swollen. So the zeniquin is working. He patrolled along the fence, sprayed, and then jumped the gate. So it looks like he is recovering. But he looks so battle scarred and rough, husband said “i just want to pick him up and cuddle him”. I feel the same way.
I know how you feel and I hope you get him as soon as possible. Maybe he can even become an indoor cat over time too. Thanks for helping him 
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- #51
Am very worried, he has not showed up for more than 24 hours. He usually appears around sunset, sometimes not until a bit later, but we checked all the footage from last night and the others showed up, but no sign of him. Getting ready to check the small wooded lot down the street in case he is in hiding in there and needs help, and then the area roads, just in case. If we don’t see him will have to wait and hope he shows up tonight. Please send good thoughts and cross fingers and toes that he’s okay, i will update.
Just hang on for a bit. Sometimes they don't show up for a day or two but we hope for the best. Hope he turn up soon.
Crossing toes
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- #53
We found what was left of him, on the state highway right off our neighborhood. I could not bring myself to get out and look, but husband did and said definitely a cat and the coat color matches, and he did not see a tail. We can’t even pick him up and bury him.
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Oh no, that is horrific. I am so sorry
Run free sweet boy 
Maybe the town people can retrieve his body for you.
Years ago, I once saw cinnamon run across the road by our house and get missed by a car. I was always worried about him then but fortunately it never happened again. But he’s been inside for almost 2 years now.
Oh dear, I’m so sad to hear this and I’m so sorry
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- #56
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I’m so very sorry for your loss.
I’m still hoping maybe it was not him and he’ll show up again.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #58
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Yes, it’s always a terrible trauma. Even when I see cats and other animals that were hit by a car at the side of the road etc. I feel horrible. I will never forget what happened with cinnamon because I saw him run right in front of the car. Fortunately, they slowed down and he cleared it.
I feel horrible for you. I recently had two of my longtime strays hit by cars on a city street (within two weeks of each other). One made it to the lawn where I found her dead the next morning and the other had just been hit when I found her so I was able to retrieve her from the street. I am having both of them cremated. I was, and still am, heartbroken but I am glad I was able to at least retrieve their bodies. I am sorry you did not have that chance. He at least knew some kindness before he died and knew you cared about him.
