Cannot Catch Her To Get Her To Vet :(

[susan d]

I took in a feral last year when she became pregnant. I had been feeding her outside,but when she got pregnant I brought her in,and she had 4 kittens on 5/15/17. I have since moved and brought she and the babies with me where they remain indoor cats b.c I live near a highway. I had them all fixed. She has remained skittish and it has taken forever for her just to trust me enough to not hide when I approach her. She was losing fur and it took me days to finally catch her to take her into the vet,and was left with a tear - not a scratch- from my lower lip to my chin! It's super traumatic for us both. The vet prescribed Prozac for 'over grooming',but I have been unable to get it into her-and I have tried several different things to mask the med-in both pill and liquid form. It's been a couple of mos.,and her hair loss is much worse as she licks and scratches at herself constantly (which,btw,I did not notice her doing when it began and I took her in) We were in a holding pattern with that as I try to figure a way to get it in her,but yesterday I noticed she gets into the box and squats for several minutes,and she does it quite often-leaving hardly any pee- if any at all. So,some kind of bladder infection and I need to get her back to the vet! I made an appointment and tried to get a tranquilizer in her to no avail,then went to grab her to put her into the carrier,and off she ran under the bed where I couldn't reach her. That was/is SUPER upsetting to me because it has taken her sooooooo long to trust me again after our last trip,and we were really just getting 'completely ' comfortable Honestly,if it were something less immediate than a bladder infection I would let her be. She's finally out from under the bed,but trying to grab her again has me sooo unnerved I made another appointment for the morning,but I'll have to just drop her off ,as I too have an appointment elsewhere. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I might catch her to transport her? Is there a way to do it without 'grabbing' her? She's pretty lanky too,so getting a hold on her is difficult from that stand point also. I sooooo fear her going back to being so uncomfortable around me and feeling the need to hide I have already tried Feliway and it did not help. Or,is there anything I can get to treat her without taking her in? Thank you so much.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I always leave the carrier out for a couple of days prior to a Vet visit to get my boys used to it, but they weren't feral. It helps a LOT. I managed to find a couple of threads on this topic that might prove helpful:

Getting Feral Kitten Into Carrier

Sick Feral Cat; Need Advice, Please

 

[ailish]

I fed Ailish for months in the carrier to get her used to it. I also leave it out, move it around, etc. She is not a feral, however. She doesn't hide when she sees the carrier now, but I do get only one chance at trying to get her in before she hides. Getting her in that first time has not been a problem, though. I really need to work on her going into the carrier when I tell her to, because I worry about her if there is an emergency. Not sure how to go about it, though.

 

[walli]

You might want to post this in the Caring for Strays and Ferals section people over there are pretty Feral Savy.

 

[susan d]

Thank you for your replies! Walli,I just posted there- thank you so much for the recommendation! I just copied and pasted,but am unsure about how to remove this one.

 

[walli]

I think the moderators take care of those things!

 

[Willowy]

It may be cystitis and not an infection. Cystitis is painful so it would be nice to get pain meds into her, but if not, what you have to do is get more water into her to flush out the irritation. Cut out the dry food entirely, and add some water to her canned food, as much as she'll allow. Maybe you can avoid a vet trip this time.

For the future, leave a carrier out all the time. Throw some treats into it now and then, maybe give her some cooked chicken or something else that's really yummy in there. If she gets used to the carrier it'll be easier to get her into it the next time she needs to see the vet.

 

[Tagrendy]

There is special trap-cariers where you put food in and when the cat goes for it - it gets trapped. That's what is usually used to fix street cats. If you can get or borrow one it could help.

 

[susan d]

There is special trap-cariers where you put food in and when the cat goes for it - it gets trapped. That's what is usually used to fix street cats. If you can get or borrow one it could help.

One part of the problem is that I live in a small place where I also have her kittens plus a dog and that makes it very difficult to target just one of them. Whenever I go into the kitchen I have 3 kittens and the dog at my feet looking very hopeful that I'm either going to feed them,or drop something of mine! Are you talking about the have a heart traps,or is there specifically a carrier? If it's a carrier and not the traps,I would still be interested in checking it out. Thanks so much

 

[susan d]

It may be cystitis and not an infection. Cystitis is painful so it would be nice to get pain meds into her, but if not, what you have to do is get more water into her to flush out the irritation. Cut out the dry food entirely, and add some water to her canned food, as much as she'll allow. Maybe you can avoid a vet trip this time.

For the future, leave a carrier out all the time. Throw some treats into it now and then, maybe give her some cooked chicken or something else that's really yummy in there. If she gets used to the carrier it'll be easier to get her into it the next time she needs to see the vet.

Thank you sooo much,Willowy! They love their kibble,so today I've done as you suggested and fed only canned plus some water into hers. I have been gone for a few hours and picked up some chewable antibiotics from the vet,but would like to see if she improves with just the change in diet. Does that sound feasible? I hope so because even though they're chewable,it doesn't mean she'll gobble them up twice daily! I still have a vet appointment scheduled for Monday afternoon(after having to cancel twice),but,if nothing else, he can treat her for the over grooming and give her a shot for the itching. I just have to see if I'm brave enough to try it since I was able to pick up the antibiotics and it no longer seems dire. She does not seem to be in any pain- she eats and runs around with her kittens,but I will definitely keep an eye out for any indication of pain.

 

[susan d]

I always leave the carrier out for a couple of days prior to a Vet visit to get my boys used to it, but they weren't feral. It helps a LOT. I managed to find a couple of threads on this topic that might prove helpful:

Getting Feral Kitten Into Carrier

Sick Feral Cat; Need Advice, Please

Thank you sooo much for the info and links,mrsgreenjeens!

 

[kobata1928]

My vet recommended leaving the carriers out all the time with old towels in them and it has worked great for me. my cats go and take naps in them all the time. When I need to use a carrier just moving it to the middle of the floor gets a line of cats trying to get in and investigate why their napping spot moved.

 

[meowmylexi]

Hi susan d i just wanted to send you a big hug as I know how stressful and challenging your getting cat in carrier situation is. My one cat is the same and I one time had to lift my mattresses to get him from under the bed. All of this alone. He doesn't like getting picked up or medicated either. And I've done a lot of what others have suggested, too, yet I still have trouble. So while I don't have any further suggestions, I wanted to at least send my support and hugs to you and your furry loved ones.

 

[meowmylexi]

PS. Thank you for being so compassionate and helping and fixing momma and her babies, too