Earning Stray Cat's Trust

[Neo815]

Hello friends,

I am feeding a stray cat for a week now. I want to catch her and get her spayed. She has started to sit near me and eat her food but she is not letting me come near her. When I try she runs away and hide under my car.

I have thrown water at her a few month ago when I was trying to get her off my house. May be that is why she is suspicious of me.

I have bought some toys for her but she does not play with them.

What can I do to earn her trust?

Thanks.

 

[tabbytom]

Keep feeding her and it takes time, maybe quite a bit of time before she really trust you. But don’t give up.

Talk to her each time she sits near you while she eats. Each day just inch the food bowl closer and closer to you till she’s comfortable at that distance.

Use a teaser with a longer string and play with her as this will keep the distance between you and her. Too near, she’ll not play as she has not trusted you yet.

Lots of patience needed here and keep repeating the routine. Never scare her again as it’ll be harder to win her trust in you.

 

[maggiedemi]

I never had to trap mine. I just tamed them outside and in the garage by petting with a long handled duster and playing with toys on a pole or string. After a while they get curious and want to come inside the house. Do you think you could get her to come inside to eat? I guess you could try feeding her in the carrier. I wouldn't try to grab her unless you have thick clothing and gloves on, you could really get hurt, their claws are like knives.

 

[Neo815]

Can catnip help in this situation to make her feel more comfortable? She has started to groom herself after her meals which she never did before. She used to sit like a statue. Now she rubs her paws and body against things. But then she goes away to some other place where she spends most of her time.

 

[Neo815]

Sorry, I can't sllow her inside. We have a no Animal inside the house policy. And she won't come inside either. She will really freak out if I manage to lure her inside the house.

 

[Neo815]

Yesterday she was eating her meal sitting near me. I thought I had made some progress. Today she was not coming near me. Then I placed her bowl under the car and she ate from it.

 

[Neo815]

Today I played a video of a cat who was happily meowing. It scared the stray cat. She became very alert and started to look around.

 

[Neo815]

I played a video of a sad cat meowing when her owner leaves her alone. The stray cat cane out from under the car and started meowing nonstop. I have never seen her meow like that before.

 

[tabbytom]

She is marking her territory with her scent. Looks like she is making herself comfortable.

Just be patient and don’t play any other cats meowing for her to hear as only cats understands what the meowing means and we do not.
It could be a sound of a dominant cat that sounds like a threat to her and that’s why she was alert or she could have missed her babies.

Do things that will in her trust and not get her anxious or alarmed.

Like I mentioned before, the more you scare her, the harder to win her.

 

[Neo815]

I was not trying to scare her.

She has started to roam around my house. She already lives at some other place. Can a cat mark more than one houses as her territory?

I have found this site which supplies pet stuff. Which cat carrier should I get for the cat? I am afraid that she will try to break the carrier when I trap her.

Cat Carrier Boxes | PetsWoorld.pk

There are no humane traps available here. This is the only option I have.

I had also asked about catnip? Can it help the cat ease up more in her new environment?

 

[tabbytom]

She started roaming inside your house? That’s great. Are you going to let her stay indoor?

This is a good time to get closer to her as she is exploring the house and it is boosting her confidence.

It’s better to get a good carrier that is secure. There are cases that cats bolted out of the carriers and even carriers giving way and the cat escaped.

To trap outdoors is good to use the humane trap but since ow the cat is in your house, est is to find a safe quiet place, get the carrier in and feed her near the carrier and slowly move the food inside the carrier till she is confident of eating inside the carrier which makes your job easier to get her in and to bring her to the vet. Get ready some towel or blankets, leave some inside so that her scent can be on them.

As for catnips, not all cats react to them but you can try. If she is reactive to it, she’ll probably be rolling around and feeling ‘high’ for awhile and soon after the effect of catnip is gone, she’ll be back to her normal self. You can try Feliway if you are talking about keeping her calm inside the room. They come in spray form or plug-in to power outlet kind.

 

[Neo815]

Not inside my house. She is exploring the garage and garden area. She is sniffing everything.

If a cat gives birth in a house, does she take her kittens someplace else or do the permanently stay in that house?

I am asking this because she looks fat from her stomach are and if she is pregnant than I will wait after she gives birth. Then I will get her spayed.

 

[tabbytom]

She may give birth in your garage or elsewhere. If she finds a suitable place, a place that she thinks it’s safe and out of human traffic.

If you think she’s pregnant, you have to prepare to socialize them and foster out the kittens after they are weaned off at 8 weeks old. Any earlier than that is not recommended.

 

[Neo815]

Can a cat keep more than one houses as her territory at a time?

 

[tabbytom]

An indoor/outdoor cat/stray/feral has a home territory and a radius of territory where they roam. It also depends on who feeds them and where they get food from.

So they could be fed by you and while roaming, someone else might be feeding them too. They could be wandering like a few square miles from home base. And of course, while wandering, they get into fights as they might have entered other cat’s territory or fighting for mates and getting pregnant and have an over population of unwanted kittens. That is why it would be best if they can be kept indoors.

 

[maggiedemi]

My childhood cats were outdoor and they roamed pretty far. They would go into the woods to the left and the back of the house. They would also cross the 2 roads in front of my house to the bigger woods. And sometimes they would go over to the neighbors to the right and inspect their bird feeders. It's hard to get a cat to stay home unless they are indoors.

 

[orange&white]

I was not trying to scare her.

She has started to roam around my house. She already lives at some other place. Can a cat mark more than one houses as her territory?

I have found this site which supplies pet stuff. Which cat carrier should I get for the cat? I am afraid that she will try to break the carrier when I trap her.

Cat Carrier Boxes | PetsWoorld.pk

There are no humane traps available here. This is the only option I have.

I had also asked about catnip? Can it help the cat ease up more in her new environment?

I would get the largest carrier you can. After she is spayed, you'll want to keep her confined and quiet for around 24 hours to make sure the anesthesia has worn off and their is no bleeding. A large carrier (even a dog-sized kennel) will provide space for a blanket and at least a little water bowl. You might get a small cat carrier as a trap, and plan on something larger with room for food/water/litter for her recovery (or maybe the vet can keep her 24 hours to check for complications).

If she's pregnant, then I would prepare a very large cardboard box with blankets for her in the garage. If she has the kittens there and has plenty of food/water and litter she will feel safe and keep the kittens there. If she gets scared, she'll move them.

 

[orange&white]

Can a cat keep more than one houses as her territory at a time?

Yes. If they feel "at home". My feral cat occasionally disappears for a couple hours, and I expect that she "likes" someone else's house (just not as much as my back patio).

 

[orange&white]

Not inside my house. She is exploring the garage and garden area. She is sniffing everything.

If a cat gives birth in a house, does she take her kittens someplace else or do the permanently stay in that house?

I am asking this because she looks fat from her stomach are and if she is pregnant than I will wait after she gives birth. Then I will get her spayed.

It really would be best for her and the kittens if you have an extra room or closet where she could give birth and wean the kittens for several weeks, but it you have no space, then set her up a whelping box in the garage.

 

[orange&white]

Catnip: Only about 50% of cats have any reaction to catnip. If she likes it, it will produce a positive association with you. Anything she likes that you provide will help you bond with her.

What are your long term plans after she is spayed? Do you want to keep taking care of her for life, or would you rather she go on her way?