Feral Advice

[white shadow]

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Angela, that graduation has already occurred.

She cannot remain confined any longer, if there's to be any hope of establishing a relationship with you. She's endured a couple of days in pain. Now, that has mostly subsided, and she has told you she wants out of there - as shadowsrescue said, she was trying to get out.

You don't have an indeterminate amount of time to figure out the spare room. That has to be priority one. She should be there now.

It might help to read again what I wrote in post #48 above - just the first half. Then consider her situation now.

(I understood that she was in that 'safe room' already.)
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[shadowsrescue]

I would really make it a priority to get her in the room and remove the trundle. You can just put it up against the wall and put a tarp or blanket over it if needed. She is not happy in the crate. She may end up hurting herself by trying to get out of the carrier.

Are you using any Feliway in the room? Are you playing any soft music for her? Are you visiting her multiple times each day and bringing yummy food to help with socialization?

I would move her as soon as possible. The carrier just not does sound like an option for her. You will have to let her out at some point and the first thing she will do is run for cover. The idea is a safe room is to get her comfortable in a room and then gradually introduce her to the rest of the house. When you introduce her to the rest of the house you need to be able to physically move/carry her.

I know that you want her in the cage, but I really worry she is going to hurt herself. She could physically her herself by trying to dig her way out. Have you been up at night to check on her? I use wireless ip cameras to check on my cats that I bring into the house. This gives me a good idea as to what is going on.

I hope that you can find a way to get her out of the cage and into a safe room. Just be certain the room is absolutely safe. No access to a closet or under/behind other large furniture. A cat condo/tree would be really nice if there is a window. Just be sure the window is closed and blinds/curtain secured.

I know this is a lot and this can be really hard. Yet you have accomplished the absolute hardest part. Now she just needs to decompress. Being confined to a small space is not working for her.

 

[angela15]

Tomorrow we are going to move her into the guest bedroom. I took another look at the trundle and it is very very tightly wedged under the bed so she will not be able to get under it or behind it. Other than the trundle there is a nightstand in the room. I can put it beneath the window so that she can look outside.

Her carrier seems to be her safe space. With the exception of at night, she has been nothing but calm. We spend a good amount of time several times a day getting down to her level and talking to her. We talk to her while she eats. She comes out of her carrier right away when she sees her bowl. She has used the litter box a few times now when we were in the room. She seems to prefer the blanket off the cage and likes to watch us in the room. She also seems to really be captivated by TV. I have been playing soft music for her.

Since her carrier is her safe space, i will be bringing it into the guest room. I think it will be good for her to have somewhere familiar to hide in the room.

Questions as i set i set up this space. Blinds up or down?
Should i stay with her when we move her into this room or should i give her some tile alone?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Do get her moved ASAP, so that she can establish a base camp, so to speak. She can't do that from the crate. Leave the blinds up. If you put them down, within a few days they will need to be replaced, anyway, so let her look out and save yourself the expense down the road!

Personally, I'd give her a few hours alone. After that, go in and sit with her. Sit on the floor, or as low as you can get (we look VERY large to cats), and either talk with her, or just read aloud to her in a soft, calm voice. Let her take her time with this.

 

[shadowsrescue]

As for the blinds you may have to try and see what is best. If the room gets a lot of sun, it may be too warm. Also she may throw herself against the window. I have had a few feral cats do that. I like to usually put one blind all the way closed and the other about 1/2 up to start. You then can open them more as she gets comfortable.

I would bring her into the room, open the carrier and just stay a few minutes. Yet do try to return 30-60 minutes later to check on her.

Keep us posted.

 

[angela15]

Will keep all of that in mind today when we transition her. Do you have a special way of securing the cords on the blinds?

The room has a comfortable temperature all day. The weather here in CT is going to be very comfortable over the next few days.

Lights on or off?

Any idea why she stays so calm during the day (when we are home or not) but seems to get into trouble at night? Last night, I checked on her at 12:30. She was in her carrier at that point. Some of the litter was kicked out of the litter box but the cage was in tact. She had managed to pull some of a doormat into her cage (she has a much longer reach than I thought.)

When we woke up there was more litter flung out of the box and her carrier was moved up within the cage.

Hoping that moving her into a room will be a positive next step.

 

[shadowsrescue]

During the night I used a night light. Cats are most active at night so they are used to hiding out during the day.

Just remember the new environment may take her a few days to acclimate.
As for the blinds, I usually only worry about the cord. I just put it up over the top. You don't want her playing with the string. Even if the blinds are down, I put the cord with the string up over the top out of the way.

 

[angela15]

I don't have a nightlight, but I can leave the light on in the hallway. Even though the door will be closed, light will stream in from the bottom of the door just a bit.

I am going to take the sheets, comforter, and pillows off of the bed (i'd like to salvage what I can!) and put a drop cloth over the mattress in case she tries to scratch.

Besides the bed, there is a small nightstand in the room. Should I position it under the window or away from the window?

I am attaching a picture of the room. It is difficult to tell from the picture, but the trundle is tightly shoved under the bed. I have the bed pushed up against the both walls completely.

Besides the bed, there is a small nightstand in the room. Just beyond it (you can't see it in the picture) there is a second window. Should I position the nightstand under the window or away from the window? Any thoughts if I should roll the carpet up for the meantime?



I plan to move her entire cage into this room. I am going to keep the cage door open, but want her to have some familiar surroundings.

I hope she doesn't tear up the room completely!

Thanks for the thoughts so far everyone!

 

[shadowsrescue]

For extra precaution, I would shove towels/pillows or something in the small spots I can still see. Cats can squeeze into very small spots. My guess is that she will try to get under there.

As for the night stand, it would be great under the window with a soft bed on top for her to get on top of or to look out the window at some point. Just clock under it if you thin she can squeeze under it.

Definitely cover the bed with a tarp so she will steer clear. You could cover it with a tarp and then secure it around the bed so she cannot get under. Just put bricks or heavy books on the floor on top of the tarp or blanket.

Looks like a perfect size room for her. Can you try playing soft music for her from a radio or ipod? I used to use harp music, but also played a soft classical station from a radio.

 

[angela15]

I can definitely add blankets and towels in the small sports. I am quite certain that her head is larger than any of the openings, but it can't hurt to be safe.

I'm not willing to leave my macbook in the room unattended, but I can leave it outside of the door and play music that way.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Do you have an old clock radio? I wouldn't leave my macbook in there either!

Let us know how it all goes. I think she will love the space!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well, I think you have all of the bases covered now. I can't add a thing. Just...keep us updated!

 

[angela15]

I am hoping it will be as smooth of a transition as it can be.

Should I have concerns of her trying to escape the room as I enter and exit? She has shown no signs of attempted escape of the cage as I open the door to feed her etc. but I wasn't sure if it will change once she is in a much bigger space with a much bigger door.

She seems to have a more calm but scared temperament so I am also hopeful she will not scratch or bite as long as we are respectful of her space! I am very very afraid of being scratched or bitten.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

She probably won't try to escape at first, but you will need to be watchful. Move slowly, speak gently, and let her make the first moves towards you. That will cut down on your chances of a bite or scratch considerably! Cats rarely lash out unless they feel threatened.

 

[dustydiamond1]

I bought LED tap lights to leave on at nite for Gypsy back when she first came inside. We would leave the TV on for her when we were gone. Two years, minus a month, we still leave a couple of lights on for her when we are going to be gone after dark.

 

[shadowsrescue]

How did the move go? Is she settled in her new space?

 

[angela15]

She seems really nervous in her new space.

We tried to make everything as similar as possible for her. We moved her entire cage set up into the new room so she still had her safe place. She doesn’t come out of the cage(the cage door is open) except to eat when we left her food bowl outside.

When i got home from work tonight i panicked because i saw blood on the towel we had put in the cage. When she came out to eat i noticed that the tip of her ear (the one that the vet accidentally tipped) was looking shorter and jagged. There was a little tiny strip (not sure if it’s ear or scab) on the towel. I did my best to check the entire rest of her body and saw nothing else. She was moving around and stretching normally. I’m not sure if her ear scabbed after she had it tipped and she itched it. Or she caught it on something. Or if she scratched at it.

I know it’s going to take her some time to get used to her new room. I hope we did the right think by moving her.

Tonight we sat with her and talked to her. We put out some turkey for her and she came out to eat it. She stretched and looked around a bit but then went back in her carrier.

I am feeling really nervous about her ear. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that they tipped her ear. Or if it is just a fluke.

 

[dustydiamond1]

She seems really nervous in her new space.

We tried to make everything as similar as possible for her. We moved her entire cage set up into the new room so she still had her safe place. She doesn’t come out of the cage(the cage door is open) except to eat when we left her food bowl outside.

When i got home from work tonight i panicked because i saw blood on the towel we had put in the cage. When she came out to eat i noticed that the tip of her ear (the one that the vet accidentally tipped) was looking shorter and jagged. There was a little tiny strip (not sure if it’s ear or scab) on the towel. I did my best to check the entire rest of her body and saw nothing else. She was moving around and stretching normally. I’m not sure if her ear scabbed after she had it tipped and she itched it. Or she caught it on something. Or if she scratched at it.

I know it’s going to take her some time to get used to her new room. I hope we did the right think by moving her.

Tonight we sat with her and talked to her. We put out some turkey for her and she came out to eat it. She stretched and looked around a bit but then went back in her carrier.

I am feeling really nervous about her ear. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that they tipped her ear. Or if it is just a fluke.

I suggest you call the vet tomorrow about her ear. I think you guys are doing a fantastic job with this dear kitty.

 

[angela15]

I suggest you call the vet tomorrow about her ear. I think you guys are doing a fantastic job with this dear kitty.

I don’t think Cat wants to be an inside cat. It was a rough night last night and i am afraid she is hurting herself.
Not long after we left her we could hear loud thumping noises coming from the bedroom. We went in to check on her and she was in her carrier.

This morning our house alarm went off at 4am. She managed to tear a sensor off of one of the windows. I could also tell she has been throwing herself against the window.

She pooped on the bed. Her litter box was with her and clean.

Maybe she just isn’t meant to be a house cat. I don’t want to give up on her, but i don’t want her to hurt herself, and i believe she is.

 

[white shadow]

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Hi Angela.

First off, it's very early in the morning for most of the folks who have been offering advice. I don't see that any of them are 'on' at the moment.

Will either of you be at home today, or is everyone at work?

I'm concerned that, because it takes at least two weeks for a female to fully recover from spay surgery, she may well injure herself(or may have injured herself) in her frantic attempts to escape.

I don't know, but the question needs to be asked if, perhaps, she defecated on the bed in panic or because of injury.

Now, I hear you say:

"I don’t think Cat wants to be an inside cat....Maybe she just isn’t meant to be a house cat..."​

Whatever you do, do not release her back outside this morning.

So, would she be alone all day, or, will someone be home?
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