- Joined
- Sep 6, 2011
- Messages
- 75
- Purraise
- 2
I'm caring for a feral cat in my backyard. I've been able to successfully trap her a couple of times for vet trips to spay, vaccinate, de-worm, etc., but she doesn't let me touch her. She sleeps on my screened-in porch and I made her a warm house that's hidden on the deck so she can hide as needed, and we feed her multiple meals a day. I don't think she'll ever warm up to coming inside and cuddling with me, but I'm working on it anyway.
While I go through that process, I'm trying to figure out how to encourage her to poop in a litter box. I have two dogs, one of which has a serious immune disease called IMTP. The meds take a toll on his body and also make it so that we're limited with what medication we can give him because it's unknown what can trigger a relapse. Unfortunately, he also loves eating cat poop and has learned to follow the feral cat around anytime he sees her squatting in a random spot in our yard. This, of course, has led to him getting worms and now we're in a continual cycle of de-worm, eat poop, de-worm, eat poop. This isn't great for anyone, but especially for my IMTP dog. Even when we de-worm the cat, she inevitably gets them again from hunting.
I've set up a covered litter box and put a thin layer of dirt over the litter, but she won't use it. Any ideas on how to attract her to go in there instead? I know this is probably a longshot but I've got to figure out some solution here!
ETA: Treating the yard with any chemicals is out of the question.
While I go through that process, I'm trying to figure out how to encourage her to poop in a litter box. I have two dogs, one of which has a serious immune disease called IMTP. The meds take a toll on his body and also make it so that we're limited with what medication we can give him because it's unknown what can trigger a relapse. Unfortunately, he also loves eating cat poop and has learned to follow the feral cat around anytime he sees her squatting in a random spot in our yard. This, of course, has led to him getting worms and now we're in a continual cycle of de-worm, eat poop, de-worm, eat poop. This isn't great for anyone, but especially for my IMTP dog. Even when we de-worm the cat, she inevitably gets them again from hunting.
I've set up a covered litter box and put a thin layer of dirt over the litter, but she won't use it. Any ideas on how to attract her to go in there instead? I know this is probably a longshot but I've got to figure out some solution here!
ETA: Treating the yard with any chemicals is out of the question.