I Need Some Advice

[gayef]

Hi,

Recently, a real cute little black and white kitty has been showing itself around my house (I've seen this cat now twice) and would like to hear from some of you who might have advice and suggestions for me.

I would like to trap this cat, vet it, and release it again with the intention of feeding/caring for it as long as it chooses to stay around my farm.

My gut is that this kitty is a young female, possibly in heat from the way she acts and sounds, and she is very shy but by no means totally feral. She approaches with interest when I hold out my hand to her, but after a quick sniff, off she goes again to about a ten-foot safe distance. She is playful - I tossed a piece of gravel in the driveway and she took off after it, pouncing on it and batting it around with her paw. She really is just totally precious and I would love to again have a tuxedo cat around my place.

She has a very unique meow...sounds like she is saying "Moe"...so, that's her name, "Moe Kitty". heh heh Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Gaye

 

[hissy]

Sounds like kitty is not very feral as you have already guessed. One of the easiest ways to capture a kitty like this is to get a big feather (I use a peacock feather) and just start playing with her on a daily basis. Sit down near where she is, but not to close and then just start playing the feather near her. Let this game continue for a few days until she gets accustomed to you.

When you go to grab her up, don't be rushed in your actions. If she comes close and you can touch her, then just pet her if she lets you. Offer her treats (I use Pounce cat treats usually) I put these in a circle around where I am sitting. After a few days of this, you should be able to capture her. Have a cat carrier nearby, grab her gently by the scruff of her neck and put her inside. Then just step back and observe what she does. If she tries to claw a hole in the carrier, chances are she is feral. If she settles right down, then she has probably been handled by someone, or her mom has.

I have a big cage in our living room where all newcomers go. It is where they will stay until they are vetted, and introduced to the rest of the team. I have 18 rescues. Once I know the introductions went smoothly, the new one is released on our farm until I can find a new home, or if they get along with my terrorist kitty, they stay.

When you grab kitty up, (that is just my term for it) use heavy gloves and watch for claws and teeth. Good luck and thanks for looking out for this little one.

 

[debra myers]

I have to say that Hissy's advice is the best I have found on this subject. I am currently using the feather/treat routine with my two remaining porch babies and things are going well. I am hoping this THIS is the weekend where they are 'grabbed'. Good luck with your moe kitty.

 

[neat59]

Hissy gave you some great advice, but from experience most cats do NOT like gloves! We had a young cat that we were trying to tame bite right through it and I was using "fire place" gloves. We figured if they could handle burning wood it can also handle a cat bite....but we were wrong. We thought she was ready to be grabbed but it was too soon. My advice would be to follow Hissy's advice and make sure you use heavy duty gloves only if you think it is neccessary! Just remember that most cats are frightened by gloves especially if they are not familiar with people who are trying to grab them, and remember to give her time to become familiar with you. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[gayef]

*sigh* I saw her three nights in a row and now I haven't seen her again for over a week. The good news is that she is not up on the road anywhere within 5 miles east or west, and I think she'll probably come back here. She was very interested in my indoor kitty who stayed close to the door watching while I was out with her. I am convinced now that she is a young female and she was in heat the last time I saw her based upon the way she was acting.

It is my hope that after she does what she feels she needs to do, she'll come back here to have her babies. At least then I can tend to her/them and make sure the babies go to good homes - then get the sweet little thing spayed. She is much too young to be having kittens, but what can you do???

Thanks for the great advice - if/when she shows back up here, I'll be prepared.

Thanks again,

Gaye

 

[debra myers]

Any news on the Moe front?

 

[gayef]

Nothing. I haven't seen a hair of her again after those 3 nights.

Thanks for asking,

Gaye

 

[debra myers]

I will keep sending Kitty Capture prayers your way!

 

[debra myers]

Any news?
Been thinking about Moe,now that coooler nights are coming.

 

[gayef]

Gosh, I've been really thinking of Moe so you must have been reading my mind!!! I haven't seen a hair's shadow of her since those three nights back a while. I go out every night before bed and walk around the yard calling "Mew Mew Mew" (I call all my cats that way, I dunno why, but they do respond, so I keep doing it *smile*) and the only cat who shows up is the neighbor's cat, Precious, who thinks she should live with me anyway. *sigh*

I hope little Moe is OK out there...maybe she'll show up, bouncing baby kittens in tow.

Thanks for asking,

Gaye

 

[gayef]

I walked outside to take out the trash before I went to bed the other night (since my teenager felt that day was evidently a "vacation" day from doing his normal chores *sigh*) and there she was! She was sitting right at the end of my sidewalk, in the gravel of my driveway. I put down the trash bag and went right back into the house to retrieve my "Kitty Fishin Pole" (wif feffers on dee end of) to see if I could coax her to come a little closer. I also took a moment to quickly dump a can of smelly fishy cat food into a disposable plastic bowl (which I keep just for such occasions). I went back out and walked slowly down the sidewalk, dangling the feathers and talking softly. Well, she ran. But not far. So, I sat the bowl down and walked back over to my porch.

She rolled around in the driveway for a few minutes, came to the food and ate it, then ran off into the woods where I couldn't see her anymore.

I've heard her talking to me through the kitchen window over my sink which faces the woods, and when I do, I go out to greet her, but she stays in the woods and I can't find her. I've walked in there twice now, and she's hidden very very well. She stops talking and I can't find her if I can't hear her.

I only hear her at night, so I've been taking food and water outside each night, and leaving it at the edge of the woods - where I watch from my porch. She comes right out to eat, rolls around in the gravel for a few minutes, talks to me nicely, then goes back into the woods.

How many of you think I'll have kittens crawling out of those woods pretty soon? Has it been enough time since the last sighting for her to have mated and delivered? 60-something days isn't it? I can't see where my first date of sighting was on the message as I am replying, but I don't think it has been long enough ... but I AM seeing her, and that's good.

Gaye