I Trapped A Feral Cat...now What?

[xthoroughbred]

For several months, a feral cat has been hanging out in the woods behind our house. We started seeing her more frequently, so we decided to feed whenever she came around. Every few days, we would give her food and work on getting closer to her.

After watching her dart in front of some cars and go toe-to-toe with a pack of hunting dogs and a coyote, we decided to try trapping her. After a couple of tries, we realized she was too smart for it and gave up. But with dropping temperatures and freezing rain, she started coming closer to the house (even with our two dogs in the yard) and we finally managed to get her.

As soon as we had her in the trap, we ran her to my vet down the road to confirm she did not have a microchip. She seemed like such a good-looking, decently fed cat that we were shocked when she didn't have one. So shocked that I completely forgot to get her tested for diseases, vaccinated, and checked to see if she could have recently had kittens.

We brought her home and locked her in a bathroom with some towels, food, water and a litterbox. Now, I have a very angry feral cat in our bathroom. She hisses whenever we open the door and looks as though she's going to lunge at us. She spent a few days hunched up on the floor, shaking. The poor girl is petrified and feels trapped.

I have absolutely NO idea what to do next. I obviously want to keep her inside from the cold (we're getting 6 inches of snow tomorrow), but she's currently curled up inside the sink, which is right inside the door. I can't even crack the door without her hissing and looking like she's going to lunge. I can hardly get food in there, let alone set up the trap again to take her to the vet. And to complicate things, I have a very sick dog who has had a hellish year battling an immune disease, and his immune system is entirely suppressed now. I'm careful to wash my hands and keep him away from the area, but the worry is making me sick to my stomach!

Do you have any ideas as to how I could trap her? Or calm her down enough to get her inside of something? Or how to get her out of the sink? I feel like I could at least trap her if she would get out of the sink! I understand she may never be an indoor cat or become a part of our family, but I hate the thought of just opening the door and letting her run back out into the cold.

 

[trudy1]

Please try to keep her in. Does she respond at all to the food? Is she using a litter box?

Remember you have taken her from familiar surroundings, trapped her?, taken her to the vet with all it's noise and smells, and then brought her home to a small bathroom.

Hopefully others will chime in with tips on how to get close to her.

I know right now she feels trapped and you do to but please don't give up.

 

[xthoroughbred]

She doesn't respond to food. We actually had wet food (that she used to eat) sitting in there a few days and we eventually threw it out. I think she's too stressed to eat, but she has taken some nibbles at night. We keep offering food, but maybe we'll try regular tuna next.

I can't open the door enough to see if she's used the litterbox, but it smells awful in there. She's relieving herself, but I'm not sure it's in the box.

I tried running a toy under the door tonight to see if that would entice her to jump down from the sink, but it didn't work.

And I thought I'd be brave enough to reach in with gloves and a back scratcher and shut the light off so she felt more secure, but she's right there when the door opens and looks ready to launch. When she was outdoors, she would hiss and then either stand her ground or run away. Now I'm convinced she's going to hiss and launch. I'm fine being scratched to help her out, but I'm not convinced she's not carrying rabies at this point. We live in a very rural area and I'm sure she survived off of dead animals for awhile. I also suspect that she's been attacked previously from some old wounds, so I'm trying to find a balance.

 

[Sarthur2]

Do you have a spare room she could live in for now? It sounds like she needs a bigger space than the bathroom. A window to look out might help too.

I doubt she has rabies. She is just very frightened and not relaxed at all - in defensive mode - which feels like attack mode to you. She probably really wants to escape the bathroom.

You need to spend time in the bathroom cleaning it, changing the litter, and talking soothingly to her.

Do you have a large dog crate you could put in the room with a blanket over 3 sides for privacy?

If she would begin using it as a "safe" house you could close the door to it eventually. It sounds like the sink feels like a safe place, but she needs a better hiding place. The crate might do it.

Do not give up! She needs spaying before being released, and it's much too cold right now outside for her.

Thanks for helping her. Keep us posted!

 

[adventuregirl]

I agree she needs a bigger space than a small bathroom. She very well could have never been inside a house and was someone’s barn cat or something. She might be afraid of the dogs. Here’s what I would do. Put on three or four sweaters and some mittens or gloves as well as a scarf or something to protect your face. Go in the bathroom armed with a pet carrier and throw her in. It might take two of you to do this. She WILL lash out and try to scratch and bite, talk gently to her and gently man handle her to get her into the carrier. One of you take her to the vet to get her checked out while the other sets up a space for her... maybe kitchen with a dog gate or spare room...also set up places for her to hide. A cheep easy thing is a storage container on its side with some old towels or some boxes. After you do this every day just go in the room (armed up again if you need to) and talk gentle to her. Take things slow. If you find she actually isn’t using the litter box, there are several different kinds of cat shelters you can get on amazon and other sites to help protect her from the elements. Yes it’s cold but if you put a shelter up close to your house she will stay warm enough. Cats grow thicker fur in the winter. Growing up In Michigan (where the weather can get below zero) we had several outdoor cats who survived just fine with our unheated barn...not ideal but some feral cats this is the best you can do. There also may be a shelter in your area that specializes in feral cats. We have a few in our area. Ask your friends on Facebook or try googling “feral cat shelters near me” Whatever you end up doing you will have done the right thing ! Don’t stress out about it.

 

[rubysmama]

Thank you for rescuing her. Here's an article that may have some helpful ideas: Handling Feral Cats

That article, plus more, can be found here: Ferals & Rescue | The Cat Site

Good luck.