Identifying Spayed or Neutered Ferals

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

Okay... I really don't know what to do about recovery. A crate would be so smelly, since I can't clean it, and everything won't be comfortable. (Hard plastic floors/bottoms). I don't think I can even put hay inside any of those crates post-surgery, right?

This is so difficult because she's so feral I can't handle her AT ALL. And I do mean at all. I don't even know that the shelter would transport her from the trap we brought her in ... (or wherever they put them after their surgeries)... to a crate that we bring, etc. We certainly can't do it.

 

[fionasmom]

My vet always returns the feral cats to me in the trap. With females, I leave them overnight and release them the next day and there has never been a problem. People who do TNR on a regular basis usually release ferals quickly. The shelter may not keep her overnight for you, but the vet might. I have left ferals in a trap overnight, covered and with a water bottle and there have not been any problems. Did you plan to try to keep her for a longer recovery period? Did the shelter tell you to do so?

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

The shelter hasn't told us anything at all about post-surgery protocol. I wanted to ask but, considering their confusion on what to do with her, I didn't ask. (They shouldn't have been confused, as I was following their rules. I waited until a Tuesday or Wednesday morning. It wasn't even a rule really. It was just more convenient for them, which is why we waited. It certainly wasn't convenient for us).

We finally called the shelter, and they told us she went to the vet next door. (I assume that means she's not HIV+ and was/is being spayed right now).

They said she would be returned to us today. The vet is next door to the shelter, so I don't know which place we'll be picking her up at. We still have to pay the shelter.

When they do call back, telling us to pick her up, we're going to ask if we should bring a pet crate to have her transported to. (Because it would be more comfortable. I put a padded crate pad inside, with a puppy pad on top. Hopefully, she won't go to the bathroom while in there since I can't clean up after her at all. She's too feral. I read that them going to the bathroom right after surgery is rare anyway). If they recommend leaving her in the trap, then that's what we'll do. Hopefully she will mostly sleep the entire time. The trap would be the easiest for us, in terms of feeding her and clean-up, but I worry a lot about her comfort level.

I've set up the barn for her, thinking she might like to be around familiar noises and smells, but it's supposed to get down to 53 degrees tonight. We do have a heat lamp in the barn, but I'm still contemplating putting her inside the laundry room just for tonight. (Because of the cold). Luckily, our puppy isn't a big barker. I'll just have to drive my family crazy in reminding them to be extra quiet! My main worry about leaving her in our tiny laundry room is what if she has FLEAS?! I REFUSE to have fleas in our house, and my puppy's flea meds aside... we do have to protect her.

 

[fionasmom]

Is this flea season for you now, or do you suspect that she has them? Out here at this time of year, I don't even use flea treatments as there are no fleas. The shelter might tell you if she has fleas as they often check all intakes as do most pet offices.

The laundry room is a very good idea and it probably allows for the fact that you won't have to touch her at all.

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

Is this flea season for you now, or do you suspect that she has them? Out here at this time of year, I don't even use flea treatments as there are no fleas. The shelter might tell you if she has fleas as they often check all intakes as do most pet offices.

The laundry room is a very good idea and it probably allows for the fact that you won't have to touch her at all.

Where I live we keep our pets on Flea Meds all year. It's the heat/humidity. Even in the winter we can have fleas, as our winters are usually pretty mild.

This feral is always hanging out in our tree line too, which I imagine is filled with ticks, etc.

I'll ask if she has fleas, and what they recommend; barn or inside. I doubt the vet will be answering our questions though. I think they're just going to return her to the shelter, since they are the one's billing us.

 

[Antonio65]

I did tell her we want her back. I even wrote on a sticker, which I placed on the trap door: "We want her back." (If she's HIV+ however, they will euthanize her because she's feral and is living outdoors. I hate that, but I totally understand. I just hope they don't lie, saying she's HIV+ when she isn't, just to be rid of her).

Once I ran into a vet that wasn't willing to treat a sick cat that I had found on the road, he said that they weren't a charity (I would have paid for the treatments anyway, I wasn't looking for a free-of-charge service) and that they would only cure house pets. So I had to tell him that the cat was mine, I had found her and had adopted her, so she was a house cat. And the vet proceeded with the care.

Just tell them that you are going to adopt the cat, or someone is going to adopt her.

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

Allow me to ramble one more time:

Kitty is home. She's in the barn, still in the trap. (Poor thing. She doesn't even have Meds I can put in her food!! There's nothing for the pain. Without the pain medication, my dog would have been crying the entire time). I have a water bottle on the trap for her, as well as a large platter of water next to the trap. (I think she can drink from that, and if anything dip her paw in it). I put a dollop of wet food inside the front end of the trap, just in case she wants to eat. I'll add more if I see her touch it. (I'll have to check it anyway, to make sure the ants stay away, even though our barn's foundation is pretty high. It's a raised platform). Because the barn floor is raised, I think I'll put one of Mom's wheelchair ramps out there. It isn't as tall as the barn floor, but it should help. I don't want her to hurt herself jumping up or down into/from the barn.

I just wish it wasn't going to be 39 degrees tonight, because tonight she HAS to get out of the trap. I'll have to keep the barn door opened just a crack, as we did when it was her and her kittens, because I KNOW she will hurt herself trying to find a way out. I want things to be as familiar as possible, but with some added comforts.

For the past week - maybe longer - she's made it a habit to sleep on our front porch. We fear that, despite the cold and wind, she might want to sleep there tonight. (I hope she'll stay in the barn, and she still might since she has plenty of hidey-hole places - and hay - provided for her. We have a heat lamp in there, but I still think it will be cold. I HATE that, but I can't let her in the laundry room loose and I can't keep her in the trap after tonight. She's been in there for so very long already. I did place a comfy crate pad beneath the heat lamp though, so she should get some warmth there. I placed a puppy pad, and then a towel on top of the crate pad too. I really hope she uses it. We're even leaving the big light on in the barn, thinking it might help add a little more heat. She still has dark, hidey hole places to retreat to).

But, back to the front porch: To be safe, I placed long folding tables on the front porch. They're on their sides, to block the wind. I placed hay on the rug she's always sleeping on out there, as well as inside the cracks at the sides of the tables. (To block the wind).

We'll probably let her out of the trap by 4 or 5 pm tonight.

Unfortunately, my father got a little snarky to the shelter worker this morning. (I should have gone to avoid it all. He's a very negative person, but every time I was there with him this week he behaved himself. I naively thought I wasn't really needed today, since he was only going there to pay them and pick up the cat). The shelter worker was just making him sign the required legal work. It ticked him off because her tone of voice was very snarky. (She did the same with my mother over the phone yesterday, and all Mom asked was if the cat was going to be spayed or not. It was already after 2 pm and we hadn't heard a peep from them). She told Dad that by signing the paperwork she was now his pet and it was required that she get her rabies shot every year, etc. He reminded her that this was not a pet, but a FERAL cat that's so wild it took over an entire year to trap her. She argued with him, saying she didn't care. He added to the paperwork that this was a feral cat.

Honestly, it's just legalities. He shouldn't have said anything, even though it is stupid and she was being rude before he even said anything in reply. My concern over him getting all huffy over it is that they'll remember, and if we ever needed them again you can be certain they'll triple down on the rudeness. I just hope our dog never gets lost and finds its way to these people. She's microchipped, but I wouldn't trust them not to sell her to someone else. (I actually read one review of theirs where that's happened. They sold their lost dog to another family, even though they told them it was their dog).

It actually surprises me that there aren't more bad reviews of this place. I think they probably, overall, do a good job with the animals. It's their customer relations that's the trouble. They do A LOT of double-speak, and the lady we were working with this time around was always telling us that they took in 800 cats last year. (Well color me not shocked. You're an animal shelter and all shelters are full up. It's sad, but it's what a shelter is. They're no different from the other shelters in the amount of animals inside. I appreciate the good ones out there, but why be a virtue signaling snob about it? We donate items to them a lot, but I have never once bragged about it or told them about it. I just place the stuff in the donation box and leave). And it's TWICE now that I have done every single little thing THEIR way. It wasn't a rule, but what they said was "more convenient" for them. (Bringing in the feral on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning by 9 am). We did that, and from the very start they acted like we were putting them out. I even asked beforehand if they were at overcapacity with cats. (Because online they said they were at overcapacity. It was with dogs, but they didn't make that clear online, which is why I asked. I wasn't going to trap the cats, and then go there to find out if they'll take them).

Anyway... I'm just glad the cat is out of there now. If I'm lucky I won't ever have to darken their door again.

 

[fionasmom]

You are doing everything that you can to make this cat's release safe and comfortable. Ferals can be odd; she may or may not use what you have set up, but you have no control of that. If she takes off, as ferals sometimes do, don't panic as she will return to her source of food.

I have been in the situation that your dad was in where a rescue suddenly became "my pet" and I was now responsible for vaccines, poop cleanup, leash law (it was a dog), etc. The shelter will probably never have the time or resources to check up on you, and if they do, you don't have the cat anymore. To me, this sounds like someone who wanted to bluster at a client and not much of a threat. Out here, animal control never checks on cats and certain communities do have ordinances that cats need to be licensed. Good luck with that.

You have done some really great work for this cat and the kittens and you should be proud of yourself and even your snarky dad.

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

I understand my Dad's snark, and I agree with him, but I also wish he'd kept silent. It served no useful purpose for us, and it certainly doesn't help if we ever had to use them again in the future. It's a small country town and the only shelter we can use.

I checked on the cat again. (I didn't see her face or anything. I was just trying to see if she was bleeding, etc. I couldn't see anything. She's at the very back of the trap, curled on her tummy. She refuses to move at all and hasn't made one sound. She hasn't eaten and I doubt she drank any water either. I know it'll be cold tonight, but at least she'll have the option to move around. We called our dog's vet, since we had already told her before about the feral, and they said to release her after 24 hours... which would be tonight probably around 4 pm. She said ferals are different from regular cats and 24 hours after surgery is usually the best option.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly where in the barn to release her because I don't want her to rush outside and I have to put back her little hidey-hole setup we always have for her in the barn. (She's underneath it right now, but inside the trap). I think it's the only place she ever uses in the barn since she doesn't like the crates.

I wish I could leave the baby cam out there, to monitor her, but I discovered it has to be plugged into a wall outlet and all we have is electricity via an extension cord. Oh well. It is what it is.

That other cat that keeps coming around had BETTER STAY AWAY!!!!

And there I went on rambling again. Lol! I swear I'm not a loudmouth. I'm actually quite introverted, but when it comes to an animal's comfort level when they're sick I obsess over it. It drives my family nuts, but it's what I do. I think out loud. I HATE that they gave this cat zero pain meds to put in her food. My dog was suffering tremendously after her spay until she took her meds. She was literally screaming, but after the meds kicked in it was almost like she hadn't had surgery at all.

 

[fionasmom]

I don't know that ferals are routinely given pain meds because if they are truly released immediately (cue Jackson Galaxy's show and Dr. Jeff, Rocky Mountain Vet) as is often done, they cannot be released in a drugged state. I also believe that animals feel pain on a different level than humans, not justifying not helping them through it, and she may not be in the pain that you think.

I have had feral females run out of a trap and jump over a wall immediately upon release and suffer no consequences. Do the best that you can to give her a nice place to sleep tonight, but I agree that the 24 hours is probably enough and all that I have ever done.

You will find that most members here are ultra concerned about the safety and well being of their cats, so you are in good company.

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

I don't know that ferals are routinely given pain meds because if they are truly released immediately (cue Jackson Galaxy's show and Dr. Jeff, Rocky Mountain Vet) as is often done, they cannot be released in a drugged state. I also believe that animals feel pain on a different level than humans, not justifying not helping them through it, and she may not be in the pain that you think.

I have had feral females run out of a trap and jump over a wall immediately upon release and suffer no consequences. Do the best that you can to give her a nice place to sleep tonight, but I agree that the 24 hours is probably enough and all that I have ever done.

You will find that most members here are ultra concerned about the safety and well being of their cats, so you are in good company.

Thanks for that. This place has been great for me, especially these past few days. I'm the only "cat person" in this family, so that's another part of it I guess.