Our (semi)ferals going to a shelter :(

[Solcita]

Hi everybody!

Sorry for the delay with the updates, this year has been very overwhelming, with not knowing if we were losing our jobs (big changes in the company with them firing up the top 2), to then being promoted (I was Nº3) and having so much more to do that I have no time to breath.

A couple of weeks ago I helped a lady to trap a mama she took to a no-kill shelter. She spoke highly about them and we were starting at that same time we were starting to struggle with the ferals, so I contacted them and spoke about Kato and the kittens.

Last updates: basically nothing changed. There has been no advance, they keep coming every single day to our living room and spend time with one of our cats, but from time to time she gets stressed (which is a problem because she tends to scratch, is not losing hair and her cancer might come back if she hurts her skin). There's still hissing but no attacks. Dos tends to stay in their hallway and he doesn't come that much.

The big issue began a couple of weeks ago when Dos (the only boy - unneutered) started spraying. Like e-ve-ry-whe-re.
At first we thought it was the litter box, we cleaned, we made extra sure to keep it clean and nothing... We cleaned the floors and nothing... we ended up buying a UV light to see what was going on.

I clean their hall e-ve-ry single day in the morning and the afternoon with water and vinegar. That helped the first couple of days. But now it feels the smell is not going away ever. I removed all the rope from their tree and all the fabric in the room. They all get very stressed when I go to clean, so I normally leave everything open and the girls go away, but Does stays in his house and gets into panic mode, but it's impossible not to clean... even when I am cleaning twice a day the smell is too strong so we have to keep their door closed most of the time.

Another thing that's been happening is the boy yelling at night... I feel Kato is starting to be annoyed by him because she's been fighting him. One night he was yelling so I turned on the camera and I saw he was yelling because Kato wouldn't let him go into their little house (never a problem before).

We are at the end of our rope. We cannot keep them inside when this is getting worse and his constant yelling is affecting already our neighbords (by now he yells every night, as it's getting colder the windows are mostly closed thank God).

Luckily the shelter accepted and offered to take them all in. After much thought we decided all 3 of them will go, as they can be socialized and get a better chance of getting a real home for themselves. That's something we haven't been able to provide to them.

We know Kato and Uno are easy to catch, we just guide them and they will go into any cage. Actually they were both inside the cage before I finished setting it up... But Dos is the issue as he is not food driven as the girls.
We stopped feeding them yesterday morning, and today we set up the trap with food for him. He was in panic from second one when Uno and Kato left the hallway. We tried to encourage him to get down from the tree and he began to get super aggressive.
When we removed his little house (he was hiding the entire time), it got worse.

The shelter people said we will have to trap him as if he was outside, so start feeding all of them from now on inside the trap. And not to bring the girls without him as he'd get worse and more stressed if he is left alone.

Is there any advice you can give us on how to catch him?
When we tried to fix him we tried to do it without traumatizing him and the reason why we haven't fixed him yet is because we haven't found a way to do it, and with all the job related issues and stress we had we couldn't simply keep feeding them inside the trap and keep trying nonstop... he is so freaking stubborn he will die of starvation before going into the trap to eat... Today when trying to trap him it got so bad that I was almost willing to open the door for him to leave as living conditions right now are becoming unbearable...

One change that did happen that might affecting him: there's a feral mom outside with 4 kittens.
We spot them 3 weeks ago... but the mom has them away from here so we only saw them a couple of more times.
I did bump into mom one day, she was laying on the garbage, so I ran back home and I brought food for her.
It seems his behaviour changed since those cats are around, but I have doubts as they are not outside that often... so I am not sure if he's becoming territorial.

The shelter seems to have experience with strays and ferals, socializing and then giving them for adoption to families they careful screen... at this point I have absolutely no doubts of my decision to give them to the shelter, I just need to find a way to bring them all to them.

Any advice??? Thank you in advance!

Dos in his beloved little house...

Uno playing with a box
Super Fat Kato.

 

[Norachan]

Hi Solcita Thanks for the update. Wow, Kato got chubby, didn't she?

So at the moment all three of them are still in the house, all coming into their room to eat? I think making a drop trap might be your best option. Make the drop trap, set it up in their room and continue feeding as if nothing has happened. It may take a few weeks before all three will eat under there, but just be patient. Don't move the trap, you have to get them used to it as if it were another piece of furniture.

Here are some videos about drop traps.



I think with your skills it should be easy enough to make a trap with some wood and netting. Remember you need a door that you can place the carrier or a smaller trap up against, then slide the drop trap door up to move the cats into a carrier/trap you can pick up.

Dos is so handsome! The kittens must be over a year old now, is that right? No wonder he started spraying. Look for Natures Miracle on Rakuten. It's the cheapest enzyme cleaner you can get in Japan and it does a great job of getting rid of the cat pee smell.

Good luck! Let us know how everything goes.

 

[moxiewild]

I think you’re probably right about Dos reacting to the new Momma. He is unneutered and there is a fertile female within close vicinity that he cannot access - that can cause quite a bit of stress for a kitty.

Water and vinegar will clean and help to lightly disinfect, but you need an enzyme or CO2 based cleaner to really break down the smell - for both humans and kitties. So long as kitty can still smell it, he will continue to spray or urinate.

If he won’t go into the trap, try slowly progressing with placing the food in there. By that I mean zip tie it open, and place the bowl as close to the trap as he will possibly eat - not in it. A lot of cats won’t go into a trap if you place the food all the way to the back first thing.

Once he’s comfortable with eating near or right outside the trap, move the food closer or just inside. Once he seems comfortable with a certain distance, then push it a little further toward the back of the trap at the next meal.

Some kitties will progress faster than others with this. Most take about a week, and are comfortable starting with the bowl just outside the trap. Others I have to start with the bowl a couple feet away and it takes multiple meals every time for them to be comfortable enough for me to push it further next time. In that case, it takes a few weeks. But it can be done!

The drop trap Norachan mentioned would probably work better, but if you don’t have time to build it, then try slowly moving the food into a regular trap and see if that works first.

 

[Solcita]

Thank you for your replies!!
I was about to ask about the enzymes cleaners... I didn't realized he'd keep cleaning because HE can smell it after I cleaned.

Look for Natures Miracle on Rakuten. It's the cheapest enzyme cleaner you can get in Japan and it does a great job of getting rid of the cat pee smell.

Thank you for the recommendation! I use Amazon so I checked there and their official website. Not sure if the products available in Amazon are old, but they are not the ones that are listed in the official one... and there are many types, so I wonder, can I buy the big 2L one that is just strongt deodorizing W Cleaner or should I go to the specific cat spray? I ask because the price difference is big (for around the same money is 2L vs 700ml).

Since Saturday (failed trapping day) I have been feeding all cats inside the trap. Kato and Uno are so relaxed that sometimes I cannot access the trap to fill up the plate, I have to throw the food from above because they are already almost inside the trap to eat.
Dos is NOT happy about eating there but he goes to eat anyway (more carefully than the girls. The food goes all the way to the back.
I hope not to rush the process and screw this up, so we will take our time until he is as relaxed as the girls eating there.
I will keep a closer look to make extra sure he eats. I just saw him all inside the trap but he didn't eat he just streched... it's weird as it's breakfast time and he should be starving.
I am giving them a lot of food, and only Uno came to eat now... so maybe I should start going down in the quantity?

On the other hand, we removed their little felt house from the tree and placed it inside of one of their cages. The first night they were all there together... but that first night Dos peed the house, so I had to remove it to wash it and he was kicked out... so now both girls sleep there and he went up to the tree alone. I am surprised by how much Kato is ignoring him...

I think you’re probably right about Dos reacting to the new Momma. He is unneutered and there is a fertile female within close vicinity that he cannot access - that can cause quite a bit of stress for a kitty.

Thank you for the comment. Does it mean that even when the cat is not coming often (she does go by our backyard and she tends to walk next to their window) she can still be affecting him even when not in heat? Maybe he is spraying to call her his way as she's been gone for at least a week?

Thank you guys once again!! We will try to have as much patience as possible! The girls don't care much about all the cleaning by now, but Dos goes up to hide, he will have to get used... No smell this morning yay!

Sol

 

[moxiewild]

if you have access to Nature’s Miracle’s “laundry boost”, that is something that can be added to the washing machine when you have to wash things like that felt house. Otherwise, just treat it before you put it in the washer with whatever regular enzyme cleaner you have!

However, I assume you live in Japan due to Norachan’s suggestion, so I’m going to go ahead and leave the suggestions up to her, as she would be the best person to advise you on what exactly is available to you and what to look out for!

But yes, they can definitely smell things even when we cannot! It’s like a beacon telling Dos “spray/pee here!!!”

Do you have only one trap available?

Since it sounds like Dos will go into the trap, I would just start by bringing the food to the front of the trap, just inside it, and see if he is more comfortable with that. If so, inch it a little closer to the back at the next meal, and just keep doing that until you get to the back and he’s at ease eating there. It seems like he will be able to acclimate fairly quickly if you do that.

Since the Momma cat is inconsistently but frequently around, she likely isn’t wandering too far away. Male cats can smell a female in heat from a mile or more away so he can very likely smell her (or any other unspayed females in heat who might be in the area) even when you don’t see her around.

Why exactly he’s spraying is anyone’s guess. He could just be so worked up and in a frenzy about it that spraying is just a means of stress relief and self-soothing. Or he could be trying to just ward off other Toms until he can “get to her”. Similarly, he could just be reacting to other unneutered Toms outside who are being attracted to the area by Momma cat or other females, so he feels compelled to mark his territory because he feels under threat.

The yelling at night that he does is also a classic symptom of being unneutered. The urge and instinct to mate is very strong!

I feel you on the smell though! I take in a lot of senior/geriatric animals and special needs animals... we always have a few who can’t use the box appropriately (although they are only urinating or sometimes defacating, not spraying). It is SO exhausting constantly having to clean up messes and do laundry multiple times a day. Sometimes it just feels hopeless!

My boyfriend and I half-joke that we smell cat pee everywhere now even when it’s not there, and we also get paranoid in public about our clothes because we’ll swear we randomly get a whiff of it when we’re out, it’s awful!

Just last month we were going on a trip and at the last minute I realized my carry on had been peed on!!! I quickly emptied it, grabbed another bag, took a couple of sniffs and it seemed all clear. Then we get to our destination and I unzip it and the smell just hit me in the dang face! I was so upset! We also ask anyone and everyone who comes to our house if they can smell pee or general litterbox smells because we’re terrified we’ve gone nose blind to it at this point! It’s definitely not a fun place to be, so I can sympathize!

I don’t know the full story about these kitties of yours... but if Dos stopped spraying, stopped yelling, and calmed down a bit, would that make keeping them a possibility for you? I ask because his behavior would very likely be mostly or completely resolved just by simply having him neutered by the sounds of it.

 

[Solcita]

Hi! Thank you for your reply and everything you shared.

I completely went nose blind as I cannot realize that everything still smells... A few days ago I came back from a work trip and I didn't want to enter my house because I could feel the smell from the street, and the first day my head was killing me because of the smell, now I clean and I don't smell that much... DH just came back from outside and told me the smell is horrible... I thought I cleaned everything!

Even if Dos stops spraying and yelling, the decision has been made. We have been thinking about it for a while... and because we are planning on buying our own house and move, we always thought we could provide them with their own room in the future, etc... but it's taking a while and we don't have a certain date for that.
The cats have been indoors with us for over a year and we haven't been able to socialize them.
Also due to my two resident cats hating them, they are basically living in a hallway away from us. When our cats take their nap, I close the bedroom and I let the ferals come to the living room (which they love), but the reality is that they have a very limited space to live.
My youngest cat is the worse one, she even tries to attack the kittens because she is TERRIFIED of them because they stare at her too much. Kato on the other hand, stares but the second my youngest hisses, she just goes away... but the other day she went into my bedroom (where the youngest was sleeping) and she got attacked (Kato never attacks back, she just ran out).
Our oldest, who is a cancer survivor and deft is getting more and more stress and affecting her health. This year she has been regularly to the vet due to this.

I would really hope for them to have their own house (even apart from each other), sleep in a bed, and walk around freely in a house.
They are OK with other cats, MY cats are the issue. And they are NOT OK with us... Dos tolerates my DH and even blinks at him... but he is terrified. Kato and Uno like me and spend a lot of time with me in the living room... as long as I dont try to pet them of course.

We are heartbroken for sure, but right now the situation is not OK for any of us, not for our cats, not for us and not for the Ferals either... and I strongly believe Kato and Uno will be adoptable in no time with their experience socializing cats.

BTW the shelter is a No Kill shelter within the American base, I wouldn't consider any other way... They rehabilitate the cats, fix them, vaccinate them, etc... and are very strict when screening potential adopters. That's why they didn't mind Dos being unfixed.

Thank you again for your sharing!

Sol

 

[Norachan]

I have the same paranoia about cat pee smells. I clean the house thoroughly every day, but one of my girls has always sprayed and one of my boys sprays if any strange animals come too close to the enclosure (and I live in the middle of a forest!) so I get through a lot of enzyme cleaner.

I used to get Fizzion tablets.

https://item.rakuten.co.jp/asahipro...vD_BwE&scid=af_pc_etc&sc2id=af_113_0_10001868

You dissolve one tablet in warm water and then use the spray to clean. If you need to clean a pillow or something you can leave it to soak in a bucket of warm water with a tablet overnight, then launder as usual.

I use Nature's Miracle now, it's a bit cheaper.

https://item.rakuten.co.jp/kenkocom...vD_BwE&scid=af_pc_etc&sc2id=af_113_0_10001868

Don't try to clean anything Dos has sprayed with bleach. The ammonia smells like cat pee to him, so he'll keep spraying that spot.

It sounds like you've found a great place to take the cats for you. I hope they all find the perfect forever home.

 

[Solcita]

THANK YOU FOR THE LINKS!!

I don't use bleach because for some strange reason our cats LOVE IT. Wherever we use bleach they would rub on it for hours nonstop... so we never use it, the problem is that kabi cleaners do have bleach in it so when we do the deep cleaning in the shower, they go crazy.
I am a vinager girl, but these last few days I have been using so much that I ran out vinegar today... we are talking I used around 1 liter per day... (and I swear I can still smell some pee).

Already ordered your cleaner, let's see how it goes!!!

I will try to be very patient this week and thankfully the cats will move soon. I already see myself going to the shelter often after that... hopefully they will keep in touch.

Thank you!

Sol

 

[Solcita]

Nature's Miracle arrived yesterday and I have been spraying it around like crazy.
As I was in all day I don't feel any smell but DH said we still have some...

The big update today is, WE HAVE ALL THREE FERALS TRAPPED.
I realized that Dos would tend to sleep with the girls inside the cage we made, as his little house was there. So last night I left everything ready.
This morning I went there and I simply closed it. I just trapped Kato and Dos that way, as Uno came out of the cage to greet me (she is breaking my heart BAD).
Both girls were totally OK.

Later I saw Uno laying inside the trap... she was waiting for breakfast... So I went in and brought some snacks, so while feeding her, I simply closed the trap very gently. She was more interested in the snack than anything else (God bless food driven cats).

Just in case they are all covered with blankets to prevent them from panicking, and we are waiting for the final OK to start moving towards the shelter.

I am so so sad but so relieved at the same time... Thank you everybody for your constant support!!

 

[Norachan]

Oh well done! I'm glad you managed to trap them all so easily. I know you're going to miss them, but it sounds as if the shelter will take really good care of them. Whatever happens they'll have a much better life than they would have had trying to survive out on the streets.

 

[Solcita]

Thank you very much Norachan and everybody in this site in this crazy journey.
It seems that shelter has more requests for cats than actual cats to give out in adoption so they were thankful I "chose" them!

They now asked me to trap these:


Those are the babies of that mama... they are bigger by now, and haven't seen them in a while... but next time we see them, we will catch them and send them to the shelter!!
Thank you everybody!!