semi-feral cat grooming problem

mariotallcups

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We've recently adopted a nine-month old semi-feral, long-haired cat. He's been with us about a month, and he's mostly ok with us, but he doesn't like to be touched; he'll flee if he thinks we're getting too close. He's got some poop stuck to his hind quarters, and there's no way he's letting us close enough to clean him up. Our last attempt at doing so resulted in some wounds and scratches. Any advice would be welcome.
 

Furballsmom

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Once he's asleep, can you wrap him in a towel and remove the poop? If you have a veterinarian clinic nearby or housecall groomer, either the groomer or a vet tech might be able to help.
 
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mariotallcups

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Thank you for the response! He's a pretty light sleeper, and tends to sleep under furniture, but it's worth a shot.
The vet tech said they could prescribe a tranquilizer if we could provide his weight, but he's not exactly thrilled to sit on a scale either. Haven't tried a groomer--good idea!
 
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mariotallcups

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Apologies for the late update! Ultimately, it went well, but there was a bit of drama. I called our vet again, and they agreed to give us a sedative. Our cat ate it up (sprinkled on some canned salmon), and we waited an hour and a half for the sedative to kick in. But he was still very full of energy at that point, and evaded all our attempts. About two hours after that, we tried again, and while he was still alert enough to put up a good struggle, I held him long enough for my partner to safely clip the offending poop bits from his hindquarters.

It's a good preview of what it'll be like to get him to his vet check up! Hopefully, by then, he'll have calmed down a little bit.
 
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