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- #41
OK here she is. Don’t let her looks fool you - she’s got me totally intimidated.
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Success!!!! I’ve trapped the stray. Except s/he’s terrified.
- Thread starter reba
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #42
Also I have an appointment on Monday to drop her off. They said it’s OK if I cancel it because I can’t get her in the carrier.
The good news is she’ll go eat in the carrier if I put her dish in there. The bad news is her tail sticks out so I can’t slam the door without worrying I’ll crush it.
The good news is she’ll go eat in the carrier if I put her dish in there. The bad news is her tail sticks out so I can’t slam the door without worrying I’ll crush it.
Haha, I now totally understand what you said in a previous post...
"It’s funny the last cat I trapped was the mangiest looking guy and he’s a mensch. Clearly was handled a lot and never was abused. This girl looks like a princess and clearly she hasn’t been handled by humans given her intolerance for any kind of touch."
Looks like a princess, indeed.
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Thanks for the pic! She is a beauty and appears to be very alert by the expression in her eyes.
Fingers crossed for your vet appointment on Monday. 
Please let us know how it goes.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #45
Yeah I have to lighten up as she no doubt feels my anxiety (and frustration frankly) about getting her to the vet. The worst that can happen is I scruff her and she wins. That said both my parents got cat bites and they both ended up in the ER one with an overnight stay. I was a lot better off before I knew what happens when they bite.
I know how that goes. Not personally, but I've had two family members who got cat bites and requires hospitalization.
Good news, from my experience, is the claws come out first way before bites. Still definitely unpleasant. But when I got Willy into the cardboard box (just consider that a backup option, BTW... maybe find a large one to have on-hand), he scratched the hell out of my arm but didn't bite.
Good luck!
Where are you with doing this with gloves of some kind? She freaks out if she notices that your hands look different? Protecting yourself is important and if you know that you are protected you will be more comfortable with manipulating her into the crate if it comes to that.
She looks like my Chelsea, who retained a kitten look until the day she died. For years she allowed me to pick her up with one arm only. If the other hand moved, she squirmed and jumped. This little girl has the same kind of alert look.
Good that the vet is working with you on alternatives if you don't get her the first time.
She looks like my Chelsea, who retained a kitten look until the day she died. For years she allowed me to pick her up with one arm only. If the other hand moved, she squirmed and jumped. This little girl has the same kind of alert look.
Good that the vet is working with you on alternatives if you don't get her the first time.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #48
I actually have the gloves the type of gloves they use at the vet, but you can’t get any kind of grip on her.
Your description is perfect about her skittishness. I move one hand in just the wrong way and she’s outta there.
I can’t figure out how she’s bucketing her thoughts about being scared. Like she finally got hungry enough that she came out to eat next to me and let me pet her. It’s not tentative petting either, I get full elevator butt, scratch her back and she’ll push into my hand with her head. But if the hand is up too high - game over.
She doesn’t strike me as a biter (famous last words), but given her ability to hang from a raised mini blind and (once that was outta the way), the window security sensor, my guess is she’s got the will to go nuclear if it keeps her from being caught.
Yes she does look youthful, but she’s actually filled out quite a bit from when I first saw her in my yard last summer. Actually I’m hoping she’s spayed because she didn’t get knocked up last summer.
Your description is perfect about her skittishness. I move one hand in just the wrong way and she’s outta there.
I can’t figure out how she’s bucketing her thoughts about being scared. Like she finally got hungry enough that she came out to eat next to me and let me pet her. It’s not tentative petting either, I get full elevator butt, scratch her back and she’ll push into my hand with her head. But if the hand is up too high - game over.
She doesn’t strike me as a biter (famous last words), but given her ability to hang from a raised mini blind and (once that was outta the way), the window security sensor, my guess is she’s got the will to go nuclear if it keeps her from being caught.
Yes she does look youthful, but she’s actually filled out quite a bit from when I first saw her in my yard last summer. Actually I’m hoping she’s spayed because she didn’t get knocked up last summer.
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I think that's a good sign, by far.
She may give you trouble getting to the vet, but it sounds like she will be well worth it.
My cat Willy HATED the vet at first. But turned out to be the most loving guy imaginable and my best friend. Still doesn't enjoy when I take him in, but he gets over it fast
I know this story won't apply to all cats but I hope it has some degree of possibility for her.
I have caught a few cats using the food in the carrier method and generally when you shut the door they will move to the back so you shouldn't have any issues with the tail. That being said, I did have one young one who was too fast for me and he spun around and was out the door before I could shut the carrier so you do have to be somewhat fast about it.
I have had luck with rose pruning gloves which fit better and usually go up to the elbow. They allow for more movement of the fingers and are not as stiff.
She is definitely friendly on her terms, which is a great start. She knows that you have been kind to her and is trying to reciprocate, but cannot trust enough to let her guard down.
There is a possibility that she is spayed. Some of these cats have very strange pasts. I have rescued 4 cats over the years, three females and one male, on whom I would have bet the house that they were not fixed, but it turned out that they were. No one had a tipped ear, so they were probably pets at one point or another.
She is definitely friendly on her terms, which is a great start. She knows that you have been kind to her and is trying to reciprocate, but cannot trust enough to let her guard down.
There is a possibility that she is spayed. Some of these cats have very strange pasts. I have rescued 4 cats over the years, three females and one male, on whom I would have bet the house that they were not fixed, but it turned out that they were. No one had a tipped ear, so they were probably pets at one point or another.
Hands coming down from above is an issue for a lot of cats...it lessens with trust for a particular person, generally. When reaching to pat any cat I do not know well, I lower my arm down to their level, and come in at face height. That seems to help. I now have three ferals that I can safely pat.
Oh yeah, I've heard of this before.
Putting your hand down at the cat's face-level, and then slowly approach it. They accept that much better than lowering a hand down over them.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #54
She’s onto me. Now won’t go eat in carrier to eat if I’m sitting next to it. Grrrrrrrrr.
As with everything with cats, keep at it. Repetition is the key to cats. That pretty much applies to everything about them.
I'd keep trying. Put more distance between me and the carrier, and hopefully she will go inside. Then gradually move closer.
If there is a long time during which the carrier is not used or disturbed, she will start to explore it again. However, this is not going to help you now. Do you still plan to try for Monday?
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- #57
[Do you still plan to try for Monday?
I changed the appointment to next Monday. By that time I should be able to stand up and pet her while she is eating and my anxiety should be a lot lower. Today she ate and then walked by me several times and rubbed up against me, versus just taking off into her playpen once the meal is over. Funny thing is I tried to introduce her to my sister yesterday and she was having none of it - wouldn’t come even for treats and sat there looking first at her, then at me, then her, then at me. Perhaps she has been trapped by women in the past.
Anyway, we are making progress in the play department in both enthusiasm and willingness to run after the toy instead of just play with it from a distance. PS Is there a name for her coat color?
I changed the appointment to next Monday. By that time I should be able to stand up and pet her while she is eating and my anxiety should be a lot lower. Today she ate and then walked by me several times and rubbed up against me, versus just taking off into her playpen once the meal is over. Funny thing is I tried to introduce her to my sister yesterday and she was having none of it - wouldn’t come even for treats and sat there looking first at her, then at me, then her, then at me. Perhaps she has been trapped by women in the past.
Anyway, we are making progress in the play department in both enthusiasm and willingness to run after the toy instead of just play with it from a distance. PS Is there a name for her coat color?
What a little cutie! She looks relaxed and confident in the picture. If she were not, you would not have been able to even take it. A cat who is just acclimating to a new place will not warm up to everyone at the same time. Don't worry about the fact that she did not take to your sister. Some cats have favorite people, even those who are not skittish around others.
Giving it another week is a good idea.
She may be a mackerel and white tabby, but someone else will probably come along who is better at identifying coat patterns.
Giving it another week is a good idea.
She may be a mackerel and white tabby, but someone else will probably come along who is better at identifying coat patterns.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #59
It’s kind of amazing how few actual videos there are of people getting difficult cats into carriers. The demonstration videos are all with chillin‘ cats.
Yeah, most are about how to properly train your cat to getting used to a carrier. Like my favorite one, below. But few actually demonstrate how to do it for the first time, when you absolutely have to do it.
I would focus on videos about "how to scruff a cat," personally.
