Advice needed re: adopted stray and getting to the vet

HI everyone!

This is my first time posting in this section. Last week we adopted a 4-5 month old kitten who had been trapped by a rescue group out of a feral/stray colony. They had intended to just spay and re-release her, but she showed that she had had some contact with people in the past (will allow herself to be petted and starts to purr and drool when this happens ) so they decided to try and find a home for her. We came into the picture, and after driving 5 hours roundtrip we brought our little girl home. She hid from us the first two days, but on the third she started coming out and playing with the Da Bird. By the fourth we could pet her...and by Wed/Th we could really pet her, and you could tell she was letting her guard down. (we always let her approach us, or else she hisses) Trouble is, now that I have had a good look at her, I suspect she has ringworm, and I *know* she has earmites...the poor things ears are just full of "coffee grounds." We also want to get her re-tested for FeLV and FIV. (We have another cat we eventually want to introduce her to, so I want to make sure she is healthy)
Here is the problem: we cannot get her into a box/crate/cage to take her to the vet. We had an appt today...and we spent the better part of 45 min getting her out of her hiding spot, playing with her and building up her trust...only to try and grab her, and she scratched us so badly and wriggled away. Now she his hiding, hissing and growling at us. We are going to start all over and re-build her trust (I really hope we haven't blown it) but the issue remains that she NEEDS to see a vet. Should we try and get her to trust us again, and try to put her in the box, or might it be better, in this situation, to put a trap out in the room she is in, just so we can take her in and start to get her treated? I feel so bad to have broken her trust just as we were starting to earn it, and I don't want to mess up again. And the poor thing is so scared, upset and stressed now. Should we give it a lot more time before we try again? Does anyone with stray cat/cats with trust or people issues have any advice? I really, really appreciate it.

Sarah

You need to use Feliway, heavy gloves and a carrier that opens from the top to catch her and crate her - my Ferris is a feral rescue that has capture trauma, and vet trips stress him unbelievably.

Catching my former feral Ferris is a traumatic experience EVERY time, but every time I bring him home, he's happy, and his trust comes back that much quicker. It took him 6 months to start trusting me, now he's my lovebug.

Don't beat yourself up, stick with her, and give her patience and time, and eventually she will come around.

I know it is heartbreaking to see them SO upset, but you have to do what you need to do for her own good, even if it upsets you, even if it upsets HER.

Try to stay calm, despite the racing of your heart when trying to cage her, and talk softly to her as often as possible - TELL her what you are doing and why, and just keep telling her that it is because you care about her.

I do not recommend that you try to build trust only to trap her to vet her. If you build a pattern of play, trust, TRAP! that will only build resentment and mistrust.

Worry about the trust part LATER, and for now, just focus on the task at hand, which is getting her cared for.

Given time, she will learn to trust you, even when you are a big meanie because you are trying to do the right thing for her. My Ferris says it'll be ok.

Thank you for your reply, GingersMom!

Our next chance to take her to the vet is not until Monday....she is letting us play with her and the Da Bird now in the room. Would it be wrong to keep playing with her until we can take her to the vet? Or will this just confuse her, as you mentioned the trust/trap issue? It is one of the only ways we can get her out of hiding, but I totally see your point of playing with her and then trying to catch her. Very mixed message. Also...she is in a room with a bed and large chair she can hide under. If we don't catch her on the first go, she WILL hide and make it near impossible to get her. Do we just keep trying, or do you think it would be best to borrow a trap from the vet and trap her that way...get her to the vet and be done with it and then worry about winning her trust again? Would it br wrong to use a trap? Is it better to try and catch her by hand? This is my first experience with having a former stray in my home...so I apologize for what I am sure are "duh" questions! I know I am talking in circles...I guess I am just wondering if we should not have much interaction with her (which right now is just playing) until we vet her...and whether or not using a trap would be cruel.

Originally Posted by Cyclesarah

Thank you for your reply, GingersMom!

Our next chance to take her to the vet is not until Monday....she is letting us play with her and the Da Bird now in the room. Would it be wrong to keep playing with her until we can take her to the vet? Or will this just confuse her, as you mentioned the trust/trap issue? It is one of the only ways we can get her out of hiding, but I totally see your point of playing with her and then trying to catch her. Very mixed message. Also...she is in a room with a bed and large chair she can hide under. If we don't catch her on the first go, she WILL hide and make it near impossible to get her. Do we just keep trying, or do you think it would be best to borrow a trap from the vet and trap her that way...get her to the vet and be done with it and then worry about winning her trust again? Would it br wrong to use a trap? Is it better to try and catch her by hand? This is my first experience with having a former stray in my home...so I apologize for what I am sure are "duh" questions!

I know I am talking in circles...I guess I am just wondering if we should not have much interaction with her (which right now is just playing) until we vet her...and whether or not using a trap would be cruel.

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Absolutely continue to interact with her over the weekend - spend time in there talking to her but not necessarily forcing her to play (not that you were forcing play at all, hope you understand what I mean - let her come to you.) If she is enjoying playing with Da bird, then by all means continue that, as it will help her to bond with you.

Having her in a room where she can hide and make it very tough for you to catch her IS a problem. If no one uses that bed, I would literally tip the mattress up against the wall and take the chair out for the weekend, until after you've caught her and vetted her. You really need to make it easier for both of you.

Again, please consider using gloves to catch her. Although she may fear the gloves, she will not associate them as "your hands" which is what she WILL associate with petting her. Does that make sense?

Try visiting messybeast.com and go to the archives to read up on taming and socializing ferals - that's where I got a lot of great info that REALLY helped me to help Ferris to come around and learn to trust me. She may be stray rather than feral, but I think a lot of that info applies in both cases. It's about understanding the cat and how to communicate with it so that it can understand that it can communicate with YOU.

I would try the pillowcase trick to catch her or again, use a top opening carrier for a "catch, drop and shut" rather than trapping. Someone else might feel/suggest differently, but if you plan to keep her forever, you'll definitely not want to have to trap her every time you need to vet her.

And this part may NEVER become easy to do, just slightly easier with repetition and experience.

The last time I had to catch Ferris for a vet trip, I chased him through my apartment for 15 minutes. I was out of breath, frustrated and ready to give up, when HE decided to give it up - so be tenacious, and you'll win out. Don't be afraid or angry about getting scratched, and try to stay calm in your head even if you want to scream out loud.

I don't think your questions are dumb AT ALL - I'm no expert, I'm just experieced with one such cat. And honestly, having been through so much with my Ferris, the ultimate reward is mine when he comes to me and cries like a kitten to be picked up and given lovies on my lap.

Gingersmom,

Just wanted to thank you again for your kind advice. I was able to crate Poppy yesterday (Boy, was she MAD!) and get her to the vet, where she was vaccinated and given a clean bill of health And you know what? She's been such a lovebig since we brought her back home Now we can start getting ready to introduce her to our other cat. Thanks again for the sound advice!!