taking my reformed feral to get neutered..advice!

Hey I found out my cat's a boy instead of a girl lol.. Now I'm going to the vet in the morning to have kitty get vaccinated and neutered.. I'm scared of the car ride tho. He's really REALLY freaked out by the sound of a running engine, and I'm scared that when I get him to the vet he will attack him or something. I'm going by myself out of necessity or else I would hold him to calm him down, but since I can't I'm gonna put him in a kitty carrier.. My last reform feral cat that I took to the vet scratched her like 6 times and ran around the room til she got tired out. Is there anyway to calm kitty down on the car ride over? Should I use a cat harness on him too or is that dangerous? Unfortunately there are no vets until about 20min from my house so it won't be a really short drive or anything.. Also, am I supposed to feed him or not or doesn't it matter before the operation? I have no idea lol, all my other cats my mom handled, this is my first real kitty of my own..

TIA =)

Hey there, I am going to move you to the feral forum where you can get advice from those who have been there.

Now that you are moved, here are some tips for you. Before the visit, set out the carrier and sprinkle it with a little bit of catnip. Leave it open (prop open the door) and feed the cat inside of it, put the cat's bedding inside and a few toys.

Prior to going, take a few pipecleaners and insert them so they stick up inside the carrier (fairly high up) twist them good around the slits in the carrier- I call these stress-sticks and when a cat in anxious he can bat these around to relieve his anxiety.

Also when he travels, always cover the carrier with a dark cloth that cuts down the engine noise and calms the cat. Place the carrier on a padding of some sort to act as more of a shock absorber and to stop the vibration of the engine he will feel.

Good luck!

Oh yeah and how long should I keep him inside?? He doesn't mind being indoors too much but he's definately wild at heart and can't stand to be cooped up.. Also, he's not used to other people and is scared to death of being inside unless I'm around to comfort him, so if he's in I have to be too =P (for now anyway).. We live on a big farm so he has lots of safe room to roam, but usually just sticks to the back porch area.. The vet is keeping him overnight.. My last cat was a female who could not be contained for anything and after she got spayed she ran out in the weeds and got a yucky infection, I don't want him to gt one too =/

I think I have atleast 3 other cats roaming about but all I can catch is glimpses.. even if I can't adapt them to pet life I would like to be able to alter them so they don't keep having more kids!! I leave out bunches of food tho and it always gets eaten..

wasn't sure where to put it but now reading it I guess it does make more sense in the feral phorum, sorry =P (thanks =))

If you vet is keeping him overnight, then I would just watch him for 24 hours and then release him. Prior to releasing him, rub cornstarch on his fur to get rid of the vet smell he will have picked up, and leave a bowl of wet food outside for him to convince him to stick around.

i'm scared he's gonna pee all over the place lol.. My old cats used to do that then it would leak out of the carrier.. ewwww.. Especially since I just got a brand new car, I'm sure he'll just have to pee all thru it.. What should I put down to absorb it so it doesn't spill all over the car? Used to put shredded newspaper then like a towel on top but it never worked that good.. He sleeps in a pretty big kitty bed that would never fit in the carrier but I put a towel in his bed underneath him to pick up the scent and hopefully it calms him down a little.. Is it ok to feed him a treat or two on the way or will that mess stuff up (like how people surgeries can't eat for 12-24 hours bfor?)?

I never went to this vet before but he's pretty darn expensive and also the girl on the phone sounded pretty knowledgable so I'm assuming this is a good place. My old vet retired unfortunately, because he was inexpensive yet very good.. People have recommended me to other places but there's waiting or it's too far away..

I'm scared kitty will be mad after the neutering. He's being REALLL friendly today, fell asleep on my bed and let me pop his claws in and out (awww) without batting an eyelash.. He freaks out at loud noises then I pick him up or pet him or even just talk to him softly and he calms down noticeably.. I am soo happy, I hope all his tests come out clean.. I think he thinks I'm his mom or something.

He usually stays out at night but I'm gonna put him in the tractor garage tonite so I can find him when I come home in the morning without having to search all over the boondocks.. I hope he doesn't get really upset.. ugh. Maybe the other tomcat will stop chasing him now.. but i doubt it.. =/

thank god some vets accept visa. that's all i have to say.. lol

He was sooo good this morning. I made him sleep in the garage last night instead of roaming around so I could find him in the morning and I thought he might dart out when I opened the door but he didn't.. I brought him in my room about an hour before we left and set the carrier on the floor and put his towel inside on top of a foam pad. I put a little food and water next to the carrier, but he got curious and ended up going in and nout a few times.. when it was time to leave i threw his catnip mouse in and he ran after it, then I pet him and shut the door..

He was SOO good.. He even fell asleep on the way there. Everytime we hit a bump or made a sharp turn he would get scared but i would tell him it was ok and pet his head and he would calm down. I thought everything was OK til the lady at the vet picked up his carrier--kitty hissed and growled at her!! Ugh. I hope he is OK.. I can't wait til he gets back..

The vet seems nice so I'm happy =)

Hey the vet asst told me that my cat needs to stay in for atleast a week before being put outside... is that true? She said everything is normal and all his sutures are on the inside and he's fine, no care required, just don't let him out for a week.. I was planning on putting him out tomorrow, is that bad??

It's always best to follow the advice of your vet. I'm sure they are worried about infection if Roxy goes outside. Even though he can't tear at the sutures, it takes about a week for the incision to completely heal and until then if anything get it in it could get infected.

I would watch him for a few days but if he gets really stressed out for being confined (and I would put him in a small room not the carrier for three days) then I would release him. The males don't have near the problem the females do after surgery and if he is stressed out, you may compromise his immune system by keeping him contained. It may be that if you put him in the garage or a small room he may not want his freedom again- it is all up to the cat, but if he is true feral, a week may be a bit hard for him to deal with.


Good luck!

Gee, I've always released the males after a 24 hour confinement following surgery. But, these were true ferals who couldn't even be touched without being sedated. hmmmmm.....

yep- me too. If this is the case with this cat, she might not have a room left at the end of the week...

well he's been in captivity since saturday morning, staying in my huge upstairs bathroom.. You can tell he'd rather be somewhere else but is not actually being crazy or anything.. He DID start biting yesterday, the most i ever got before was a swat and a hiss.. I'm starting to introduce him to other parts of my house, but he always acts like he's terrified. If someone moves, he flinches. We're not sure if he has had bad experiences with humans in the past or not.. At first we thought he was a kitten, but no.. that's just because he was so emaciated he looked tiny.. Now he's quite large..

I'm starting to think he's not feral, tho he was living outside with no contact for at least a year or so.. We believe that someone threw out another cat that we were fostering (fifi). Fifi has been around for about 2-3 years without attempting contact. She was black n white, then over the past year we have seen several black and white cats show up.. I kno cats can look completely different from their parents, I've had cats give birth to 5 babies that are all completely different colors, but it just seems weird that 4 of the cats around here look alike.. So anyhow, we think fifi was a housecat who then gave birth to Roxy, Stalker, and Mojo (the other cats around here who are black/white and look alike).. Stalker and Mojo are TERRIFIED of people, the only way I've ever even spotted them is thru cracks in my fence, but as soon as they hear someone they run.. Stalker chases roxy around sometimes and used to terrify me..

So anyhow, roxy is probably the offspring of a housecat, a housecat which didn't turn wild as she lived in my car port and stole my other cats food for survival.. Eventually Fifi came to us and she was the SWEETEST.. I have never seen a cat as loving as FiFi but unfortunately a few days b4 taking her to the vet she got run over by a car..

well anyhow, i think i may let roxy out for a little while today, but he'll come in either when he wants to or before dark..

thnks for all the advice =)

You want to keep his world small for now. Think about it for a minute, here he was he had the whole outdoors to play in and feel safe because escape was always readily available. Now he is confined in a room where he needs to feel safe, so is probably hiding, getting used to vibrations on the floor, new smells, new sounds, etc. Opening up this room to the other part of the house will really terrify him. Allow him to know he can trust you- bring him food at regular scheduled times, sit on the floor and read out loud to him, that type of thing. Give him places he can hide, a big cardboard box flipped upside down, weighted doen and with holes cut in it so he can go in and out is a good place for a scared kitty.

He has had to deal with a lot of changes recently, don't heap any more changes on him at the moment, and be careful around him. Cat bites are very dangerous.

Hi Anna! WHAT A CUTE KITTY!!!!! Sorry I missed all this, but you were in GREAT hands with hissy! (The best possible! ). I'm so glad you had your kitty neutered - both of you will be happier! ...and I'm so glad to hear everything went well. !!!!!!

There's a terrific thread here about someone who rescued a feral and everything she went through socializing her kitty. Hers was a true feral, and pretty old (6 months or so) when she rescued her, but it has GREAT tips on how to earn that trust.

We rescued a stray once, and it was MUCH easier to gain her trust and her acceptance of the home and its noises than any of ther ferals. But even when you bring a new hand-raised kitten home, it's best to introduce them to the home one room at a time, and then only when they're ready for it.

Here's the link - it's a wonderful story, I hope you find the time to enjoy it! Socializing a Feral - the story of Lucky

Thanks for being a great kitty angel!