Advice on getting an indoor semi-feral cat into a carrier

Hi,

I've offered to take in a semi-feral cat to work on socializing him. He's lived indoors since he was a kitten, but has never warmed up to humans. Right now he's living in a bedroom, mostly staying under the bed. He's started peeing on the bed so he needs to be moved asap. He's very trap savvy b/c he was trapped indoors to be taken in and neutered.

Any advice on getting him to go into a carrier without stressing him out too much? There can be up to three people trying to *coax* him into a carrier, but I'm not sure how to approach it. I have lots of experience with semi-ferals and ferals, but in this case I don't know the cat, and the people he's living with are very anxious to have him moved.

Just hoping someone has some tricks/tips that I've never thought of.

Thanks!

Hi! Frodo (see my posts) was hit by car, hid under bed. He's semi feral too and was impossible to get to. AC (animal control) came and used a net to get him. I first put a painkiller / tranquilizer into his food, and this helped sedate some, so he didn't struggle as much.

I would not involve AC again (due to the whole have to have a rabies certificate). But, you can get a bird net (which is what we used) and
you can get a vet to give tranquilizer (if you have good relationship).

Buperanol has done wonders - it is opiate pain killer that also makes
em a bit sleepy and slow.

Thanks for the suggestions, I called my vet and he won't prescribe anything for a cat he hasn't seen. The vet tech said that maybe gravol would be okay. Any thoughts on that?

I was able to get my fighting mad kitten into the carrier by throwing a towel over her and grabbing her while someone else tilted the carrier and put her in.

I am leery of meds, like your vet but Feliway spray and Rescue Remedy can be calming too.

Got him! He's now sitting miserably in my bathroom but hopefully better days are ahead. The poor thing peed everywhere he was so scared, he doesn't seem to have an aggressive bone in his body.

He was a complete statue under the bed, just wouldn't budge even with gentle prodding. We ended up taking the mattress off the bed and gently moving him out from under the bed with the flat end of a swiffer (oh it sounds so mean!), finally he panicked and started jumping up the wall. At that point we somehow got his head into the carrier and maneuvered him into the carrier. No injuries, but the other person had some scratches. Not bad, but very heartbreaking to see him so scared.

Send me some good vibes that I can help this gentle giant learn to trust people!!

Question: should we be worried about how much he pees? He's been a big peer since kittenhood and it's clear, just so much.