help ASAP

there is a cat out back right now that i want!!

hes the main tom cat of the area...

thing is i cant neuter till thursday morning - should i get him now??? Thats over 24 hours he would be caged.... and its pretty cold out now. Im tempted to trap him now since hes not always around - but dont want to cause unneeded stress...

I would get him now!

Originally Posted by m935

there is a cat out back right now that i want!!

hes the main tom cat of the area...

thing is i cant neuter till thursday morning - should i get him now??? Thats over 24 hours he would be caged.... and its pretty cold out now. Im tempted to trap him now since hes not always around - but dont want to cause unneeded stress...

Click to expand...

take him!

very good to do such in good time, so you dont need risk anything immediately before....

Do have him som somewhere where he is unstressed and undistrurbed, so he will calm down... If he is in a small cage, lay something over the cage so he has it dark and cosy. If he is in a big dog cage, let him have a cat igloo or a turned cardboard box, so he will have somewhere to hide. This does much to lessen on the stress.

If you have Feliway, let it be on.

thanks

hes gone now

tomorrow is my trapping night - i usually trap in another yard - but i will trap back there and leave the traps out till midnight and check regularly (i know if i catch other animals I will be sorry)

At least i know he was out there around 1130. The last time i had the trap back there i brought it in around 10.... i also now have macarel which worked pretty well last week.

Hopefully i will be lucky tomorrow - fingers crossed- I REALLY want this guy!!!

Originally Posted by m935

but dont want to cause unneeded stress...

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As said, good caging isnt so bad. They soon stress down. Thus. In the moment of catch and some time after, they do often have a high defensive aggresiveness. Thick clothes and protective gloves very much recommended!

But caged in a proper way, they quite soon settle down when they notice nobody is actively mean to them.

I think the vet prefer to have them when they had settled down some, then when they are as most aggressive in defense!

So next time: dont hesitate to take that semiferal in in good time.
Have a prepared dog cage or something, so all will be fine.

A free living cat is used to hide long time if and when necessary. So being in a a nice protective cage isnt so bad as it perhaps sounds.


And I think you know all this, you seem to be experienced in helping the semiferals.


good luck, and thanks for the great job you are doing!

I GOT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was walking my dog in the back and there he was - I was shocked to see him in the middle of the day - so i took my dog back inside without her even using hte bathroom - set up the trap. It only took about 15 minutes. I heard it go off and know not to get too excited since my traps tend to go off at the slightest touch - OR not at all. so i almost jumped up and down when i saw him inside.

He is a fat one - i hope hes no ones pet... but as much as i know he is THE tom cat of the area!!! and hes being neutered tomorrow

Plus now i feel better with him only being in the trap for 17 hours instead of 32 - but thanks for the advice - i know he'll be ok nonetheless!

Congratulations!!! That's wonderful news! And really nice for you too, because if he is the main tom of the area it should hopefully make a nice sized dent in the kitten population in "his" territory. Can you snap a photo of him for us to see?

You GO girl!

Hope your doggie got to go out again!

Laurie

Originally Posted by m935

He is a fat one - i hope hes no ones pet...

Click to expand...

Successfull semiferals are quite often thick, almost fat. It is surely a connection: being thick helps them to be healthy and not suffer so much from bad weather, and being healthy makes it possible to be even thick almost fat.


If you think he may have an owner, you can write him up on messageboards in the neighboorhood.
You dont need to admit YOU had him fixed...


Congrats, great news!!!

I THINK I attached his photo.... of course with him being in a trap its not the best picture- but you get an idea - maybe not how big he really is though.

Thing is - he has to be the tom cat cause all the kittens are either all black or black and white - but im no expert on this obviously and i wont be too surprised if he's already been fixed and is female.

By the way - my dog did get to pee soon after my celebration -

That's great news - congratulations!