good vibes needed!

DH is going to attempt to catch the feral cat at his office next week. Neither of us have ever done anything like this before, but hopefully it will go smoothly and he can be taken to the vet for neutering and all the other necessities. We would like for him to join our family ASAP.

You will be using a trap, right? That's pretty much the only safe way to do it - for kitty and for DH!

If you're borrowing one, give it a wash - get the scent of fear and other cats off of it. Has anyone been feeding it? Because having a regular feeding schedule REALLY helps - then the day before you want to trap, put out food, but like almost none, so kitty is good and hungry the next day. Covering the trap in sticks and leaves can help. Even better is pouring potting soil over the bottom of the trap - kitty doesn't have to walk on the wires, and the trap lifts right up through it. Then use a REALLY stinky food, like tuna, mackerel, salmon or herring can help.

Make SURE you have a plastic tarp down in the car wherever you're going to put the trap. Almost every feral we've trapped has peed, pooped or vomited out of fear on the drive to the vet. MUCH easier to clean up if you're prepared.

Do you have any idea how old the feral kitty is?

I'm so excited for you! I really hope all goes well!



Laurie

Ditto all of Laurie's great advice.

Thank you for doing a wonderful thing for this kitty (though he may act like he doesn't appreciate it at first... )

Let us know how it goes. Best of luck to your husband!

PS - Test the trap to make sure it's working properly. If you've borrowed an old trap that's been left out in bad weather, there may be some rusted areas on the moving parts and it may not trip smoothly. You can coat these with a couple of drops of oil to lubricate them.

Hi...thanks for the advice. DH is feeding the cat on a regular schedule. Even on weekends, we drive across town to feed him. The cat is still afraid of me, because I'm not around the office much, but actually sat on DH's lap today. We have been holding back on the trapping for fear of catching something other than our intended cat, such as a racoon. Also worried that the kitty won't take kindly to being trapped, since DH has only recently won his trust.

Sending vibes that the lucky feral boy is successfully captured soon!! With patience, you may be able to scoop him up without the trauma of trapping