First Trapping Success

andrewrichard5

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So yesterday we decided that the kitten that has been running back and forth across the road needed to be caught so we set the trap out in the pouring rain to try and catch the little guy. Well, two other cats came over and checked out the trap, HamCat, and Analeigh, unfortunately they were both too wise to go in it. I had to go back inside to get something and when I came out I got near the trap and a cat I had never seen before came flying out of it. He was very scared. I was mad at myself because I thought great there goes the one we could have caught. Well, fortunately this cat came back in about 10 minutes, probably really hungry or just naive. He or she, not sure yet is a tiny Maine Coon type cat, probably 8 months old. Cutest thing I ever saw. Took the scaredy cat to the vet this morning and can pick him up tonight. I will see if they can keep him overnight because keeping him in my room at school may be dangerous. I never saw him before, but he is certainly afraid of people and quite feral.
 

addiebee

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Yay! You're off to a good start. Obviously, if new cats keep showing up then there is an even greater need than you thought to do TNR.

 

krz

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Good for you!!
I know you will be successful in trapping the others, the first one is always the hardest and most stressful!!
 
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andrewrichard5

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She is recovering in my dorm room. Yes, that is right, she, it is a beautiful female cat. Also the vet listed her as being six years old. She is much smaller than my kittens are at my house and they are only 8 months old. So much for being a young cat like I thought. It is hard to think of her ever having kittens. She is just pooped right now and is catching some zzz's in my pile of dirty laundry.
 

krz

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Well done! No more kittens for her, now she can just be fed and cared for, or do you think she may be a candidate for adoption?
 
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andrewrichard5

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Originally Posted by KRZ

Well done! No more kittens for her, now she can just be fed and cared for, or do you think she may be a candidate for adoption?
I think adoption may be a possibility for her as she is somewhat calm and relaxed. Even last night in the trap she did not make a sound all night and just sat calmly in the cage. She lets me walk over to her and crouch down next to her, she sort of winces a little, but then she straightens up and just lets me talk to her. My girlfriends grandmother has tamed feral cats in the past and we are going to talk to her to see if she could keep an eye on her for a while and see if she can be tamed. I think she has a chance to make a good indoor pet. Even in the cage I noticed she did not watch me the whole time I was near her so she must not have been too scared.
 

going nova

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Congrats! The two adult ferals I caught seemed calm just after their spay. I kept the first one for two nights, and the second one for three. When they felt better, they stopped being calm. I wished so hard they could learn to live indoors. I hope your cat really is calm. You're doing a lovely thing for the cats on your campus.
 
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andrewrichard5

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Yeah, I hope she stays calm too, I just wonder how I am going to get her outside when I am ready to release her if/when she needs to be released. If she is no longer calm, getting her out from under my bed is going to be an adventure.
 

sarahp

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Wow, she definitely isn't feral! My ferals I would never let out of the cage I trap them in (except to transfer them to a larger recovery cage, and even then they never get a chance to escape). The ferals generally hiss and spit at the sight of me.

If they did get loose, I imagine they would hide in a corner with flat ears and try to take an arm off if I went near them!

I would not let loose any kitty you've caught as a feral unless you know for sure they are not feral or too scared, and even then, they should recover in a cage for at least a day or two. If they try to run and hide, letting them out of the cage that soon after surgery could injure their surgery wound.

I'm glad she's ok though, and seems fairly friendly. If you can get some chicken or beef Stage 2 Gerber baby food (it's in a small glass container), you can put that on your finger and offer it to her. Cats love it and it's a fantastic bribe!
 

mrblanche

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A six-year-old cat with long hair and no mats may be a fairly new abandonment. It sounds like she's used to being inside.
 

menagerie mama

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Great job!!! I wish more people would get into this! I am going to be working with the Humane Society in my neighborhood, too to trap our ferals and alter them and rehome or release them.
Back when I didn't know as much, I trapped my cat Timmy when he was about 4 months old. He was so feral, he climbed the walls yowling to get away from me. After neutering, and months of TLC, he finally let me pet him and hold him. Granted, he curled in a little ball for most of it, but one day he started doing the "that feels good" pose during chin scratching, and when he purred for me for the first time, I actually cried. It was shortly after that, that I decided to keep him. I knew he wouldn't trust anyone else easily, and I loved him so I couldn't put him outside. He's still a nervous cat, but very loving, on his terms, of course.
 
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andrewrichard5

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She really wants to go outside and look out the window, but I can't let her because I am not allowed to have cats in my building. So I have put so much stuff up against the blind but she still wants to look outside to see the cats on the other side of the window. She is warming up to me some, I can sit next to her and talk to her and she will close her eyes and doze off, but only after about 20 minutes. Hopefully I can put up a picture or two soon. I am still trying to figure out what to do with her and have not been able to find anyone who can take her and try to tame her.

She has still not made a single sound, not a meow or a growl or a purr or any type of noise at all from her mouth. I think it is very strange. Even when she does get scared she just quickly walks away or will put her ears back and sort of try to back away or cringe.
 
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andrewrichard5

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I had to relocate to my parents basement as it was getting iffy as to whether people knew there was a cat in my room. When I come back from dinner after being away for 4 hours and see her perched on my windowsill I get a little scared. Then 10 minutes later when I leave my room and there is someone standing in the hall outside my room I get even more worried. 10 minutes after that we are packed into my car having cleaned and removed all evidence from my room and start hitting the phone lines hard to see if anyone has a place for her. My parents reluctantly allowed me to keep her in the basement in a large dog crate that we have. I should have just kept her in that at school but I hadn't thought of it at the time. I had no idea she would be so insistent on sitting in the only place she shouldn't go. There are lots of people making calls right now on her behalf and the search is now in full swing for a home. There is a huge network of animal rescue groups and individuals here in Central Pennsylvania that is working to help me. Through my now many contacts I now know of a current administrator at my school, current professor and former administrator that are on my side and also help with animal rescues and TNR. Also a person just down the road from me is very into TNR and has a large colony of cats that lives in a barn and get fed quite well and this person has a vet friend that comes and checks them all out on a regular basis. Also PA Pets has been wonderful and they know lots of people.

This cat that we now call Lynx is becoming quite a legend.
 

krz

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WOW! You are doing such a great job. Good luck with Lynx, I hope you can find her a suitable home, it sounds as if it will be an easy transition for her to live indoors. It's wonderful for you to have support and a network of people who are concerned about the ferals and strays in your area.
 
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andrewrichard5

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Here are two pictures of the little girl. She is super tiny, I would say about 6-7 pounds at the most.

This picture is her on the night that we caught her. It had poured all day.


She is recovering sitting in her favorite corner of my room on her favorite plastic grocery bag.
 
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andrewrichard5

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She has been adopted by a great family that will give her what she needs. They also understand that they will need to be patient with her as she adjusts.
 
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