HELP !! Cat in ceiling

Hello all,

Well yesterday I caught skittie and brought her inside. I made an area in my basement for her. She kept to the corner, but when i came down I could pet her and she would come out a little bit.

Well this mourning I came downstairs to she her, but she was not there in the area. I searched and found her in the ceiling in a drop box that runs half of the basement. I could go into the bathroom and have enough room to poke my head up to see her and I could reach my hand in and pet her. She lets me pet her an doesn't his or swat or anything.

How do i get her out !!! Is this normal for feral cats to do this. I brought in mommie and her kittens and never had this problem.

I am worried sick about her. My wife says that she will come out and is just scared. Anyone have any ideas ??

Thanks
Brian

Ah, surely it is very normal for a shy cat to hide like this if they can. This is why you must close off all holes and such...

The question is, is she stuck in there, or is she free to get out from there anytime she wants?

If nr 2, dont worry too much. Have food, water outside and litter near, and she will come out when she is prepared. Probably at night when everything is quiet.

Use also Feliway if you are really worried.

Good luck!

Thank you for rescuing this kitty!

Your wife is right. This is normal, and she is scared. Cats are territorial creatures, and she doesn't know that you've saved her from the freezing weather. She just knows she DOESN'T know where she is, what you want, why she's there - and it looks strange, smells strange, and sounds strange.

She should be taken to the vet to be spayed - and if she's not going back outside, then to have her parasites removed. Probably just worms this time of year.

She'll probably be fine - you can moniter her food and water intake, and her use of the litter box. However, it really is best to get her down from there....unless you have a lot of time to spend in the basement doing stuff. Letting her get used to you by being around but not paying any attention to her is the quickest way to build her trust. But at 1 1/2 years old, it could take a while. With ferals, you really just have to turn off the clock.

But to keep an eye on her or get her down:

1) Are you a techie? Have a webcam? Or can you afford to invest in a wireless camera system? (Some are pretty inexpensive these days, even the ones that see in the dark).

2) Buy or borrow a mouse or rodent pet. The prey drive is so strong it will bring her down. Just make sure you're ready for this and can barricade how she's getting back up into the ceiling.

3) If you're confident she's eating, you can borrow a trap from a vet or local shelter, and put her food in there, and get her to the vet to be spayed, etc. She should spend the night - that'll give you time to cat proof the basement, so it's ready when she can be brought home and released.

Have you named her?

Laurie

Thanks all,

Skittie was TNR around Sept-Oct. She seems to be fine in the ceiling. I can go up there and pet her and she does the head bump thing. She even lightly bit my finger when i stopped petting her. She just lays up in the ceiling. Now last night before bed, I went down and sat with her. She rubbed up against me and laid at my feet as i pet her. I thought everything was going to be fine.

I have removed all surounding ceiling tiles, so that she can not go further into the basement. I have put gates and closed off all remaining area's that she could get into. I do have camera's and I was watching through out the night. That's when i noticed that i did not see her moving around after 2:30 am last night.

She has a night light and food, water and litter. I just wish she would come down.

hi i also hade the same kind of thing hapen to me except that it was my cat and she gave birth in the ceiling i was worried sick i made my boyfriend ripe apart half of the ceiling and still could not get to the kittens or her she would come up to eat and drink but i was still worried about the kittens well when they were about 7 weeks old they came up out of the ceiling i would say don't worry give her time and she will come around as long as she is coming out to eat she should be okay good luck

Well I came downstairs this mourning and found that she had came down and ate some of her food. I then looked for her and could not find her. The only ceiling tile that i did not remove ( because it was cut around the bathroom vent) was broken and laying on the floor. She had peed on my brand new mac magazine ( i don't think i will be reading that now )

Now i have three dog gates up, and they go from the floor to the ceiling. Somehow she was on the other side of these gates. ( I have no idea how) Well I found her and she followed me back to the area I made for her. She ate almost all of her food and did nothing but rub against me. I laid on the floor and she laid against me. then she got up and rubbed against my face. I pet her for about hour, then started to fix up the area.

I fixed up the area, hopefully she will not get back into the ceiling. I opened up a two door cabinet with one door closed, and put in a bed spread for her to lay on. So far she has not gone inside it. I moved the washing machine out from against the wall, to give her a small space to hide. I also created a couple area's for her to hide against.

My daughter and I went down and sat with her. She let my daughter pet her, but she cries all the time when she is alone. Not to mention she cried all night long. I guess we will see how she does.

Sending prayers and vibes that Skittie settles down soon
How wonderful that your daughter has you to teach her all about cat rescue Reading your latest post reminded me of all those wonderful things that my father taught me, including dealing with cats and horses, and all the joys and strengths(built thru the trials) that I have gained from that. She will always treasure those memories and when she is out on her own, you will be able to relax, knowing that you have taught her well