My newbie intro

Hi Everyone!

I found this site when searching the net for sites about feral cats.
We have two

Our first is Rose, who came to us from Argentina! She was a street kitten, living on bugs and handouts from my daughter's host family (she was on exchange). So Rose came back with my daughter when the exchange ended.

Number two, Blanche, came to us slowly, over time... I first noticed her about two years ago, sleeping in my garden. We have many feral cats that live in the farm land that surrounds our property and I took little notice. Later that year, on a cold rainy wintery day, I saw her under my son's car. She was trying to stay out of the rain, which at that time was record breaking.. it had rained and rained for days on end and she stayed under his car, moving under my car when he went to work. She would run away when we checked to make sure she didn't get run over. After a couple of days I realized she wasn't eating and must be wild - she wanted nothing to do with us.. just the car. Must have been relatively warm under there. I got close enough to see that she was in terrible shape and starving. Part of her tail was missing and big chunks of her fur where missing and exposed raw, bleeding skin. Seemed to me she had chosen to spend her last days under my son's old car. I sighed and found an old stainless steel pet dish, put in some cat food and began what turned out to be months of feeding her under the car, the only place she trusted us anywhere close.

Long story short, after nearly a year and a half, Blanche lives on our porch. She moved to a little shelter we made for her on our porch that we made before the first snows hit. We have progressed to the point that I will finally be able to "catch" her and take her to the vet. The appointment is in two weeks and I'm really relieved and excited for her. I really believed she was going to die way back on those rainy days when she lived under the car but she turned out to be tough. This was a cat with few teeth and ratty fur, that never made a sound and now purrs when I feed her. We've come a long way and still have miles to go, but things are looking up. Glad I found this site.. I'm sure many of you have been through similar situations and know how rewarding these little milestones can be.

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Originally Posted by MedicineHat_Cat

but she turned out to be tough.

Click to expand...

Oh, ferales and semiferales (and surviving dumped cats) are tough. They must be, otherwise they die off in the first year. Either by starvation or by predators, like loose dogs or so.

If catching her for the vet visit is bothering you, you can perhaps use a "human trap"? This way, you are not catching her. The trap is. And later on, YOU are saving her from this trap...
You dont need to wait with the trap for the last moment. You can use it 24 hours before. As ferale, she is used to stay hidden somewhere a long time, if need be...

Nice story about the argentinian semiferale cat.


Welcome to the Forums, and proceeding questions you can put into the Ferales forum, where you had already said hello!


Good luck! *vibes*

Hi! I did this backwards LOL - saw your post in the ferals forum first.

Originally Posted by StefanZ

Oh, ferales and semiferales (and surviving dumped cats) are tough. They must be, otherwise they die off in the first year. Either by starvation or by predators, like loose dogs or so.

If catching her for the vet visit is bothering you, you can perhaps use a "human trap"? This way, you are not catching her. The trap is. And later on, YOU are saving her from this trap...

You dont need to wait with the trap for the last moment. You can use it 24 hours before. As ferale, she is used to stay hidden somewhere a long time, if need be...

Nice story about the argentinian semiferale cat.

Welcome to the Forums, and proceeding questions you can put into the Ferales forum, where you had already said hello!

Good luck!

*vibes*

Click to expand...

Depending upon where you are, the vet or a local shelter will likely be able to lend or rent you (some just want a deposit until you bring the trap back) a trap. Now we have our own - but before that, we found the best way to trap is to wash it (get the smell of other cats and fear off of it), spray it with Feliway (the "friendly" hormones - synthetic, but very helpful especially for stressed ferals), and put cardboard down on the middle part so they don't have to step on the wires. Then use a stinky food - KFC without bones or skin is GREAT, though we usually just use a little tuna. Don't put much food in as bait (we always use a paper bowl) - because once that trap snaps shut, they usually freak out and don't need the food - so the more of it there is, the more of a mess there is.

We also leave a little trail of food up TO the trap - a small piece on the cardboard to entice them in... just make sure it's small pieces so they're enticed - but hungry enough to keep going and step on the plate that trips the trap.

Whatever you decide to do, sending vibes for good luck! OH! BTW - JUST in case the vet isn't familiar, they can shave her belly to see if there's already a spay scar.

Hello and Welcome to the forum

Awwww, Blanche is so lucky to have you! Welcome to TCS!

Welcome! Glad you joined TCS!

Hi there

we're so happy to get the chance to welcome you and your fur-family to TCS. Thank you so much for offering these kitties a home

I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay with us - we're one great big family and you'll find loads of friends here. If I can help at all while you're finding your way around TCS just click on my username and send me a Personal Message - I'll do what I can to answer your questions.

First, thanks to you all for the wonderful welcome

And thanks for all the good ideas for getting a feral safely captured. I knew about havahart traps (but didn't have one and didn't know whom I could borrow one from) so I developed a plan where I would be able to get her in a crate by me placing her there... Keep in mind that Blanche was not touched at all until two weeks ago. That said, she has "known" me now for almost two years and we have a "relationship" even if it didn't not involve touch prior to two weeks ago. Our relationship has involved food every day, twice a day, a shelter during the snowy winter and company when she wanted to lie down in the garden near where I would be working outside. Actually now her favored spot is on our front porch - she has become a part of our family - sort of like the autistic child who wont be touched but still longs to be near.

I'm at the stage now, with less than two weeks until the Vet appointment, that I can softly hold Blanche a couple inches off the ground (just for a moment) while she is at her food bowl. This is in preparation for when I put her in the crate on the morning of her visit to the Vet. I want her used to the brief "capture". I'll talk to her while she is in the crate and during her exam. Thankfully the Vet we are supposed to get has delt with ferals before. Blanche has notches cut out of one of her ears so it looks like she was already fixed.

I really believe that trust has already been establised because we have gone from no touch to the brief lift (seconds) in just a few days and she seems ok with the sudden change in our relationship. She purrs when I briefly massage her shoulder blades.. makes me glad! I still have to be careful that I don't catch whatever skin ailment and bugs she has (poor thing) so all will be brief for my sake as well. I am barehanded but clean my hands right after just in case her mange is the type that humans can get. I'm barehanded because I am sure that gloves would pull on her skin and fur and I don't want to hurt her during the trust building.

It really looks like all is going well so far. I'll post more as the date for the Vet trip nears. Thanks again for letting me share Blanche's story.

I'll copy this post into the feral discussion board and any updates will be there