Need Assurance and Advise

So the spay surgery date is coming up.   Wednesday the 25^th.   I am so stressed for Piper my feral feline!  This is my first time trapping a feral.  I have had some of the strays and one feral spayed and re-homed but she was mostly tamed by that time and I was able to pick her up and put her in a cat carrier without a problem.  This whole trap and leave in the trap the whole night is stressing me out because I know she is going to freak out.  She has become quite tame but not to the point where I can pick her up.  She visits me all the time and loves to be petted and just hang out.  I am also worried this will make her not trust me anymore.  I guess I just need some assurance that what I am doing is the right thing and if there is any way to make this less stressful for her.  Is she going to scream and try to get out the whole night?  Will she calm down if I cover her with a towel?  Another thing is the trap I purchased from Amazon is so complicated that me or my husband cannot figure out how to set the spring, so I am going to have to do it manually.  I think that is probably the best anyway since she will come right up beside me and I can let the door down easy and it won’t slam behind her.  And I don’t want to trap the wrong cat!  So maybe that part is for the best.  And then after the surgery?  Does anyone have any idea how long until I can release her?  Thank you!

First off, thank you so much for rescuing this sweet feral.  It is the best and right thing to do even though there is a bit of stress involved.

Second, take a moment and catch your breath!  You can do this.  I would recommend taking a look at a you tube video for the trap you bought.  I had always borrowed a trap from my neighbor, but recently bought my own also from Amazon.  It was very difficult to put together and setting it was hard.  I found a video on you tube for the make and model I bought and it walked us through the steps.  Yet, I have also sat outside next to the trap and manually set it off too.  Have you tried feeding her in the trap first to be sure she will go in?  I usually don't set the trap ( just use twist ties or undo the spring) for a day or so and put their regular food inside.  Make sure on trapping day/night that she is hungry enough to go inside.  Have super yummy and stinky food.  Something like tuna or sardines.  You will want to dribble some of the juice onto the newspapers ( I use puppy pee pads) and then just tiny amounts until she reaches the back.  There are great how to videos on you tube and Alley Cat Allies.  Once you have trapped her immediately cover the trap.  She will stop thrashing.  If you have to keep her the night before, put her in a safe spot away from household activity.  Put the trap on old towels or more puppy pee pads as she might pee.  I leave soft music playing as well as leaving a small light or night light.  Keep the trap covered. 

Will she stay the night at the vet or do you bring her home the same day?  Mine have never stayed so they need another night in the house.  I just keep them in a safe warm place, trap covered, soft music and dim light.  After the surgery you can usually feed them later than evening as well as giving them some water.  The water is a bit tricky in a trap. 

She will forgive you.  She may disappear for a day or so once she let her go, but she will come back.  A few of mine came back after 24 hours, but my last one came back the same day.  Just try to remain calm yourself.  It is truly the best thing for her.  You do not want her out in the world getting pregnant time after time after time. 

I will be thinking about you. 

As always, ShadowsRescue covered the bases!  The part about covering the trap and keeping her in a quiet place overnight is important.  She'll need quiet and calm.

And she will probably be mad at you for a bit but guess what, she'll be grateful when you let her out of the trap!  Like ShadowsRescue said, if you keep her in the trap after the spay, again, cover it and keep everything quiet.  And pee pads are your best friend!

Keep her routine up after the spaying and she'll be fine.

Thank you ShadowsRescue for the quick response!  She will be comming back the same day.  It is a spay clinic and they do not keep them over night.  So I can leave her inside the trap for one more night?  I will difinitely look up on you tube tonight to see how to set the trap.  Just in case.  I still think I will manually set it if only just to keep the others out of it.  It is the kind of trap that has a divider that I can use to put food and water in.  Yes, I have left it out the last 3 nights with food in it and last night she did go in and eat, (well half way).  Tonight I will add Tuna and put it all the way in.   I will get some more smelly food like you suggested on my way home tonight.

The other option that I was thinking was taking her to my sister's.  That is where Pi, Piper's mom lives.  She could stay in the same room as Pi, but I am not sure they would get along even though Pi is her mom.  Also my sister is not too thilled about the idea.  But if it is ok to leave her in the trap she can stay at my house.  I will keep her in a seperate room away from my bad dogs.  And soft music! 

Thank you!

Thank you Ondine!  I will also pick up the Pee Pads!

Yes, keeping her in the trap overnight is done all the time.  It is really better, as she won't have a lot of room to jump around.  And again, keeping it covered and quiet will help keep her calm, too.  She can't eat until later the night of the spay.  You need to make sure she's out of the anethesia completely.  The divider is great.  It gives you the ability to get the food and water in the trap without opening it in a way that she can escape.

Ok, will do.  Thanks for the help!  Tonight is dress rehersal with Tuna!  (with trap left open).  Fingers crossed!

Good luck!! It will be easier than you thought. 

When you bring her home, just keep her in a very quiet place away from other animals and noises.  As Ondine said, she needs to remain in the trap to recover from the surgery and within the trap there is little room to move around.  Make sure the trap remains covered with a light sheet or towel.

The Dollar Tree here sells packs of puppy pee pad for $1.  You get 4 of them for $1.  I really prefer the pee pads to newspapers. 

You will be able to feed her a bit later the evening after the spay.  Don't be surprised if she doesn't eat. 

Please update when you get a chance.

Hi ShadowsRescue!  Well last nights rehersal started off good, she went half way in after the Tuna.  It was hard keeping Daddy Pi out of the way!  He has to know what everyone else is getting and aways has to be first!  The little StinkPot!  So I managed to distract him, (he loved the Tuna)! and then along came Little Middle one of her 5 babies!  Little went right in with his mom so Piper turned around and came out.  So I think the problem won't be getting her in, it will be keeping everybody else out!  But I am still very hopeful!  I bought some Mackeral that somebody suggested.  Do you think that might work better than the Tuna?  She wasn't so thrilled with the Tuna as Daddy Pi was.

I went to the grocery store last night and paid $8.00~  oh well.  Next time to the dollar Tree!

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts.  I am feeling alot less stressed about this after all your suggestions.  I will keep you posted.

FeralFamilyofPi said:

 
.  So I think the problem won't be getting her in, it will be keeping everybody else out! 

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts.  I am feeling alot less stressed about this after all your suggestions.  I will keep you posted.

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When I trapped my big tomcat, Patches in March, I was shaking so badly.  He would often come inside the sliding door to eat and get a few pets.  He had eluded the trap outside on the deck, so I tried it in the house.  I had it rigged with a wooden spoon so I could activate the trap if needed.  My other feral, Shadow who had been TNR'd 2 years previous was always interested and of course wanted in on the action.  I somehow simultaneously managed to put my foot in the door to keep Shadow outside, drop tuna from up above, but making sure it didn't hit the set off plate and watch that when he was in just far enough, I could hit the wooden spoon and release the trap door.  I have no idea how I did it all.  I was shaking so badly and I was certain my heart was going to come out of my chest.  It was very difficult for me, but I knew in the long run it had to be done. 

The 3 others I have trapped have all been pretty straight forward.  The last one I did in July I just sat right there.  He was all about food and didn't even care what kind of food.  I used regular dry cat food and he walked right in! 

Maybe you could feed the male a bit farther way.  Give him plenty to keep him occupied for awhile. 

Sending good trapping vibes your way!!

That is so funny!  Very clever too!  That is so me though.  I will be a nervous wreck and shaking like a leaf!  When I caught Pi (and I could pick her up), I put her in the carrier picked it up and the lid came undone and out she came!  She let me pick her up again though and I got her safely inside.  But I was shaking so bad and so relieved, laughing and almost crying at the same time.  She was pregnant with 4 babies and I got her a week before she delivered right in the nick of time!  I will do all I possibly can to keep that sneeky Daddy Pi out of the way!  Good thing he likes the Tuna!

So unfortunately I was unable to trap Piper.  We came so close a few times, but something would scare her out after she was halfway in.  I feel so bad because after about an hour teasing her with the treats (which she loves more than the smelly mackeral) trailing into the trap, she ended up taking off without her dinner!  I always leave food out so hopefully she came back.  I was sure she would  be there first thing in the morning, she always is.  But no Piper.  I think she is mad at me.    So we missed our appointment at the spay clinic which took forever to get, but I have found a couple of names of vets which will do low cost surgery for ferals.  I will call them and see if I can set something up for maybe next week.  I will leave the trap out so she can get more used to it but I don't want to bother her like that again for a few days anyway.  One thing though it looks like she still might be nursing!  Her babies are big and have been eating on there own for at least 3 weeks.  I can't pick her up to check real well but she doesn't appear to have milk.  It just looks like a baby has been suckling.  So maybe it was too soon anyway?  I think they should be at least 10 weeks or more old.

Is there anyway you can call the clinic and tell them she is hard to trap and just bring her in whenever you catch her, without an appointment?  The place I have taken all 4 of my ferals doesn't require an appointment with ferals.  That way you can catch them in the morning if needed. 

If not, just keep feeding her in the trap.  She will get really used to it.  Did you figure out how to set the trap so it goes off automatically?  I find that it's usually best to not be present.  Although  with 2 of my ferals, I was right there.  I would just try to keep the routine as normal as possible.  Anything new or unusual spooks them.

Keep trying, don't lose faith.  You can do it!!

Hi ShadowsRescue!  I will ask the vets when I call.  The spay clinic  wants an appointment because they can only do 4 ferals in one day and they have to know how many ferals are comming in is what they told me.   That would be awesome if I could bring her without an appointment.  I would rather catch her in the morning because that way she would not have to stay in the trap all night but I wouldn't be able to make sure she doesn't eat or drink after midnight.  I haven't figured out how to set the trap, but now that i have a little more time, I will take it to some friends who might be able to help figure it out.  I won't lose faith and I will keep trying.  Thank you!