How to Catch a Feral

Help!!!!!  I have a vet appointment on 9/20 to take my feral named Mavin to the vet for a wellness check up and a spay or neutering, (depending on whether it's male of female) and am worried I won't be able to get it into the carrier that morning.  I have never pet this cat.  Have been feeding it and trying to pet it when it comes close, but as soon as it feels my touch, it runs a few feet away from me and then eventually walks back over to me.  My appointment is at 9:00 am.  What is the best way to get this cat into the carrier if I've never even pet it, let alone picked it up??  Please, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  It is a Torti cat.  My avatar is a picture of it.   I've named it Marvin, because it was starvin and no one was helping it, so I've been feeding it for the last 3 months.  As you can see from the pic, it looks a lot better now.  Please help me to pull this off.  I really want to get this cat checked out and fixed.  Being at torti, chances are it is female and I don't want kittens.  Thanks in advance for all your help!!

BTW...I have been feeding it in my garage.  I keep the man door open wide enough for it to come in and out.  When it is ready to eat, (usually 2X per day), it comes to my living room window.  I walk over and let Marvin know I see him and then go prepare his bowl of food and walk out into  the garage, which is attached to my house and Marvin will hear me call her/him and he/she will then walk into the garage where I put the bowl of food on the ground.  Weird thing is that when if first walks in and sees me standing there with the bowl in my hand, he/she hisses at me and then meows at me.  This is the only time he/she hisses at me.  I really don't like it and wonder why, if I am feeding it, it would hiss at me.  Anyone know why it would hiss at me when I am feeding it?

I would purchase or borrow a trap if possible. It will be very difficult to put a feral cat in a carrier especially if you have never touched him or her. Hell, it can be tough getting my domesticated cats into the carrier at times. It has also been my experience that for the safety of the veterinarian and staff, it is sometimes required or at least appreciated if the animal comes in a trap rather than a carrier if they are wild.

Thanks for the advice.  Anyone know the best place to purchase such a cat trap that is not the most expensive place?  Would WalMart carry them or would I need to go to a pet store such as Petsmart or Pet Supplies Plus?

I just looked on amazon for you and the traps there are around $50 or so. There are two on walmarts website I saw for cheaper. Once you acquire the trap, I would leave it out for her/him (not set) for the next couple of weeks and put food in it just to get the cat familiar with it. When its time to finally trap her, I would make sure she is hungry, perhaps by not feeding her as much as you normally do the day before and then put something super smelly and tasty in the trap, such as tuna or a sardine. You will be surprised how quickly a hungry cat will go in a trap. I thought it would take forever but recently caught 3 in a matter of minutes. One of them I even caught with dry food! Good luck, you are doing a great and rewarding thing.

Eta: Maybe you don't want to purchase online in which case I am pretty sure you can buy animal traps at Home Depot though I'm not sure about pricing.

Wow!  Thanks so much for that.  I will go order one right now so it ships as soon as possible.  Thank you again!

You're welcome! Please let us know how it goes! Be forewarned that once caught in the trap the cat will most likely freak out and howl loudly but do not be alarmed and do not let her out because you may never get to trap her again. That honestly was the worst part for me but just keep telling yourself that it is for the best and imagine the relief that you both will feel when its all over with!

I've been looking on line for cat traps.  Are they all wire cages, or are there some that look more like carriers.  I guess I had a picture in my mind that a cat trap was a carrier with a trap door.  Please bear with me as I am new to all that is cat!!

No worries! I am not new to cats but i am new to the whole Trap-Nueter-Return thing.

You are going to want to get a wire cage. Like one that you would trap wild life in. Looks scary but is very humane and safe.

Its actually less tramautizating than a cat carrier would be for ferals because they can receive vaccines and I believe are even sedated before a vet can safely handle them whereas a cat carrier they would have to be pulled in and out of.

Just ordered a 30 inch. Tomahawk humane cat trap.  I read that you should line the trap bottom with newspaper so that they don't tear or bloody their paws or claws.  I also read that you should set the cage right by where you feed them, not set, so that they can get investigate and get used to the trap.  I will keep you posted.  I just know I will feel so much better after he/she is checked out and spayed/neutered!!

Yes, everything you read is correct! And you will feel so much better. And so will the cat. He/she is lucky to have you. I just had the 3 I trapped returned today and while nothing takes away the worry you have for them (its about to storm here!), I do feel such a sense of relief.

I ordered a Tomahawk  humane trap and it has arrived.  I haven't taken it out of the box, because I was able to get a good sized carrier and have tied the door open, so that it doesn't close.  I have been putting the bowl of food in the back of the carrier, and she walks in and eats, then walks back out of the carrier when she is done.  I have been dong this all last week.  I think she is a she, because she is a "Torti" and I ready they are almost always female.  Anyway, she seems to be comfortable going into the carrier when I feed her, so I am going to try to take her to the vet in that.  Her appointment is next Saturday, 9/20 at 9 am.  I figure she will have to recuperate for  a few days in my garage before I let her go back outside.  I am also figuring that I will have to take her back for stiches removal??  Can anyone recommend how long I should keep her in the garage once I get her home before letting her back outside?  Thanks in advance for your reply.  BTW.....she is letting me pet her now!!  And she loves it and can't get enough of me petting her!!  It is such a breakthrough!!  I pet her every day now!  I know she wants to be pet when she walks right up to me and starts rubbing herself against me.  I LOVE IT!!!

That is great news! For a spay/neuter surgery they use disolvable stitches so you won't have to take her back for stitch removal. Please let the vet know she is "feral". They will make the incision smaller and used glue as well as dissolvable stitches since ferals aren't as controllable after surgery as your average house cat is.

So how did everything go? Were you able to trap her?

Sorry I haven't replied, but have been busy helping her (and it is officially a female) to heal.  I did not need to trap her.  I returned the trap that I bought.  I made such progress over the last week of her letting me pet her and so I bought a carrier instead and tied the door open so that it wouldn't shut and fed her in the carrier for a week before the surgery, so that she could get used to the carrier.  Come Saturday morning, I put just a little food in the back of the carrier, because they really can't eat before going under anesthesia and she walked right in, and I closed the door.  She started meowing a bit, but he whole car ride to the vet, she didn't make a sound.  I sang Silent Night to her on the way to keep her calm.  It was the best song I could think of that I know all the words to.  She had fleas and round worm, and we took care of all of that.  She does NOT have feline leukemia or the other one that they test for (can't think of the name of it).  She is spayed and should start putting more weight on since we have killed the worms.  I have 3 doses of Frontline to give her each month between her shoulder blades, so that the fleas won't return.  She has to stay in my garage for the next 7 days, because if she goes outside before that, the incision may get infected, so my garage has turned into a kitty rehab center.  She goes back in two weeks for stiches removal an another fecal check to make sure worms are gone.  I think she is going to be just fine!!  Thanks for all of your support.  I will post again as soon as I can.

I agree with JodyG about how to catch a feral.  In terms of where to purchase a humane trap---try calling your Vet, animal rescue group or animal shelter--they may loan you a trap.  My feral would not go anywhere near a trap even with foliage camoflaging it and moving her food closer to it to the point it's in the back of the trap and she springs the door shut by stepping on the pressure plate, but after me feeding it for 6 mo. and making a dry bed for it out of the rain,  one day at her first feeding, she didn't run when I opened the door and approached her---she let me pet her for a few seconds without stopping eating or running away!  The next day at the first feeding of the day I opened the door and gently picked her up, speaking in a reassuring way.  I carried her five feet  to an open carrying kennel inside my sun porch and off we went to the Vet.  Now, a year after I adopted her and she became an indoors-only cat she meows continuously on the trip to the vet, does not protest the Vet or staff handling her, and then doesn't make a sound going home.  She is never a problem at the Vet's office.

Something I have always done with my cats so they are not afraid of a carrying kennel---one or two carriers are always out, the doors tied open, soft towels in them and the cat uses it at home for naps.  None of my cats have ever had problems with a carrier since they see it as a safe haven and nap place that belongs to them.  That does not mean that they want to go to the Vet since they know they will usually be given a shot---two of my cats never wanted to come out of the carrier in the examining room at the Vet's.   The suggestion of using Feliway spray inside the carrier five minutes before you place the feral in or use of a calming chewie found at a Pet Store or your Vet is also a very good idea.

I don't know if you made the original appointment, but an exam, etc. can be rescheduled if it just takes a little longer for the feral to trust you and not run when you try to approach.  It took my little feral 6 months before she would let me approach.  Patience will pay off unless she is sick or needs treatment or cold weather has started and then you need to either catch or trap her, put in a carrier and take to the vet. 

You are her angel for helping her.  In the short term, would it be possible to make her a "home" inside your garage where she not only eats and has clean water, but sleeps there too---out of the rain and cold?   Does your garage have a door leading into it that could be left open four or five inches at least during the day?  When she comes to your window to signal you that she wants to eat, you could take her food dish and instead of just putting it down, ring a bell or bells and call "kitty, kitty"---when you know she sees you, put the food down and make up a soft, dry bed next to the feeding station.  You can also put a treat in her dish and when you know she likes that particular one, place a couple of the treats on the bedding you have made for her.  Use the bell(s) each time you feed her until she is trained to come to you when she hears the bells.  I use a string of bells I use as Christmas decorations and have trained one stray and then the feral to come when it rings.

Good luck to you and the little cat.

The advice to make a home for the cat in your garage is true only if you do not live in a very cold climate and crank your car in a closed garage to warm it up in the winter---certainly the carbon monoxide fumes would kill the little cat.

Thanks everyone for all of your helpful suggestions.  I decided to start keeping Marvin in my laundry room at night and then let her out in the mornings, keeping two child gates one on top of the other in the doorway from the family room leading into the laundry room last week.  The dogs were able to smell her and see her through the gates.  Then Friday night, I had her in the laundry room again, as I had a vet appointment this morning to get her stiches out from her spay surgery two weeks ago, and wanted guaranteed access to her come this morning to get her to the vet, so last night I was sitting on the laundry room floor petting her with my dogs on the other side of the gates, and I decided to carefully let them in to see her and low and behold, they were not aggressive toward her, but curious and she was curious too. I monitered the situation carefully, and for quite a while they were able to come close to each other.  My smaller dog is still a bit afraid of  her, but I think in time, they will get used to each other.  When I am at work, or upstairs sleeping with my dogs, Marvin is gated off in the laundry room.  I only take the gates away when I am home and can watch what is going on.  Today, since I have gotten home from the vet, Marvin as spend most of the day in the corner of the laundry room behind some boxes that I call her "hole" that she likes to retreat to when she wants to be left alone.  The dogs, on occasion have gone to sniff the corner, as they know Marvin is in there, but they are in no way aggressive, so I am really thinking that with time and patience, I can acclimate Marvin to becoming a part of our family inside the house.  I have started since yesterday giving Marvin access into the family room, which is connected to the laundry room and am placing the child gates where the family room enters into the kitchen.  So, I am slowly giving Marvin more space to be in one room at a time.  I will probably do the laundry room/family room access for another week, before I include the kitchen and then slowly allow her access to other parts of the house.  I have noticed at night, she seems to want to go outside, as she will go over to the door in the laundry room that leads outside and meow.  I am hoping in time, she will come to not want to go outside at all.  By the way, the vet says her spay incision has healed beautifully and she is good to go.

Congratulations---that's real progress!