Need a crash course in caring for a post-op feral

I agreed to care for a pregnant female following her spay surgery, but I have never done this before and don't know what to do or expect.  She'll be under my observation and care for three days.  Is there anything in particular I should watch for?  If I put her in a dog crate when she's lucid and ready to eat, should I place a small litter box in the crate with her or use pee pads?  How do you change the pads and what if the cat manages to get feces on her incision?  How do I even check the incision?  How will I know if she's recovering well (not sure if there could be complications since she's pregnant)?  How do I get her back into the trap when it's time to release her?  

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  I have welding gloves, btw, so she won't be able to get my hands or arms.  There's also a divider with the dog crate, though I'm not sure how to use it!

First, thank you for taking care of Ferals.
How feral is she? Ever owned before?
If the cat is what I call semi-feral (formerly owned but dumped and reverted to ferality), I would recommend putting her in a large dog crate, with a litter box and water/food, all the normal stuff. But if truly feral (like a male I recently TNRd) it might be very difficult to get her back into a cat carrier/release trap. When doing so, you should wear heavy duty gloves and make sure the room is feral proof: no possiblity of escaping the room, or getting into rafters/eaves of the house (happened to me and a friend--and this was a friendly cat). Try to get some help with this, i.e., another person.
Not sure what you mean by a dog crate with a divider....
The incision would be deeper and she would be in more pain, but other than that, I think you should just look out for the normal indications that something is wrong/right. If she doesn't eat or pee in 48 hours, I would get concerned. The anethsia and drugs do a number on cats, but even a feral cat will want to eat/pee in 24 to 36 hours. Of course if you notice (smell!) a discharge, then I'd call the vet.
I knew "Stephen" was on his road to recovery when he hissed at me again and ate some food. (In addition to being neutered at the ripe old age of 10, the vet cleaned and stitched a badly infected wound on his arm.)
(PS There might be other more experienced trappers who say, just leave the cat in the trap. I yield to their expertise. Most of the 35 or so cats I've TNRd have been male.)

Question: Is it worth it to vaccinate a feral using killed virus inoculations?  I'm getting mixed messages from different sources.  The vet performing the spay surgery says "Yes, it's better than nothing", while a different vet has said it's a waste if she can't get the booster shots.  Thought I'd consult the wise ones here for their opinion.

Will return in a bit to respond to your post, Ritz.

I think it is certainly worth vaccinating. We vaccinate all of our TNR ferals.

Yes I think it is worth it, and sometimes required by law or the clinic.

Are they saying that the live virus is longer lasting?  I didn't know there was a difference.  Perhaps someone with more expertise than I can answer that.

From me, though - kudos for helping this kitty.  I would use a litter box.  Pee pads are messy and hard to chance.  Plus I think with a litter box, it will be less likely she gets a mess on her incision.

This past spring I spayed several of my ferals, one of which was pregnant.  I used a wire dog kennel for my "recovery room" and it also had a divider.  What I did was, I took the divider and used it as a second level of the kennel.  I put a rubber backed rug on the wire and Maria, I name my ferals, used that as her resting spot.  She would also use it as a hiding spot when I would open up the door to take care of her.  Anyway, I put the litter box down on the bottom of the kennel and this way she wasn't sharing the same area with the litter box.  Her on top litter box on the bottom.  Food and water went on the second level.  I just put it either in the corner or by the edge.  Really, neither the females or males tried to escape because of that second level.  The other thing I did was keeping a blanket over the kennel the whole time so that they didn't have a sensory overload and it helped to keep them calmer.

Bad news: I was helping friend get the trap squeaky clean before she took the cat for her spay appointment, to minimize chance of infection post-op, and the cat managed to escape   We had her in the yard and were using the trap's divider (a doohickey with metal bars that slides through the trap and hooks onto the other side, for the uninitiated) to keep kitty in one half of the trap while the other half was given a wash.   Havahart doesn't quite make 'em like they used to because the cat actually pushed the bars in the divider apart.  One second she's docile and still, the next she's bursting out of the trap at top speed!  And this cat is nearly ten pounds!  I still can't believe she fit through the bars.  Caveat emptor, those who are thinking of investing in a Havahart trap.  

Stupidly, I tried to grab the cat and got a nasty scratch on the leg for my efforts (and if you've ever wondered what would help with that, I have to recommend tea tree oil.  It got rid of the swelling and heat immediately).  

So now there's a preggo kitty on the loose (at least she's in her own territory) that needs to be retrapped.  I'm sure it's not going to be easy to catch her second time around.  The cat was already trap wary.  The only good news is that I have more time to prepare for her convalescence.   

Ritz: Thanks for the great advice    I couldn't really tell if the cat was a stray or if she's been feral all her life.  She was so docile and compliant in the trap (right up until she made her great escape!).  No hissing, no attempts to bite or scratch.  She didn't even try to inflict harm on me when I grabbed her, she dug her claws into my leg for traction.  So an all-around nice cat that's afraid of people.  That maybe sounds like a formerly owned cat, I suppose.  She seems bright enough to figure out what a litter box is used for, and perhaps she already knows.  I was thinking of using the method of confinement outlined here: http://feralcatfocus.org/colony-management-feral-cat-set-up-long-term-fosters/

If you don't want to read through the entire page, it boils down to: Have vet put feral in carrier, place carrier in crate, shut and lock door, slide yard stick through bars in front of carrier, open crate door and unlock carrier door, relock crate door and tie carrier door to side of crate with twist tie.  Reverse process to clean crate/litter or change food/water.  Seems like it would be a fairly simple way to care for the cat for a few days (or longer, if need be).  

Ondine: Yes, that's it exactly.  A Modified Live Virus vaccine doesn't require boosters, Killed Virus does.  But, from what I've been told, the KV vaccine can still provide some level of protection on its own.  I agree with you about the litter box.  It would help tremendously if kitty took to it right away.

Keyes: Love that suggestion!  I can see how the cats would feel secure having that higher perch to observe from.  I'll have to mull it over...I wonder if earning your ferals' trust beforehand, as their caretaker, also helped them relax in your presence.  I'm not sure if it would work for a kitty that doesn't know me.  I wouldn't hesitate to try it with one of my own kitties, though.

Thanks so much, everyone! 

My ferals had no problem what so ever adapting to the litter box.  I did put a puppy pad underneath the litterbox just in case.  I also used clumping litter and again, no problem.

Oh boy. I am sending vibes that you are able to catch her again. Even if she has the kittens, vibes you can get her spayed once they are weaned.

Thanks for the info on vaccines. I learned something new today!

Ondine said:

Oh boy. I am sending vibes that you are able to catch her again. Even if she has the kittens, vibes you can get her spayed once they are weaned.

 

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Adding my prayers and vibes too!!!!

Prayers and vibes too.
Hint for retrapping: add something different from what was in the first trap. I swear by catnip (I put it in the food and/or sprinkle it on the tuna fish oil leading from the door to beyond the trip switch).

Thanks for the kind thoughts!  Friend thought the cat might stay away for a little while, but she was sitting outside waiting for dinner at the usual time today.  She didn't seem miffed or more skittish than usual, so that bodes well for catching her a second time.  I guess friend is giving the cat a tiny reprieve, letting her eat outside of the trap for a couple of days to reestablish a sense of normalcy.  Not sure that that's the best way to go, but I guess it will give the cat a chance to decompress.  The heat is on, though, because friend just dealt with feral kitten drama (and I got dragged along for the ride), and no one wants to go through that again right now.  More importantly, the foster home can't take on another litter at this time.

Ritz, I like the catnip idea!  I imagine mixing it with food would make them nice and chill after they've been caught   

Keyes: Glad to hear about your success with ferals and litter.  I've never had trouble getting a feral kitten to use it, but I worry about the adults.  I'll probably line the crate with pee pads in place of newspaper (they'll absorb water if the bowl gets tipped, so that's one big advantage over paper).

Friend is probably correct in that normality needs to be reestablished.
I like the cat nip trick / tip, though it would only work for cats that react to cat nip. Some don't, like my own cat, Ritz.

They were all adults and again none of them had a problem using the litter box.  I just put the puppy pads down for just in case and for catching the litter in case of enthusiastic scratching.

keyes said:

 
They were all adults and again none of them had a problem using the litter box.  I just put the puppy pads down for just in case and for catching the litter in case of enthusiastic scratching.

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I was cleaning up the yard the other day and noticed a mound of dirt, my first thought being "Damn gophers!"  I can hardly believe it, my ferals actually made themselves an outhouse sans the house.  They dug a well in the soft dirt and have been kicking dirt and leaves into it to cover their business.  (I didn't even know they were going in my yard, which just goes to show how much I have to learn about ferals.)  That gave me an idea.  If I make a crater in the litter, maybe that will entice an adult feral to use it?  

That's actually not a bad idea!  Let us know if it works.

My ferals do the same thing outside.  I just put the box of litter in, no crater.  Really, they will know exactly what the box is for.

Question about ferals and ecollars: Do they usually put a cone on a feral cat post-surgery?  Friend thinks she can trap the cat tomorrow, so I'm getting antsy, starting to freak out over new things now.  If the cat gets an ecollar, how do you remove it before releasing the cat?  If the cat doesn't get an ecollar, don't you have to worry about pulled stitches?  

 My ferals do the same thing outside.  I just put the box of litter in, no crater.  Really, they will know exactly what the box is for.

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Okay, you've finally convinced me she'll be fine!    

Of the 35+ feral/stray cats I've TNRd, none had e-collars. And none of the cats had an issue with pulling at their stitches (which are dissolvable). In my situation, the cats stayed in the trap during the one night convalescence, so the e-collar probably wouldn't have fit. Plus for the first 12 to 24 hours, the cats are pretty much 'out of it', this includes the very feral, very old (10 years) cat I TNRd two weeks ago. I knew he was feeling better when he hissed at me.
But I still would not put an e-collar on a spayed feral cat, I think it would freak out the cat, and you'd have a hard time removing it.