Need guidance on how to catch nervous, strictly indoor semi-feral for spaying

Hi all. I've had Mama Kitty and her 4 kids since July 2013.  Couldn't get Mama spayed at the time of capture since kittens were only 3-4 wks old and not weaned yet. (Kids all neutered now.) Mama cat is a sweet kitty, but we still can't touch her. I've been sleeping in her room for over a year so she knows no one will hurt her. We have a quiet household--no dogs or kids, and we're good about keeping up routines with feeding and litter cleaning daily. She likes the laser pointer so I play with her every night. BUT if I try to pet her, she still cowers/pulls back. No hissing, growling, or scratching us. Meanwhile she has had multiple heats and has done some spraying/marking. We don't yell at her for it, we just clean it up and try to be understanding.

She really needs to be spayed, for her own health. She's about 3-4 years old, we think.

I can reach out for help to rescue friends, but they are all so busy. I'm dealing with a very smart kitty who survived so long outside by being cautious. She seems to like being inside and has been really good overall, not destructive. I can forgive the peeing, she only does it when in heat.

Thoughts? I really love this cat and don't want to undo the progress we've made. Poor thing didn't even know how to play for the first 6 months we had her. Now she plays a lot (will bat a ball to us), sleeps out in the open much more often (still under the radiator sometimes though), but I can't pet her, let alone pick her up.

Help please. Thanks.

First off, have you tried leaving the carrier out for her to climb into on her own? If she's been sleeping on a blanket or small pillow, put it in there. She might just climb right in because she sees it as a place to hide.

Alternatively, does she respond to treats? Could lure her in that way.

You could also take a blanket or towel, drape it over her and grab her with it (To protect you from kittyclaws) and put her in that way. She might get upset about it but if you're quick then she'd get over it fairly quickly.

Or maybe just sort of guide her in to it by taking advantage of the fact that she doesn't like to be touched. Reach out as if to pet her, let her pull back. Stop immediately, don't move forward OR back. She'll likely turn around and move away on her own; you can use this to your advantage by having the carrier behind her. If she's uncomfortable she may just go hide in the carrier!

I would hate to see the trust you have built with her interfered with by a failed attempt to get her in carrier. Did you initially trap her? Could you get a friend to use a trap or get her in carrier so she doesn't relate it with you? Some tnr programs have set up programs of I will trap yours if you trap mine for this very reason. But if all else fails I suppose you will have to get on thick gloves and throw a blanket on her you quickly burrito her in and get her in that carrier. Although it is a brutish way and very UNcat like.

You can use the laser pointer to get her into the carrier. Do it a few times to make sure she doesn't bolt when you go to close the door.

Practice until it works easily, then make her appointment. Warn the vet ahead of time that she may be difficult to handle.

Thank you for helping them all!

Hi everyone,

Update on getting Mama spayed situation:

One of my most experienced rescue friends is going to help us get Mama Kitty into a carrier one night next week, then she offered to take her home and keep her (in the carrier) in her bathroom overnight., then take her to her vet in the a.m.

Do I need to worry about Mama being so scared that she could die of fright? She won't let us touch her but she is not overly skittish, either.

I wondered if it would be better to keep her in the carrier at our house, I'll sleep in her room as usual, then take her to the vet in the morning.

Trying to minimize trauma. She really must get spayed but I don't want her to hate us..or worse, hurt herself while being confined.

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

Unless she has an unknown condition, she won't die of fright.  She will be annoyed, a littled ticked off, maybe even a little traumatized.  But I don't know a cat who isn't at least a little upset by a vet visit.  They all hate it.

Can you friend perhaps get her in the carrier the morning of the appointment?  If not, staying overnight in the carrier isn't the worst thing but she may have to urinate and that's going to be messy.  I'd bring a roll of paper towels to the vet, in case you have to clean the carrier out when she's removed.

Taking her for this appointment is so important, it is worth her being upset.  It won't last and she will be so much better off!

Ondine, thanks for your notes.

I'm not thrilled about Mama being caged overnight, but our friend is really helping us out, though. I will ask if she meant literally being in the cage overnight or if she would let her out in her bathroom. Also meant to mention Mama will be spayed by a vet who is experienced with ferals--actually she is the only vet Mama has seen. When she was first caught 18 mo. ago, we managed to get her snap tested (neg/neg), vaccinated, and treated with Frontline.

What do you think of my idea of keeping her caged, but with us the night before the appt, so at least she would have familiar smells and voices? I sleep in her room every night anyway. I could get some dog training pads for the crate too.

Thanks again for any and all input. She is such a sweet cat and I want her to have a long and happy life, safe indoors!

The dog pads are a great idea.  Keeping her at your home is a good idea, too.  As you said, it is more familiar.  She's going to be stressed in the carrier and being in a strange place would add to that.  If its do-able, that's how I'd approach it.  Good luck!

I would definitely keep her with you overnight.  Also cover the carrier with a light sheet or towel.  This will help to keep her calm.  I wouldn't let her out of the carrier at night.  It might be very difficult to get her back into the carrier the next morning. 

Thank you for taking care of Mamma.  You are doing a wonderful thing for you.  She will be a little annoyed for a bit, but she will come around again.

I have quite a feral kitty myself and what I did was leave a large carrier out 24/7, randomly dropping a few of the tastiest treats I could find (Temptations, and a variety of stinky treats like freeze-dried fish and chicken liver) in the carrier several times a day. She was nervous of enclosed spaces for a long time after I had orignally trapped her outside, so it took a bit of convincing but she really did love those treats! After around 3 weeks of this, I made the appt for her spay and because she wasn't allowed food for 12 hrs, she was quite hungry on the morning of The Day. I tossed some treats in, as far back in the carrier as they could go, and pretended to be calm and nonchalant. She hesitated, looking at me suspicously. My heart was in my throat. But the treats won out and in she went! I had to be quick to close the door securely because I knew I wouldn't get a second chance. It helped that the vet knew she was feral and gave me a couple hours of leeway to get her to the clinic. Keeping her in the carrier overnight was not an option, she would have completely freaked out. When I took her sister in to get spayed (she was a little less feral as it was a few years before), I actually dropped her off at the clinic the night before so I wouldn't have to stress about catching her in time the next morning. Maybe that would be an option?

Good luck. And absolutely cover that carrier as soon as she is in there....it makes a huge difference.

(Oh, and both my girls have since forgiven me for taking them to their Spa(y) Day at the vet. Although it did take Cardamom the super-feral a little longer as it was the first time she'd ever been touched by a human in her 4 years of life).

Thanks, everyone for the encouragement & advice. We managed to lure Mama kitty into her crate with salmon treats the night before her spay appointment. I was relieved we didn't have to wrestle her into the crate. She had the surgery yesterday and was not a happy camper when she came home. She hid under the dresser. Offered her chicken last night but she didn't want it. This morning she was still hiding,but stuck her head out when my husband brought in her usual wet food. She didn't eat, though.

Usually one of us sleeps in her room, but thought we should leave her alone for the night to mellow out. I know she peed in the litter box and that she's awake and breathing. Trying not to worry. She is on long-acting pain meds that the vet gave her because we just can't touch her. =(

I'm assuming that the stress of the whole thing has freaked her out a bit and she's not loving us humans right now. Anyone else have similar experience with their semi-feral or otherwise skittish cat?

I called the vet and they said to try stinky food like tuna. I'll get some on my way home tonight.

Advice? Thanks, all.

She's reacting normally, actually.  She will need to eat so make sure there's food available.  Other than that, leave her alone and let her get her rest.  Start back with her normal routine tomorrow - she should be calmed down by that.  Glad you were able to get her spayed!

So glad you got her spayed.  You can try the tuna,just make sure to give her some of the juice too.  Mince the tuna up really fine with the juice so she might lap up some of the tuna with the juice.

I also use really stinky wet cat food and add heated low sodium chicken broth.  The heat releases the scent of the food and usually draws out the cat.  Just take her some of the heated food and then leave her alone and see if she eats it.

She should be acting more normal in a few days.

Thanks again, Ondine and ShadowsRescue. I HATED having to send Mama in for surgery, but it was necessary. I had hoped for her to cooperate enough for the "ordinary house cat" spay where they get an IV & bloodwork. She "got really scared" as the vet tech kindly put it, so she had to have the "feral spay" where she was just knocked out and operated on. She got her 1 year rabies & FVCRP vacc too--she didn't get them when first captured 18 months ago, because she was nursing.

On top of the whole ordeal, she was in heat as well. We had NO idea. She never yowls or acts amorous. Over 10 days ago she did some urine marking, but that stopped after a couple of days. The very experienced vet said they basically continuously cycle if they don't mate. I also read there is something called "silent heat" that can happen in multi-cat households where the intact female feels like low kitty on the totem pole.

Thanks for listening and I'm happy to read anything you can throw my way. It's such a worry having a cat you can't touch. Hoping the spay might help with that too.