the feral cat I trapped a while back was limping. decided to take it to a rescue group that had the

was told that the cat had a contagious disease and was put down  . this cat was not part of the original colony.

I want to trap the female that is touchable only to me . she is not seen at the feeding stations very often.she will come out in the evening when  me or someone else from the Nurseing Home kitchen takes out the garbabage at night.

my idea is to trap her,tame ,then have her tested. then release her to my garage  and back yard. have trapped three cats from the colony and let them roam the gargage till they figured out how to get outside thru my attic vents. they come inside  the garage at night  and roam outside during the day.

would like your opinions about the best way to introduce Missy to my back yard....

I am sorry about the news of your feral cat. The disease was most likely FeLK (Feline Leukemia). Any feral cat tested positive (or I should say MOST feral cats) with the disease is euthanized. You cannot return them out to a colony as the disease is very, very contagious. It is quite likely that other feral cats in your neighborhood have the disease and yes, it is always best to immediately test any feral cat you trap first and foremost before any other treatments are done on the cat. It is a very sad reality and an awful disease for the feral cats to die from.

If you trap Missy, get her tested right away before you spend time trying to socialize her in your garage or a cage. Better to be safe and think of your current outdoor cats.

Here is a great article with tips on how to socialize a feral cat. http://www.catnipchronicles.com/may2012/laurie.htm This will help you get a plan of action if you do trap Missy.

More reading:
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/saving-feral-cats

A great organization that has more educational information about TNR and feral cats: http://www.alleycat.org/

Thank you for the PM, Eliza! I wanted to add this in your thread since you mentioned in PM that you are able to pet Missy but not pick her up. She may not be a true feral cat after all if she is allowing pets so quickly. Yes - usually most feral cats after much, much time will begin to trust there caretaker but usually the first type of connection is them sniffing your finger. Then as they become more brave, they may allow you to rub the sides of their cheeks with that finger. It can be a long, painstaking process, BUT SO REWARDING, befriending a truly feral cat. Missy may very well have had some human contact at some point in her life but has been forced to revert due to being abandoned. :shame: Which means that her socialization may go very, very quickly once trapped. Your a wonderful person to be reaching out to her and she is lucky that you are doing so. for caring so much.