How to make a feral feel safe...

I know I have been asking a lot of questions concerning a somewhat feral cat that I have been taming but I still have a few questions. So thank you in advance for being so patient. This feral cat, Rascal, has always been curious and I have taken a lot of time to tame him. He enjoys eating out of my hand and likes to love on me. I believe in a week he will be tame enough to get fixed...

Still I know this will be a very traumatic experience. I am going to set up a large dog crate in my porch for him to stay in. My question is how do I get him comfortable enough to go inside a carrier, and how can I make the crate a safe environment? I wonder if I could lay newspaper down which would be easy to clean up if he goes to the bathroom since he's lived outside and isn't litter box trained? I know with a different cat we had we would put treats in the carrier and she would go inside to eat them so she would become comfortable inside for trips to the vet. Can I do that with him???

I would start to feed him in the carrier.  You can start by placing the food right outside the carrier, each day move it back further until it reaches the back.  On the day of the neuter, place just a few morsels inside.  I use a soft square shaped chair pad to block the entrance while I get the door close or zipped.  Yet, if he is feral at all and not just a stray, you need a humane trap.  Be sure that once he is trapped or in the carrier, you cover it with a sheet or towel.  This will help to calm him. 

After the neuter, he doesn't need much of a recovery.  Males are usually good to go within 24 hours after the surgery.  Yet it is most important he be kept for those 24 hours in a temperature controlled environment.  If you porch is cold or breezy that is not ideal.  It is suggested that you need a steady temp or 60 or above.  I usually put my ferals in the basement for the night.  I just place a tarp on the floor and then puppy pee pads on top.  Sometimes the cat pees and sometimes not.  You can put him in a larger dog crate, but it is sometimes difficult to transfer them especially when you are not used to handling the cat.  You do not want the cat to escape.  That is why a trap is best.

If you are planning to socialize him fully and have him be an inside cat then that changes things a bit.  Yet, if you plan to release him back outside using a humane trap will make it much much easier.  You can just feed him in the unset trap for a few days.  He can then safely stay in the trap over night and release is easy.

I will let him back outside once he has healed. Thank you for all your tips! I hoping to get some treats tomorrow and will begin working with the carrier as soon as he comes by! So excited, but also nervous for him. It's for his own good, I keep reminding myself.

After surgery will the vet give me medicine for him to take?

Kitty Krazy said:

After surgery will the vet give me medicine for him to take?

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Usually no.  When I pick up my ferals, they are still somewhat sedated or groggy.  Yet usually no supplemental pain medicine for males is needed.  Will he stay the night or will you pick him up the next day?