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- Aug 2, 2015
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Hi, I'm new to this forum and could use some advise on occupying a feral cat inside while she is recovering from a bite to the eye. Here is Lexi's story:
Lexi was born in the spring of 2014 in a neighbors barn and has 2 brothers from the same litter. In Sept 2014 we trapped her, both brothers and momma had them all sterilized, rabies shots and tested for Feline leukemia (tested negative) then released back to the barn to be barn cats. Since releasing we have been feeding all of them once a day so we could make sure they stay healthy. Last week we noticed Lexi's left eye had green puss coming out of it and she was very skittish even around her momma and brothers. We started trying to trap just her and we were successful on the third day (we used a large fishing net). So off to the vet praying she would not loose her eye. Turns out some critter bite her piercing the eye lid (eyeball was not damaged). Vet cleaned it, gave her a shot of long acting antibiotics and sent her home. We also had her shaved down to the lions cut (she is the only one with long hair) to make sure she didn't have any other wounds and to remove the matted hair and to check for ticks. All else was fine. Vet said we could release back to the barn but to watch her closely for other signs of infection. We decided not to release because she was the only one we could pet daily. So Lexi has been moved to our basement. to heal and will now be an inside member of our house. Her new home is 2 large double door dog crates connected together. She uses the litter box, comes to the crate door to get petted but won't let us pick her up and isn't aggressive in any way. She rubs up against our lab (95 lbs) and our other mix breed dog (65 lbs). My 3 other inside cats want no part of her. They hear her meow and have seen her but don't show any interest in her. My question is how do I keep her occupied while in the crate. I but a small climbing cat post inside the crate. She can climb on top of it and inside it. I don't have a small room that I can put her in (bathroom has other cats litter boxes in it). While cleaning her crate Lexi got out in the basement and it took me 1.5 hours to catch her. I was able to corner her under a shelf and grab her by the scruff. She didn't hiss or try to attach. Her defense is to run and jump (she jumped from a sitting position to the top of a 7ft freezer).The basement is not kitty proof and because she can jump so high she can get into the ceiling or on top of the block support wall (which is open on the top). We don't want her to be stressed. Thanks for your help. Lexi's new Mom.
Lexi was born in the spring of 2014 in a neighbors barn and has 2 brothers from the same litter. In Sept 2014 we trapped her, both brothers and momma had them all sterilized, rabies shots and tested for Feline leukemia (tested negative) then released back to the barn to be barn cats. Since releasing we have been feeding all of them once a day so we could make sure they stay healthy. Last week we noticed Lexi's left eye had green puss coming out of it and she was very skittish even around her momma and brothers. We started trying to trap just her and we were successful on the third day (we used a large fishing net). So off to the vet praying she would not loose her eye. Turns out some critter bite her piercing the eye lid (eyeball was not damaged). Vet cleaned it, gave her a shot of long acting antibiotics and sent her home. We also had her shaved down to the lions cut (she is the only one with long hair) to make sure she didn't have any other wounds and to remove the matted hair and to check for ticks. All else was fine. Vet said we could release back to the barn but to watch her closely for other signs of infection. We decided not to release because she was the only one we could pet daily. So Lexi has been moved to our basement. to heal and will now be an inside member of our house. Her new home is 2 large double door dog crates connected together. She uses the litter box, comes to the crate door to get petted but won't let us pick her up and isn't aggressive in any way. She rubs up against our lab (95 lbs) and our other mix breed dog (65 lbs). My 3 other inside cats want no part of her. They hear her meow and have seen her but don't show any interest in her. My question is how do I keep her occupied while in the crate. I but a small climbing cat post inside the crate. She can climb on top of it and inside it. I don't have a small room that I can put her in (bathroom has other cats litter boxes in it). While cleaning her crate Lexi got out in the basement and it took me 1.5 hours to catch her. I was able to corner her under a shelf and grab her by the scruff. She didn't hiss or try to attach. Her defense is to run and jump (she jumped from a sitting position to the top of a 7ft freezer).The basement is not kitty proof and because she can jump so high she can get into the ceiling or on top of the block support wall (which is open on the top). We don't want her to be stressed. Thanks for your help. Lexi's new Mom.
