Any advice on how to capture a feral cat and train him to be an indoor pet

How long has he been coming around?  So you feed him every day?  I'm just wondering how tame he is at this point.  The more tame he is the easier time he will have.  It's hard to see them in the trap trying to get out.  I hated doing it to my group.  I didn't even get finished spaying and neutering them all before I HAD to bring them indoors.  It wasn't fun at first but at least they had each other to be miserable with.  

Usually a feral will hide just like any other kitty.  Are you taking him to be neutered as soon as you trap him?  That will help calm him down.  

We first found him in July and feed him evdryday! We think he is around 9 months old. I know, I'm so scared to see him freak out in the trap and we are going to take him to the vet too!

Yeah, that part is not easy for sure, but remind yourself you are taking him out of harm's way!  He's getting beat up by another cat?  Poor kitty.  Is there another one that comes around with him?  I know you didn't mention another one but I was thinking if he had another kitty to huddle with that'd help with coming indoors. 

When I first started trapping I got Gracie, the mama kitty first.  I think she had been owned by someone before because she got tame pretty quickly.  When I got her in the trap, my mom and I put her in the car to take her to the vet office to be spayed.  I'll never forget how calm she was in that trap sitting right next to me.  It's almost like it was a relief for her to get caught.  But that may not be the same way with your kitty.  It's good that he knows you.  And he won't like you at first, but he will get used to being indoors.  Recovering from neutering will help calm him down.  

So, will you be taking him straight to the vet for surgery after you trap him?

Ypur cat sounds so cute and she probably was relieved that you trapped her, it's a tough life for all ferals. Do you have a lot cats. No we don't have any other cats or pets. For some reason this black and white cat attacks our feral it's so sad and he is so scared of this cat. We did have another feral that came around and our feral became buddies with this other cat, we havent seen him or her in a week. We do not have an appt with a vet, we are going to put together a room for him in the house and I have contacted a vet office and they never contacted me back and I talked to a non profit place and they only do week days and need appt so it's hard bc we dont know when we can catch him and taking off work is hard for us.

I feel if I wait too long he will get hurt or leave

You need to get him trapped and to the vet ASAP.  Spring is coming and he is coming into maturity.  He needs to be fixed or he will be off and wandering looking for a mate.  He is getting beaten up because of territory and hormones.  Other males cats will fight him for territory and a mate. 

Trapping is a bit stressful, but the cat gets over it.  Get a trap and practice.  Some people will start by having the cat eat in the unset trap for a few days to get the cat used to the trap.  Others just give it a try and see what happens. 

Have your inside prepared.  You will need a spare room that is cat proofed.  If there is a bed it needs to be flat on the floor or picked up.  Under the bed is the first place a cat will run and it's nearly impossible to get them out.  Also block off behind other large furniture.  CAts can squeeze into very small places.  You do want a safe hiding spot for him.  A hiding box in a cat tree or even just a cardboard box with a cozy blanket.  Some cats like to sleep in a cat carrier.  There are lots of tips available for socializing.  It is a very slow process.  It takes time and patience.  Lots of time.  It took my guy over a year.  But it is so worth it in the end.  You have to be willing to spend time with him each and every day.  Leaving him a closed room will not work.  Yet he needs a room of his own and this room will be his safe room for a long time.  You don't want him having free roam of your home as that is just too over whelming. 

Another tip is that you the human need to remain calm.  WHen you are frantic and stressed and scared, it will make him very nervous and upset.  He will pick up on your feelings.  Try your best to be calm and all will go well.  I find that when trapping, it's very helpful to practice.  Get used to how the trap works.  Also be sure to cover the trap once he is safely inside.  This will greatly help to calm him.  Do not under it until he is to the vet and do not let him out of the trap. 

ShadowsRescue is 100% correct.  Get him trapped and vetted and inside as soon as you can.  Better to have him dislike you temporarily than have the life long regret that you didn't help him!

Definitely trap him and take him to the vet as soon as possible! Put some puppy pads in the trap because you will likely need to keep him in the trap all the way to the vet and back. If possible, arranging it so you can take him straight from being trapped to the vet or clinic is the best way to do it. Make sure wherever you go has experience with ferals. Letting the cat out of the trap, letting him get used to you and start to trust you, and then having to get the cat back in a carrier to get neutered and having to start the trust process all over again is very stressful for you and the cat, so it's better to get the neutering over with quickly. He will be absolutely terrified and it will be heartbreaking, but you have to keep reminding yourself that he is going to be so much happier and healthier in the long run.

Even if you can't get an appointment yet, start feeding him in the trap without the trap being set so he will be used to it and you can rely on him walking right in the day you need him to. Once he's trapped, put a towel over him to make him feel safer. When ferals are scared, they tend to get as quiet and still as possible, so he will likely not pose much of a threat to you if you do not handle him. Wear gloves when putting food and water in the trap for him to be safe.

He might be too feral to socialize, but it can be difficult to tell. I think it's definitely worth a try if you're willing. Be prepared that he will be very scared for several weeks. He will be much more afraid of you than he's been in the past. This is very normal! His whole world will have been turned upside down, so go slowly from that point forward so he can adjust to every new change. Over time, hopefully he will notice that he is safe, and that it is really nice to be warm, dry, well fed, free of parasites, and comfortable. It's a long road, but cats who know what it's like not to have a home are the most grateful pets.

This is an excellent step by step guide for how to gain a scared cat's trust: http://bestfriends.org/resources/socializing-cats-how-socialize-very-shy-or-fearful-cat

If you can get the bully cat trapped and neutered as well, that would be really great. Even neutering him and releasing him will increase his quality of life, it will keep the homeless cat population down in your area, and he'll be less likely to bully other cats without all that testosterone.

dana17 said:

Ypur cat sounds so cute and she probably was relieved that you trapped her, it's a tough life for all ferals. Do you have a lot cats. No we don't have any other cats or pets. For some reason this black and white cat attacks our feral it's so sad and he is so scared of this cat. We did have another feral that came around and our feral became buddies with this other cat, we havent seen him or her in a week. We do not have an appt with a vet, we are going to put together a room for him in the house and I have contacted a vet office and they never contacted me back and I talked to a non profit place and they only do week days and need appt so it's hard bc we dont know when we can catch him and taking off work is hard for us.

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It is a tough life for them.  I think Gracie had been owned by someone before me, but she had been on her own long enough to become feral.  I had her for 11 years to the month, and had to have her PTS last July after she had been sick for 4 months.  

I had to take my Wednesdays off to trap mine, because that was the day that a nearby county transported them to the regional spay/neuter clinic (low cost).  But that was way before our city got our own clinic.  

What I did was I set the trap about 7am.  I didn't put out any food like I usually did so I could get some takers.  Luckily Gracie was more curious about the trap and bolder than the others so I got her first.  I had already arranged to take her to this vet who would spay her, so as soon as I trapped her, we took off with her for the vet office.  I think that worked out pretty well.  But since Gracie was fairly tame already, I could have just put her inside and then taken her later on.  

It will take a while for him to adjust to being indoors.  He may hiss at you, but he will adjust eventually.  Good luck!  Do you have other cats?

Good Morning

I have a feral cat, almost  a year old.  I feed him outside.  He is starting to trust me and comes closer to me but still runs away.  At 6:30 a.m -7:30 a.m he jumps on a wood pile, behind our fence and waits for me to bring out his food, so cute

I bring out his food and lactaid milk, which he loves.  I look behind the fence and he is waiting for the food.  I stay close because I want to gain his trust.  I notice that if he runs back under the fence, bc something scared him, he smacks his lips.  He eats, and then smack his lips ALOT but since the cat is feral, I can't see how ofter during the day he does it, should I be concerned?  Thank you 

Also, he does not drink as much milk as he use too also I don't know if he is drinking water that he is getting somewhere outside during day

Cats should not be fed any type of milk.  It can cause diarrhea and vomiting.  Licking the lips is often a sign that a cat is going to vomit.  Milk has lots of sugar in it, but that is not good for a cat.  Plain water is best.  Milk can be given as a special treat, but not daily. 

Is he licking his lips? or trying to move the food around in his mouth. If it's the second Then it sounds like dental problems...any way you can get him to a vet to get checked out???

If a feral cat is about a year old should we take the cat in or is he too old try and make him a house cat

 I brought a 3 year old feral into my mine.  It's a lot of work and takes a lot of patience.  The cat needs to be worked on every day numerous times.  You have to have the time and patience to make this work.  You also have to have space for him and be able to provide vet care.  By bringing him inside, he will not magically turn into a loving lap sitting inside kitty.  He may very well just prefer to be by himself and hide from strange humans.  Yet you never know.  Just be sure you are prepared and willing to do what is necessary. 

I thought I remember you saying in a previous post that you are only with the cat on the weekends and your boyfriend works long hours.  How will you spend the time socializing him? 

You really need to get him trapped and spayed/neutered soon.  Mating season is upon us.  If he is an unaltered male, he will start to wander in search of a mate.  He may get into fights too.  If the cat is an unspayed female, she will surely end of pregnant very soon.

We are finally going to trap or feral, we have had Smokey since July 2015.  I need tons of advise. 

1.) how do you make an appt to bring the cat in bc we don't know if we be able to catch him bc he is so scared

2.) my boyfriend wants to catch him and then release him in the room we have for him and then catch him again toil bring him vet.  HE DOESNT WANT TO KEEP HIM IN A CAGE TO LONG.

3.). how to calm him bc he will be going crazy

4.) Do you leave a night light on at night

5.) Is this the best thing for him to trap him and make him a pet, Smokey does have a cat friend that stay together and so cute, Smokey acts calm around stormy and feels confident.  We don't know if they are family so it make me sad that we are taking Smokey away from this cat but they aren't always together

6.) Room- what should I put it his room and how lowing does he stay in there- we do want him to use the whole house.  Do we have to be careful-if he bites or hisses or attacks us.

Any advise what to put in his room-how often to feed him-toys-how often talk to him .  please tell me your exp and stories! Thanks!

Hi there,

I need more info on these cats. Behavior, how they interact with you, etc.

Then I can offer better advice on post trapping.

NEVER plan on re-trapping. Oftentimes a cat will not go in a trap again!

Start with trap feeding. Prep the trap so it does not spring (rod across if you have a spring loaded trap). Feed him in the trap for at least one week, better longer. The more comfortable he is, going in for his meal, the better. Establish a feeding routine to keep trap time short. Best thing is to feed at night and in the morning. This way you can feed him at good meal the night before the surgery and then a tiny breakfast in the morning, only enough to get him. Vets prefer an empty stomach for surgical procedures.

Then make an appointment with the vet. Make sure to get a vet who can handle a feral in a trap. The cat has to be anesthetized through the bars of the trap and the tech has to be able to estimate the weight of the cat pretty good.

Once the cat is asleep, they are pulled out and prepped. Make sure they give him his shots while under. You wont have many more occasions for that. Also be available on the phone during the surgery in case the vet finds something that needs to be discussed. It would be a good idea to ear-tip him. Discuss it with the vet. It does not hurt the cat and they still look pretty. But people will know he is taken care of.

You can bring a larger kennel with you and have the vet place him in there for recovery. Usually we recover ferals in traps, but if you have only one and you want to make it nicer for him, give him a cage with a hiding place and a litter box.

A foldable wire dog kennel is ideal. Put a small plastic cat carrier in it for the cat to hide. A real feral will be more than happy to hide there. Place the carrier in a way that the door opens towards the "wall" of the kennel. This way you can use a stick to close it, then lock it, that will keep you safe while cleaning the litter box. Typically ferals dont come out because they are scared, but better safe than sorry. You will need a pretty small litter box that fits in together with the carrier.

Cover the whole kennel with a blanket and place it in a quiet room.

We usually recover ferals in traps for 24 hours only. But it wont hurt to keep him longer. Let me know if you have more questions.

Marion - Spay to Save TNR manager

Good evening everyone!
My hubby and I live in north jersey and we have a trap and thinking of trapping our feral, we have been taking care of our feral for months. Lately our feral has been extra scared of us and runs off right away and won't come close to us anymore. In the past or feral started to trust us and let me get close but never allowed us to touch him or her. I want to trap our cat so bad but the thought of him being scared when the trap door closes breaks our hearts and the thought of him screaming and trying get out breaks our hearts. Any advise on how to get over this fear and do it, thinking of trapping our feral this weekend
Thank you!

Thank you for taking care of this cat. Getting him to the vet for neutering and a health check is going to help him live a longer, safer life.

Cats do get scared in the trap, but there are ways you can minimize this. Leave the trap out in the place you always feed him for a few days. The trap should be uncovered so he can have a good look at it. Don't set the trap, but put his food just inside the entrance so he learns that it is nothing to be feared.

When you are ready to trap him get a blanket ready to cover the trap with. I've used Felliway spray on the blankets I cover my trap with, the smell helps the cat to stay calm. Once he is in the trap, cover it with the blanket so he can't see out and move the trap to a quiet place until it's time to go to the vets. He'll feel much safer if he is hidden. Does your vet keep feral cats in overnight or do you have a safe place for him to recover from surgery? With male cats they're usually good to go within about 24 hours, but you need to keep him contained until he has fully come round from the anesthetic.

Good luck, keep us posted on how it goes.

Thank you for responding. We have not set up a vet date yet. There is a Mobile clinic which will spay/neuter the ferals it's $70. There is one issue, my hubby wants to trap the cat and release him to a room we have set up with beds , food, litter box, toys and then a few weeks later, somehow catch it and put it back in a cage or crate and take it to a vet , my hubby is having a hard time of the thought of keeping the cat in a trap over night. I'm confused what to do!!!