Indoor feral needs to see the Vet

I am so pleased to find this forum.

I am trying to catch my four-year-old cat, Raffi, who has been living in my house since he was four months old but still won't let me touch him.
Yesterday I closed him in the sunroom (with water and litter), then at bedtime I set the havahart trap with canned cat food inside.
The trap has a blanket over it, and I had already left it in the room for several weeks, hoping he would get used to it.
Nevertheless, Raffi didn't eat any of the food, even the bits which were right near the entrance to the trap. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.
He is just sitting on the floor, and when he hears my other cat meow in the living room, he cries piteously.
Should I just keep him isolated in the sun room for days or weeks, until he finally goes into the trap?
I will start by putting the food near the trap but not in it. Should I give him no food except what's near or in the trap?
This is hard! But he really needs to go to the vet. And as long as he has food and shelter and a place to pee, he should be all right, even if he has to live alone in the sunroom for a while. Right?
Does anyone have suggestions?
Betts

Hi @MBetts  Welcome to The Cat Site.

Have you tried removing the blanket to see if he will go in the trap that way? Some cats don't like the idea of venturing into a covered trap. What's the floor of the sun room like? Some cats notice the difference when they step onto the wire floor of the trap. If your sun room is carpeted try getting an off-cut of carpet to put in the bottom of the trap. If not, maybe a sheet of cardboard cut to size or some straw laid on the floor both inside and outside of the trap.

He will be fine in the sun room for now. It's not a good idea to let him go for more than 24 hours without food though. I suggest you put the food bowl a little further away from the entrance to the trap and then gradually move it closer.

Is it an emergency that he sees the vet? If it is something that can't wait your vet might give you a light sedative that you can mix with his food to make it easier to get into the trap or a carrier.

If he has been trapped before, he likely won't go into a trap again. Please don't withhold food and water from him.  I've successfully trapped cats by leaving out their dry food as usual, but putting tuna fish or chicken inside the trap so they don't starve but can be lured into the trap by special food.

Instead of using a trap, you can place a pet carrier standing up vertically with the open door on top. Enlist the help of a second person. Close the cat inside the room with the carrier. One person throws a small blanket or large towel over the cat and scoops the cat into the carrier, the other closes the carrier door.  

I am feeding him with his bowl about a foot from the trap. He is eating well.
The trap is tied open for now. This morning when I got up he was resting on top of the trap on an afghan I had placed there.
I plan to continue to keep him in the sunroom, moving the food bowl a little bit at a time toward the inside of the trap. At some point I can set the trap with the food at the end. I think it will take a while.
I go out there sometimes and sit, but he doesn't really like my company. He likes the other cats.
He isn't sick or anything, but I would like to get him checked out and vaccinated. Also, we have had ear mites in the household (5 cats) and because I haven't been able to treat him he keeps reinfesting everybody.
The floor in the sunroom is hard wood. I think I will try putting something in the bottom of the trap so he won't notice the wire. I'm thinking of using a piece of corrugated cardboard.
Thanks for your suggestions. Let me know if you have any more.

I will give thought to this. I would first have to take all lamps, chairs, etc. out of the room without letting him slip out, which would be a challenge!
He hasn't been trapped before, unless it was when he was very young, before I adopted him.
And yes, he does have plenty of food and water.

Just to follow up, I did finally trap Raffi in the Havahart today. I made an appointment with the veterinarian for this afternoon.
My regular vet wasn't in, but the one filling in did the job okay. He insisted on sedating the cat without trying to handle him first. I don't think my regular guy would have approached it that way, but I don't know. Anyway, he's now current in his vaccinations and has been treated for ear mites. That's a relief.
BTW,
Raffi went in the Havahart and ate all the food without springing the trap! Finally after three meals he stepped on it.
Thanks for the suggestions and support.

Good job.



I'm glad he finally got to see the vet. I've had vets sedate a cat before examining them and I've had vets use a crush cage to immobilize them. I actually prefer sedation, it seems a lot less stressful.

Is Raffi in your profile picture? Which one is he?

Yes that is Raffi in the photo. He is the yellow one. The other one is Charlie, who is 19 1/2 years old. He spends most of his time napping on his heated bed. Raffi LOVES Charlie and spends a lot of time curled up next to him. [emoji]128158[/emoji]

Fantastic!!!!! Now you know you can get him next time you have to - that it's not impossible!!! I agree w/@norachan ---next time get some sedative from the vet beforehand. And is it your trap? (As in - did you buy it?). If it IS yours -I'd leave the trap out for awhile to teach him it's not always a scary thing. It becomes part of the room's furniture... both now ...and for a week or two leading up to any time you need to get him to the vet in the future!!!!

Keep us posted how he's doing --and if maybe this the time you start to try to socialize him a bit!