First time rescuing, need help! From one kitty to two!

Hello,

I live in Southern Ontario in Canada and we are currently experiencing a much harsher winter than the last 5 or so. I live in an area where very stupid college students will dump their pets on the street when they change apartments or go home for the summer. This needless to say causes a great deal of problems. I permanently am residing in a house here with my boyfriend. We had spotted signs of a cat crossing through our backyard so we began putting food for it. A couple days go by and we spot a very shy Russian blue running around in a terrible snow storm but was too afraid to approach us. He sat and watched us for a bit before scampering off. 

We had gotten advice to use one of our live traps to see if we could trap kitty. While we were digging it out of the shed and prepping a room to house kitty for the ordeal, we have no discovered a second cat! He also looks like a stray seeing as he was this stripy one that let us get a bit closer before scampering off. Now I'm not sure what to do. We only saw the other cat toward the evening but still light out, this one toward lunch time.

We've been watching the situation for almost two weeks now and had never thought their might be more than one. I do know that one meows softly outside my door at night but then scampers off when I appear. I only ever saw their backside heading into the shrubs so not sure which one it is. I'm at a loss of what to do and hope someone more experienced can give me direction.

I understand they might be very afraid, some people around here can be very cruel with all the drunk students in the evenings. Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Thank you for caring about these kitties.  

What exactly do you plan to do once you trap/capture them?  They both sound like strays that are very leery of humans right now.  The kindest thing you can do is to trap them and take them immediately to a vet.  Do not let them out of the trap first.  Just cover the trap with a towel and bring the cat somewhere warm to rest before you can get to the vet.  This should be the same day or the very next day.  Keep the cat away from other animals.  

At the vet, you will first want to check for microchip just in case the cat is a lost or missing cat.  Next you will want to get vaccines, flea treatment and blood tests that check for Feline leukemia and Feline Aids.  You also want to be sure the  cat is spayed/neutered.

If you are then able to bring the cat/cats home.  They will need a room of their own that is completely cat proofed.  This would mean a small bedroom or even a bathroom.  If you use a bed room, be sure the bed is flat on the floor or picked up.  Under the bed will be the first place a cat will hide and it's next to impossible to get them out.  You do not want them hiding away from you.  Safe hiding spots such as a box or hiding hole in a cat tree are great alternatives.  Yet behind or under large furniture is not a good idea.

You will need litter box and a place away from the litter box for food/water.  Feliway diffusers are great and really help cats to calm.  Also playing soft music.  

If you do end up with both cats, they will need separate rooms.  Most cats cannot just be thrown together and you hope for the best.  Yet if these two socialize outside together that is a different story.

If you plan to take them to a shelter, please be sure they are no kill.  Also if the cats are not socialized therefore not adoptable, the shelter may choose euthanasia.  Just be sure you know the policies.

From a fellow Ontarian, welcome to The Cat Site. You will find this site has tons of great information on rescuing cats. From catching them to bringing them into your home this site has information and people that will help you.

I don't really have anything to add to what ShadowRescue posted.

If you keep the cats and can afford to take the cats to a vet please do. If you cannot afford it contact your local Humane Society they will likely assist you in caring for the cats by absorbing most of the cost for shots, spay/neuter, etc. I am not sure if the Humane Society is different city to city or year to year but the Ottawa Humane Society offered to pay for most of the cost to spay, neuter, shots, id chips, etc. the two cats I rescued. I have a brother and a sister that I trapped in May. I was able to afford to take them to my vet so I did not use the Humane Society.

If you keep the cats there are plenty of threads on this site with people sharing details of their experience in rescuing a cat and bringing it into their home. I strongly recommend you read through some of those so you can know what to expect and things to do. It requires a lot of patience to gain the trust of a cat but it is well worth the time.

P.S. People on The Cat Site love to see photos of kitties. Please post some if you got any. Here are my two work cats I trapped in May.

Kitty and Rusty at my in-laws cottage. The cat that is sleeping tried for around 2 months to escape from me, now look at her.

Thank you for replying! Yesterday we were able to catch the little Russian blue which we have named Smokey, the other one we have only seen that once and may belong to the one of the neighbors, but we will keep an eye out. We have him in the basement bathroom, and he seems a bit spooked and his left eye is half closed and has been that way since we found him. We are booked for Monday to get him checked by the vet we had for our cat before he passed away in October.

I am concerned because when he got out of the cage he bolted out and started running around and throwing himself at the bathroom window a few times until he climbed up the exposed pipes for the shower to where he is now perched a top the wall separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom is and is refusing to come down. He has not eaten or drank any water or gone to the bathroom yet, but we have placed 2 litter boxes, a cat bed, a perch, wet and dry food, and water. We tried warming the wet food to make it smell nice and enticing, and he took a nibble of it when presented to him, but left it alone after that even though he keeps really eyeing it when I check in on him every three or four hours during the day.

He seems to be bonding more with my boyfriend and I think we will take him in, especially seeing as the only no kill shelter near us is absolutely full and I really don't want to chance putting a Smokey in the over-crowded kill shelter.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to calm him down, or how long to keep him isolated?

How awesome you caught him!!  I would get a Feliway diffuser and some Composure treats.  You may need to give 4-6 Composure treats, but they do really help.  

I would be very very careful about him trying to escape the room.  

Is there any place where you could place him that he would have more room after his vet visit?  I wouldn't release him to the entire house until he seems more comfortable.  This could be a week or longer.  Just be sure if you have a room for him that it is cat proofed.  You don't want him hiding under a bed or behind other large furniture.  Try playing soft music for him too.  

Whenever I go into the room when I first bring in a cat, I will bring a really yummy treat.  I use plain cooked chicken, canned tuna or canned salmon.  I offer a treat right away and again when I am ready to leave.  The treats can also be used for socializing.  

Just take things nice and slow with him.  He may be quite scared since he hasn't been inside a home for awhile.  It is typical for them not to eat at first, but you do want him to eat within the next 24 hours.  You can often strain off the water or oil from tuna and get a few flecks in there too.  Sometimes a cat will lap that up.  Leave dry food out 24/7 too.  

Thank you for rescuing him.  I hope all goes well at the vet.