I can't trap a pregnant feral...now what?

oyster

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I have unsuccessfully tried to trap a pregnant feral about 3 times now. She is not even approaching me anymore.  She used to tolerate my presence when I set down the food but now she runs away till she hears the door shut.

I had trapped her once before to get her spayed. Unfortunately, hubby couldn't manage the trap and she escaped before being transported to the vet. :( So she is wary of traps. I have tried using all the tips online but she runs away when she sees the trap. She is quite pregnant now and I am despairing over how to catch her. She has never let me approach her but she does come to eat once a day. 

Any ideas?
 

catwoman707

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I need to know where this is that she is, whether in your yard, etc.

My fellow rescuers call me the 'master trapper' lol! I can seriously get creative when need be :)
 
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oyster

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I need to know where this is that she is, whether in your yard, etc.

My fellow rescuers call me the 'master trapper' lol! I can seriously get creative when need be :)
She comes to our porch and hangs out in our yard. But right now, she is very skittish. She eats and runs away.  She is also not more than a year old herself. :( I have fed her since she was a little kitten. 

I tried to look for a drop trap but can't get one any time soon and my building skills are nil. I do have a regular bunny cage. I was thinking of using it as a drop trap in desperation but it might be too light.
 
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catwoman707

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She comes to our porch and hangs out in our yard. But right now, she is very skittish. She eats and runs away.  She is also not more than a year old herself. :( I have fed her since she was a little kitten. 

I tried to look for a drop trap but can't get one any time soon and my building skills are nil. I do have a regular bunny cage. I was thinking of using it as a drop trap in desperation but it might be too light.
Exactly what will happen with the bunny cage, however you can easily weight it down so that she can't throw herself around and get loose, because guaranteed she will not allow herself to ever be trapped again. Doesn't the cage just have a door and not an open bottom as a drop trap does? You can rig the door on that, put the bait in the back of the cage, when she gets in it to eat that's when you shut the door with a string. That was added at the end so this post is out of order :)

It's got to have quite a bit of weight too, simple things are filling 4 bags with cat litter and tying them in each corner making sure that nothing gets in the way of the cage rim dropping flat on the ground. Plush grass or even a slope in a sidewalk and she will get out with using her nose, all it takes is one tiny crack or space between the cage and the ground and she will shove her nose under it and get out, I've seen it many times so it really does need to lay flat and be heavy.

If you did it this way how do you plan to get her from that in to a container?

You can use a large carrier or a cage with a door but it must be done exactly right to work and keep her in it.

With a carrier or cage, you would be tying a strong string that will not break to the door edge where it latches, run it through the back of the cage or carrier, then run the string to the house by the door, testing it that it is as taught as it can be without pulling on the door.

Once she is inside, pull the string hard and fast and hold on tightly so she is not able to push the door open, as you walk toward it to securely latch it, then cover completely with a towel or sheet so she settles down.

Depending on what 'trap' you create, you will need to test it out to be sure that the string is going through the back and will quickly close the door and keep it closed til latched, I remember a few different types of cages I did this with that I had to run the string differently to get the effect I needed.

She needs to be trapped right away, she is due any time and now is when you can take advantage of her being so prego, since they are much bolder when it comes to food because they are much hungrier and needing the food and nutrition to support her growing babes.
 
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oyster

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Thank you so much. I will have to try but you are right...she won't let herself get trapped again and I'll have exhausted all possibilities. 
 

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sending prayers and vibes for successful trapping efforts. This is for her own good and also for the future. Sometimes it helps to spray feliway on the trap. Please keep us updated!
 

catwoman707

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I meant to mention!

It is wise to spray the cage down with any household cleaner then hose well and sun dry before attempting to trap her.

Former pets leave their scents behind and keep them from going in.

Just trying to prevent any possible reasons for her not getting trapped :)

Good luck!
 
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oyster

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I just wanted to update on my feral cat situation. 

The cat disappeared for 3 days so I thought she wouldn't be back. However, she was back this morning and I sprung into action. 

I had created a drop trap using the top part of my bunny's cage. I tied 4 big rocks in plastic bags around the cage to weigh it down. Then, I propped it with a wooden block and yarn. Sure enough, she took the bait and I trapped her. Getting her into a regular cat trap required more ingenuity as the bunny cage door was larger than the trap opening. Anyhow, I fiddled around with pliers etc. and finally got it to work but then the cat refused to get into the regular cat trap. I had to grab a stick and nudge her into the trap which resulted in tons of hisses and growls.

I covered the whole trap in a huge bed sheet so that helped to keep her calm.

She went through the spaying but sadly, her kittens were aborted. She would have given birth next week according to the vet. I was devastated. Had I known she was that far along, I would have waited. I am so sad. :(  The vet decided to operate anyway because of the difficulty in trapping her.

She is now resting in a comfortable carrier and I will release her tomorrow. 

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. Any post-op care suggestions would be appreciated.
 

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Don't be sad. The vet made the right decision IMO. Very pragmatic decision. The poor cat didn't need a passel of kittens. Now she is spayed & can live her life without the burden of pregnancy.

Obviously you are feeding her, but will she be safe outside?
 

catwoman707

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I agree.

Aborting at any point is tough, but a late term pregnancy is that much harder for you to feel okay about, many years ago in my first few years of rescuing, I fought doing this and had to house them in large cages to let them have and care for their kits.

But at some point it really sinks in, as sad as it is to do, there are countless kittens already born who end up homeless or euthanized due to the serious lack of homes, and for every kitten born, another will be euthanized. It's hard to understand this concept but believe me, it's true.

It is never something that doesn't bother me, but know it must be this way.

You did the very best thing for her and now her life will dramatically improve being spayed.

I hope that if she will live out her life outdoors she will have a regular food source, another great gift for her.
 
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Can you keep her in a room by herself inside your house for a few days? It takes several days for a cat to recover from spay surgery, especially if she was pregnant when spayed, because there is much more bleeding. This way you could keep an eye on her and make sure she fully recovers before releasing her. Keeping her indoors would also give you the opportunity to socialize her, and possibly keep her indoors permanently. Feral cats that are a year or younger can be socialized to live indoors, especially the females. I trapped and spayed a pregnant female feral cat who was about six months old a year ago, and she had a difficult time for a few weeks, I think there was a lot of hormonal changes going on with her. However, she never expressed the desire to return outside, and now a year later, she is the most affectionate, happy, and loving kitty ever. Maybe this is how your story with this little kitty will end too. Regarding spaying a pregnant cat, I've done it twice, and never regretted it. There simply aren't enough homes for all of the kittens that get born. You have improved this cat's life so much and saved her from endless cycles of going in heat and getting pregnant, which is very stressful, especially for a feral cat.
 
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oyster

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Yes, I will continue to feed her. She lives with a colony of cats. I feed them all and have had most neutered. I also housed them on my porch over winter. Now they live somewhere in the neighborhood but they come twice a day to eat. I have two of my own indoor cats so I can't adopt them as indoor cats. My two would really object to that. :)
 

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The post above made me realize I read right past your comment that she was spayed today and you plan to release her tmrw.

Too soon for a nearly full term pregnancy.

I know it's torture to see her in a carrier for any longer than a day, and if you have something larger that would be ideal, but regardless, she really needs at least 3 days before returning her.

Bleeding possibility, it doesn't happen often but can happen, and if so it is life threatening, and doubtful you could retrap her.

Also she will smell as if she were in heat to any unfixed males in the area, and if they tried to or succeeded in mating with her, can cause big trouble for her internally.

During her recovery feed her canned food only if possible.
 

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Is it possible to keep her in a small room for a few days, even if it is your bathroom? One of the female feral cats I spayed got an infection after the surgery, and also had a bad reaction to the anesthesia which caused temporary organ damage. Complications after a spay aren't frequent, but they do sometimes occur. I had no intention of keeping her indoors with my other cats, either, but she's been inside with me now for 4 years. I have five rescued cats inside my home, and they all learned to live peacefully together, so I wouldn't necessarily conclude that your two resident cats wouldn't accept her into your household. But I understand the need to set limits on the animals you take in, and what you've done for this Kitty is wonderful. I hope you will keep her inside for a few more days, though, if at all possible. She would likely sleep through most of it.
 

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The post above made me realize I read right past your comment that she was spayed today and you plan to release her tmrw.
Too soon for a nearly full term pregnancy.
I did the same thing. You're so right. Tomorrow she will still be very weak & tired after her ideal.
 
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oyster

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Thank you for all the suggestions. The vet told me to release her today. But thankfully, I read your posts ;) so I will keep her till tomorrow evening (so 2 whole days and 3 nights). Unfortunately, I can't keep an eye on her after that since I am going out of town. Bad timing but hopefully, she will be fine. The cat sitter will keep feeding so food is not a problem but I can't expect her to take care of a feral's needs. 

The cat swiped at me when I put some food in her carrier. I gave her some wet food with some tuna added in. She hasn't touched it (been 4 hours now). She is definitely scared  because she hisses every time the door opens. She is in the guest bathroom and I have cranked up the heat so she stays warm. 
 
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