Advice for 4 Month Rabies Quarantine

[di and bob]

When you bring him in, have a big sign on the trap, I write it with permanent ink right on the trap itself, FERAL, DO NOT HANDLE! this way they shouldn't get bit and have to put him down to check for rabies. I haev seen so many vet workers just reach into the cage!

 

[catmoon]

When you bring him in, have a big sign on the trap, I write it with permanent ink right on the trap itself, FERAL, DO NOT HANDLE! this way they shouldn't get bit and have to put him down to check for rabies. I haev seen so many vet workers just reach into the cage!

Thank you! I'm going to do this right now.

 

[poolcat]

If you have a window available and a sturdy table the right height, you could set the crate in front of the window so the cat has a view of something other than the room he's confined to. Drape a blanket over the side of the crate, if seeing the outdoors upsets him at first. In fact you'll probably want to cover most of the crate at first. Having it higher means you won't have to get down on the floor to tend to him, too.

The large 48" crate is a good idea. I had a foster cat who had to be confined after a couple of surgeries and borrowed a 36" one that worked well enough, but she was only in it for a week. She enjoyed watching whatever was going on outside. I strapped a cardboard scratcher to the inside of her crate, though a feral cat might prefer a slab of tree bark -- or possibly neither.

A cardboard box to hold the litter box, with an opening cut in one side will make it easier to place food and water dishes. Even better, if you could borrow a second, smaller crate to hold his litter box. It could be zip-tied to the larger one. But the smaller crate would also need to have two doors so you can clean his box. You might be able to connect the two so a piece of sturdy cardboard could be slipped between them, allowing you to clean his box without worrying about him making a dash for freedom. Sprinkle some soil on the litter if he seems reluctant to use the box. He may not know what it's for.

Good luck!

 

[poolcat]

Forgot to say... this is what I used when I had to close off an opening between rooms that had cats who didn't know each other yet. Wire shelving as ventilating, see-through doors. For the past year, it's been on a doorless closet that I don't want the cats to get into, and it still works fine. I laid a towel over each side to keep anyone from going over the top but it turned out that none of them tried to climb it, at least not while I was around.

 

[catmoon]

Forgot to say... this is what I used when I had to close off an opening between rooms that had cats who didn't know each other yet. Wire shelving as ventilating, see-through doors. For the past year, it's been on a doorless closet that I don't want the cats to get into, and it still works fine. I laid a towel over each side to keep anyone from going over the top but it turned out that none of them tried to climb it, at least not while I was around.

Amazing advice! I love what you did with the wire shelving.

 

[DeesCats]

catmoon , I want to add to the many suggestions already given. Since you are working with a TNR and a shelter organization, please try and get any medical records regarding medical treatment including Rabies and other vaccination records

The reason I suggest doing so is I recently 'adopted' a TNR cat that was neutered and given the Rabies and FVRCP vaccines in 2022 by me and the organization that provided the discount cost and their recommended hospital wouldn't give me the records so I needed to start over with all the vaccines with my regular veterinarian.

 

[catmoon]

catmoon , I want to add to the many suggestions already given. Since you are working with a TNR and a shelter organization, please try and get any medical records regarding medical treatment including Rabies and other vaccination records

The reason I suggest doing so is I recently 'adopted' a TNR cat that was neutered and given the Rabies and FVRCP vaccines in 2022 by me and the organization that provided the discount cost and their recommended hospital wouldn't give me the records so I needed to start over with all the vaccines with my regular veterinarian.

Thank you. I definitely wouldn't have thought of this.

 

[catmoon]

This is kind of a disappointing update. He hasn't been showing up much lately. The shelter is only open 4 days a week and the couple times I have seen him have been on days when they are closed.

I thought maybe the trap was deterring him so I've been leaving it unset with the food left toward the opening, to try and get him to start coming back into the yard.

This was a mistake because about an hour ago he arrived and approached the unset trap. I opened the back door so that I could come out, set the trap, and hopefully catch him, but he ran off and hasn't returned. This is unusual for him because when I come out he always sits there and waits for me to bring food. It makes me feel like he's even worse off than before. The wound is still very noticeable.

From now on I'll be going out early to set the trap every day that the shelter is open. They do not open until 12:00 pm so if I catch him in the morning I'll just have to keep him in there for a few hours.

I'm not giving up on this cat but I'm very worried and extremely frustrated, especially since I won't be able to trap him for two days with the weekend coming up.

 

[catmoon]

This will be my final update for now, at least until he's either trapped or starts coming back consistently.

He seems to have completely stopped visiting us for food, but he's passed through once or twice.

A few nights ago, I was sitting out on my front porch and was surprised to see him trotting up the steps into my front yard. I called out to him and he stopped, looked at me, and laid down I'm the middle of the path to my porch. I went inside to prepare some food for him but when I came back he was gone. I left the food in the backyard where he usually goes to eat when he sees me but he never touched it.

I am still leaving food out daily and still setting the trap on trapping days and I plan to continue for the foreseeable future. I've also started leaving a second bowl of food in the front yard near the porch. I'm not sure why he's stopped coming for food, but my best guess is that he has another caretaker/feeder.

I greatly appreciate everyone's input and if anyone has further advice I would be happy to hear it. Right now I feel like I'm doing all that I can.

 

[catmoon]

Hi all, so I'm back and looking for advice. As some of you know, I've been attempting to catch a hard to trap feral/semi-feral cat who is injured.

Things are not looking good right now. The wound is looking smaller, but his fur is matted and he is now missing hair in some places.

It feels like I've tried everything. I've used different types of bait, different traps. I even posted on my Ring camera app and local social media forums to try and locate his possible feeders/caretakers. The trap is set every day, from morning until sundown, except for on weekends when our local adoption center is closed.

My greatest challenges right now are:

1. He barely comes by the house now and will not follow a feeding schedule. I'm lucky to see him once a week.

2. He's become more fearful than he used to be. Previously he would sit there and wait to be fed while keeping his distance from me. At this point I can't even open the back door without him running. This means that I can no longer just go out and set the trap or offer food whenever I see him.

Almost every appearance he makes seems to happen when I don't have the trap ready. For example, he will come on a Saturday, or right before I leave for work, or right after I come home from errands.

I know that this change in behavior and feeding pattern are likely due to the injury and it's making him much harder to catch. I feel like all that I can do right now is set the trap as often as possible and hope.

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I've been trying to catch this cat since late January and I feel like I'm failing him.

 

[Kwik]

Hi all, so I'm back and looking for advice. As some of you know, I've been attempting to catch a hard to trap feral/semi-feral cat who is injured.

Things are not looking good right now. The wound is looking smaller, but his fur is matted and he is now missing hair in some places.

It feels like I've tried everything. I've used different types of bait, different traps. I even posted on my Ring camera app and local social media forums to try and locate his possible feeders/caretakers. The trap is set every day, from morning until sundown, except for on weekends when our local adoption center is closed.

My greatest challenges right now are:

1. He barely comes by the house now and will not follow a feeding schedule. I'm lucky to see him once a week.

2. He's become more fearful than he used to be. Previously he would sit there and wait to be fed while keeping his distance from me. At this point I can't even open the back door without him running. This means that I can no longer just go out and set the trap or offer food whenever I see him.

Almost every appearance he makes seems to happen when I don't have the trap ready. For example, he will come on a Saturday, or right before I leave for work, or right after I come home from errands.

I know that this change in behavior and feeding pattern are likely due to the injury and it's making him much harder to catch. I feel like all that I can do right now is set the trap as often as possible and hope.

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I've been trying to catch this cat since late January and I feel like I'm failing him.

Anyway you can follow him to see where he goes? Someone is feeding him ,I don't have any suggestions for you if he doesn't come around to eat- could be others trying to trap him as well and might be why he's gotten so leary

 

[catmoon]

I might just have to try following him and see if I spot any feeding stations. That's a good suggestion. I'm sure that someone is feeding him, just need to locate that person and talk to them.

 

[Kwik]

I might just have to try following him and see if I spot any feeding stations. That's a good suggestion. I'm sure that someone is feeding him, just need to locate that person and talk to them.

Yeah,you're doing the best you can do- please don't beat yourself up,you don't have many options ..... Do your best to follow him and if you can't just know you've not failed him - I think alot of anyone who steps up to the plate to TRY as you've been.....you're a good person,some things are beyond our control

 

[DeesCats]

Did you try using a piece of Kentucky fried chicken, regular flavor? Some trappers near me swear by it as well as forum members here.

 

[fionasmom]

KFC, or any greasy fried supermarket chicken, is my bait of choice and it has worked more effectively than anything else. It might even entice a cat who has a feeder as it is so different from cat food.

 

[catmoon]

Did you try using a piece of Kentucky fried chicken, regular flavor? Some trappers near me swear by it as well as forum members here.

I've used KFC but since he doesn't really come around to eat anymore I haven't had a chance to see if it works. He seems to prefer cat food. The one time he fully entered the trap was when it was baited with canned food warmed in the microwave.

I do keep fried chicken in the house just in case so maybe I'll start using that regularly as well as the canned food.

 

[catmoon]

Yeah,you're doing the best you can do- please don't beat yourself up,you don't have many options ..... Do your best to follow him and if you can't just know you've not failed him - I think alot of anyone who steps up to the plate to TRY as you've been.....you're a good person,some things are beyond our control

Thank you, I really appreciate this.

 

[Kwik]

Thank you, I really appreciate this.

Awww,I can totally relate to how you feel and I'm terribly hard on myself as well so my heart goes out to you- we want to rescue & help EVERY critter that we see but it's just not humanly possible - took me a lifetime to realize I'm not superwoman and have exhausted myself both physically and mentally all too often,it's be nice to have some help- wouldn't it?

Anyway,give yourself a pat on the back ,do your very best but go easy on YOU- the earth and everything in it is EVERYONE'S responsibility - perhaps you can get involved with some local rescue organizations in your area that might volunteer to help you