Advice for a New Rescuer Bringing Semi-Feral Into Household

[Sharky22]

I'm looking for some expert advice from those experienced with rescue.

We live in a rural setting and about 6 months ago were adopted by a stray/semi-feral young cat who started coming to our property. We are guessing the cat is a she and around a year old. I've asked around to all our neighbors and no one knows who she is. It was summer when she first started coming around, and I began feeding her outdoors, often on our porch at the same time in the evening. She then started to look for me, and would call out to me when she came around. Once the weather started getting colder, we started feeding her in our garage and then set up an insulated shelter for her in there. Temperatures became frigid this past week and she disappeared for a few nights. Then she reappeared on Christmas Eve, looking for me. It's freezing where we live, and the area is filled with predators, such as coyotes, fisher cats, etc. We captured her quickly in a Havaheart trap on Christmas and brought her into a secluded warm room in the house.

She is scared and hiding in nooks in the room, but she has been completely quiet when by herself, and is eating and using her litter box. She holds vocal conversations with me meowing when I go into the room, and even played briefly with a wand toy with me last night.

We want to bring her to the vet to have her tested, get vaccines, and to have her treated for parasites. We then want to get her fixed. If she passes a bill of health and seems adaptable, then we are willing to adopt her into our household. We have 2 other cats who are 1-year-old brothers that we rescued as motherless 6-week-old kittens.

We are wondering how soon we should get her to the vet. We think she is probably traumatized already from being fully indoors for the first time, so we wonder if we should allow her to get completely adjusted in her room first before another round of trauma happens for her (trapping her and bringing her to the vet for the first time).

Likewise, once we do need to get her to her first appointment, we are not sure how to get her into a carrier. She is understandably gun shy about the Havaheart trap that we lured her into, to get her out of the cold. I'm going to put her food in a carrier for her upcoming meals, but she likes to eat with me out of the room, so I'm not sure how I'll catch her inside eating once we do need to close her in.

I also have access to some gabapentin and am considering giving her some to get her calm enough to get her into the carrier. Does anyone have experience with this

And finally, how and when will I know if she is meant to stay with us indoors, or if she should eventually just be released back into the wild after getting fixed. I know it will be a hard life for her out there, but I also don't want her to be miserable indoors.

This is my first experience rescuing a stray who is not a very young kitten, so I need a little guidance! Many thanks in advance.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I am no expert — but currently have a tame feral cat who is mostly indoors now. He was obviously traumatized at some point and does not trust humans or cats !
2 years and still not able to pet him or apply flea drops.
So far — so good. He is part of the family now and slowly is becoming more confident and spoiled. He goes out and comes in, uses the litter box, sleeps comfortably on the cat tree , book shelf or bed.
It's a nice feeling to rescue these abandoned animals.
Good luck

 

[Furballsmom]

We are wondering how soon we should get her to the vet.

Hi! Welcome!
You'll want to take care of everything vet-wise as soon as you can.

I can't help much regarding getting her into a carrier but it sounds like you have a good plan, and you might double-check with your vet regarding how much of the gaba to use. Maybe, if your hubs is willing to be the bad guy (and she'll forgive, she rebounded quickly from the first trapping) maybe have him get her in the carrier?

how and when will I know if she is meant to stay with us indoors,

I can absolutely answer this. You already know because of this;

She holds vocal conversations with me meowing when I go into the room, and even played briefly with a wand toy with me last night.

 

[poolcat]

Why don't you put the carrier in her room, leaving the door to the carrier open and a fluffy towel or blanket inside. Put it in an out-of-the-way spot and make it the only comfortable place in her room. Maybe she'll start sleeping in it. You could put a little catnip in, or a treat now and then to entice her to use it.

All of my cats like to nap early in the afternoon. If that's the case with your new girl, make her vet appointment at that time of day. With any luck, all you'll need to do is close the door when it's time to go to the vet.

I've done this in the past with an anxious foster cat and she continues to nap in the carrier, even though it's used for trips to the vet. I'll soon be taking another semi-stray/feral kitty for his annual stuff. He hangs out in his carrier most of every day; just comes out to explore at night.

 

[Sharky22]

Hi! Welcome!
You'll want to take care of everything vet-wise as soon as you can.

I can't help much regarding getting her into a carrier but it sounds like you have a good plan, and you might double-check with your vet regarding how much of the gaba to use. Maybe, if your hubs is willing to be the bad guy (and she'll forgive, she rebounded quickly from the first trapping) maybe have him get her in the carrier?


I can absolutely answer this. You already know because of this;

<3 <3 <3

 

[JamesCalifornia]

I've done this in the past with an anxious foster cat and she continues to nap in the carrier, even though it's used for trips to the vet. I'll soon be taking another semi-stray/feral kitty for his annual stuff. He hangs out in his carrier most of every day; just comes out to explore at night.

~ Excellent suggestion . Same thing has happened with a few of my cats. The carrier is no longer a mystery – just another cat house.

 

[tabbytom]

This is my first experience rescuing a stray who is not a very young kitten, so I need a little guidance! Many thanks in advance.

and welcome to TCS!

Thank you for rescuing this kitty and for giving her a warm and fur-ever loving home and a safe sanctuary to live out her life

From what I read, the kitty is kinda scared and puzzled as to why she is in the house and also the place is new to her and therefore hiding and keeping to herself.
It is a good sign that she is eating and using the litterbox and this show that she has kind of overcome some of the fears.

As for going to the vet, as what Furballsmom mentioned, get her to the vet ASAP. Yes, she may be traumatized but at least, get it done asap. Anyway, she has to go through this and better for her to go through early than later as you don't have to socializes her twice.

Very good suggestions fro the other members too. Keep us updated and feel free to ask questions.

 

[Sharky22]

Thank you for all of your replies. I made her first vet appointment, but they can't see her until Wednesday of next week.

Something amazing happened last night. She came out of hiding while I was playing with her with the wand toy. She sniffed me, ate in front of me, sniffed around the room, and played a little, all in full view of me. When I went for the last visit with her last night, she seemed to start kneading the carpet, and then even the air, all while looking at me, and seemed not to want me to leave the room, as she vocalized, looked at me, and came to sit closer. My heart is bursting! I feel very encouraged.

Although she's hiding again somewhat today due to noises around the house, I now feel like given time, she will let her guard down. Thank you so much for all the encouragement from you all. I was disheartened when I wrote my first post, but your words kept me going and now I've seen some amazing progress!

 

[Furballsmom]

This is a fantastic update, good for you, and wonderful for her!

 

[tabbytom]

Thank you for all of your replies. I made her first vet appointment, but they can't see her until Wednesday of next week.

Something amazing happened last night. She came out of hiding while I was playing with her with the wand toy. She sniffed me, ate in front of me, sniffed around the room, and played a little, all in full view of me. When I went for the last visit with her last night, she seemed to start kneading the carpet, and then even the air, all while looking at me, and seemed not to want me to leave the room, as she vocalized, looked at me, and came to sit closer. My heart is bursting! I feel very encouraged.

Although she's hiding again somewhat today due to noises around the house, I now feel like given time, she will let her guard down. Thank you so much for all the encouragement from you all. I was disheartened when I wrote my first post, but your words kept me going and now I've seen some amazing progress!

 

[Sharky22]

 

[tabbytom]

She's lovely!

Does she has a name yet? If yes, start calling her by name so that she'll get used to her name.

 

[Sharky22]

Thank you for asking. My guy has named her Lily and I'm letting him have his way! (I've named all the others.)

She's doing great!

Tomorrow is the first vet appointment, which I'm nervous about.

 

[Jcatbird]

Beautiful Lily!

 

[Sharky22]

I just wanted to send an update, almost 2 months later, that Lily has become the biggest mush in the world with me. She loves rubbing her head all over my face, climbing up into my hair, and soliciting kisses from me on her forehead. She's playing a lot with her fur brothers now, and is slowly warming up to her human dad.

It's really miraculous to have watched her transform as she fears less and trusts more. She had so much sweetness in her all along; the kitten in her is really free to come out now. She was just a bundle of nerves and panic from living out in the wild before.

Thanks to everyone on this thread for talking me through my early days of confusion!

 

[Furballsmom]

Thank you so much for the update!

 

[tabbytom]

I just wanted to send an update, almost 2 months later, that Lily has become the biggest mush in the world with me. She loves rubbing her head all over my face, climbing up into my hair, and soliciting kisses from me on her forehead. She's playing a lot with her fur brothers now, and is slowly warming up to her human dad.

It's really miraculous to have watched her transform as she fears less and trusts more. She had so much sweetness in her all along; the kitten in her is really free to come out now. She was just a bundle of nerves and panic from living out in the wild before.

Thanks to everyone on this thread for talking me through my early days of confusion!

Great to hear this!

 

[Joey's mom]

I'm looking for some expert advice from those experienced with rescue.

We live in a rural setting and about 6 months ago were adopted by a stray/semi-feral young cat who started coming to our property. We are guessing the cat is a she and around a year old. I've asked around to all our neighbors and no one knows who she is. It was summer when she first started coming around, and I began feeding her outdoors, often on our porch at the same time in the evening. She then started to look for me, and would call out to me when she came around. Once the weather started getting colder, we started feeding her in our garage and then set up an insulated shelter for her in there. Temperatures became frigid this past week and she disappeared for a few nights. Then she reappeared on Christmas Eve, looking for me. It's freezing where we live, and the area is filled with predators, such as coyotes, fisher cats, etc. We captured her quickly in a Havaheart trap on Christmas and brought her into a secluded warm room in the house.

She is scared and hiding in nooks in the room, but she has been completely quiet when by herself, and is eating and using her litter box. She holds vocal conversations with me meowing when I go into the room, and even played briefly with a wand toy with me last night.

We want to bring her to the vet to have her tested, get vaccines, and to have her treated for parasites. We then want to get her fixed. If she passes a bill of health and seems adaptable, then we are willing to adopt her into our household. We have 2 other cats who are 1-year-old brothers that we rescued as motherless 6-week-old kittens.

We are wondering how soon we should get her to the vet. We think she is probably traumatized already from being fully indoors for the first time, so we wonder if we should allow her to get completely adjusted in her room first before another round of trauma happens for her (trapping her and bringing her to the vet for the first time).

Likewise, once we do need to get her to her first appointment, we are not sure how to get her into a carrier. She is understandably gun shy about the Havaheart trap that we lured her into, to get her out of the cold. I'm going to put her food in a carrier for her upcoming meals, but she likes to eat with me out of the room, so I'm not sure how I'll catch her inside eating once we do need to close her in.

I also have access to some gabapentin and am considering giving her some to get her calm enough to get her into the carrier. Does anyone have experience with this

And finally, how and when will I know if she is meant to stay with us indoors, or if she should eventually just be released back into the wild after getting fixed. I know it will be a hard life for her out there, but I also don't want her to be miserable indoors.

This is my first experience rescuing a stray who is not a very young kitten, so I need a little guidance! Many thanks in advance.

all my adopted cats (except for 2) were taken off the streets, Trained to be indoor exclusively, taught socialization skills, introduced to good food, etc, after awhile as with every cat---I got to live with them. When you first spotted the cat and she started coming around, that's when you should have set a trap, taken to the vet to be spayed. it was kind, compassionate to set up warm shelter but the most important thing was to prevent her getting pregnant. Getting her fixed, vetted for her health and for the health of your existing cats should you decide to offer her a better life than the streets. The streets are hell for cats. I am a volunteer with rescue of cats, dogs. If you decide to include her into your family, you should keep her in a separate room for a few days for her to decompress, get adjusted to a new environment. The worst thing anyone can do when there are existing cats is to get another and put them all together. The new cat should be fed, have a litter box in the room. Your cats might start to sniff under the door that's good. Depending on the personality of your cats the introduction time might take less than what most people do. You can, with the door closed, feed the new cat at the same time you feed yours putting the food bowls on opposite sides of the closed door. If everyone is fine, next time before feeding, you can leave the door slightly open so your cats and she can sniff each other. Then you will know it's time to let her out and they will get along. My concern is the missing time when she disappeared, not being fixed, I hope she's not pregnant.