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- Aug 4, 2014
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I TNR'd a new feral on Tuesday. We were forced to relocate the small colony, and so until we are able to build the proper enclosures (should be within the next week or so), we have to keep them contained. The other ferals are in 48" crates and their enclosure should be up this weekend for them to be released in.
Since this feral is new and the primary caretaker did not necessarily want to take all of the cats to her new place (pet limit that she is already violating with them) I decided I would take the new guy since he is not an established member of the colony yet and having just been neutered, we were hesitant to place him in an enclosure with the others.
He is currently in a 36" wire dog crate. Within the dog crate is a small carrier meant for my 6lb foster - we intended to transfer him to a larger carrier the night after surgery but we have been unsuccessful in getting him to leave the current one. His crate has a small litter box, food, water, and a piece of firewood from the old property they used to scratch on.
During the day he seems incredibly docile, always blinking the moment we make eye contact before I even have the chance to. He is receiving composure treats with every meal, rescue remedy in the water, feliway diffuser, and classical music on and off. He seems to stay in the carrier throughout the day, but every morning when I check on him, his crate is absolutely a mess - litter and puppy pads everywhere, fire wood removed and flipped from where it was, water spilled, ect...
This has had me concerned about his recovery since I'm unable to check his incision or ear. Also, I'm trying to figure out why he is freaking out. Is it lingering roaming instincts? How long until the behavior subsides?
Last night he did the worst he's ever done and it is presenting a problem. This is what his normal set up generally looks like (though this is technically after one of his nightly freakouts)
Our set up allows us to twist tie the carrier door so that it remains open, and when I need to go in to feed, clean, scoop litter or transport, I take a yardstick (shown in the lower right hand corner) and stick it slowly through the crate to close the carrier door. The yardstick keeps the door closed until I can get in and manually lock the carrier. So far this has worked great.
But this morning, DC really did a number on his crate. He managed to move and entirely flip the carrier on its side.
Front view:
Side View:
So here is my current problem - I am afraid to try and feed him right now. Every time I go in there, I think without the sense of protection from being in the carrier (or perhaps feeling better post-op) DC does not seem quite as docile as normal and is more on edge. I can use a spoon to drop food in his bowl but I am afraid to even try this with DC right now, as he is very clearly uneasy about my presence and being unable to take cover. It is making me very nervous and I am not sure what to do. Should I just suck it up? What should I look out for if he tries to attack or charge the crate (even with the spoon my hands are within the danger zone)?
The second issue is that I don't know how to go about fixing the mess he's made... How do I flip the carrier and push it to the back as it was without harming him, terrifying him, or risking escape?
We actually lucked out this morning at a thrift store and were able to purchase a large "cat cage" - it looks to be the Iris 3 tier cat play pen, which measure 70.1" H x 36.6" W:
Once we figure out how to set up the carrier in there, we were hoping to transfer him at some point today. But we need to be able to access him!
To sum up my questions are:
- Should I worry that he's caused himself harm during the recovery period from his nightly cage rage?
- What is causing the cage rage? If roaming instincts or something else related to his testosterone levels, how long until we can expect this to subside?
- Is there anything we can do to help prevent him from doing himself harm or risking escape, or to help calm him?
- How should I go about feeding him and fixing his carrier?
Since this feral is new and the primary caretaker did not necessarily want to take all of the cats to her new place (pet limit that she is already violating with them) I decided I would take the new guy since he is not an established member of the colony yet and having just been neutered, we were hesitant to place him in an enclosure with the others.
He is currently in a 36" wire dog crate. Within the dog crate is a small carrier meant for my 6lb foster - we intended to transfer him to a larger carrier the night after surgery but we have been unsuccessful in getting him to leave the current one. His crate has a small litter box, food, water, and a piece of firewood from the old property they used to scratch on.
During the day he seems incredibly docile, always blinking the moment we make eye contact before I even have the chance to. He is receiving composure treats with every meal, rescue remedy in the water, feliway diffuser, and classical music on and off. He seems to stay in the carrier throughout the day, but every morning when I check on him, his crate is absolutely a mess - litter and puppy pads everywhere, fire wood removed and flipped from where it was, water spilled, ect...
This has had me concerned about his recovery since I'm unable to check his incision or ear. Also, I'm trying to figure out why he is freaking out. Is it lingering roaming instincts? How long until the behavior subsides?
Last night he did the worst he's ever done and it is presenting a problem. This is what his normal set up generally looks like (though this is technically after one of his nightly freakouts)
Our set up allows us to twist tie the carrier door so that it remains open, and when I need to go in to feed, clean, scoop litter or transport, I take a yardstick (shown in the lower right hand corner) and stick it slowly through the crate to close the carrier door. The yardstick keeps the door closed until I can get in and manually lock the carrier. So far this has worked great.
But this morning, DC really did a number on his crate. He managed to move and entirely flip the carrier on its side.
Front view:
Side View:
So here is my current problem - I am afraid to try and feed him right now. Every time I go in there, I think without the sense of protection from being in the carrier (or perhaps feeling better post-op) DC does not seem quite as docile as normal and is more on edge. I can use a spoon to drop food in his bowl but I am afraid to even try this with DC right now, as he is very clearly uneasy about my presence and being unable to take cover. It is making me very nervous and I am not sure what to do. Should I just suck it up? What should I look out for if he tries to attack or charge the crate (even with the spoon my hands are within the danger zone)?
The second issue is that I don't know how to go about fixing the mess he's made... How do I flip the carrier and push it to the back as it was without harming him, terrifying him, or risking escape?
We actually lucked out this morning at a thrift store and were able to purchase a large "cat cage" - it looks to be the Iris 3 tier cat play pen, which measure 70.1" H x 36.6" W:
Once we figure out how to set up the carrier in there, we were hoping to transfer him at some point today. But we need to be able to access him!
To sum up my questions are:
- Should I worry that he's caused himself harm during the recovery period from his nightly cage rage?
- What is causing the cage rage? If roaming instincts or something else related to his testosterone levels, how long until we can expect this to subside?
- Is there anything we can do to help prevent him from doing himself harm or risking escape, or to help calm him?
- How should I go about feeding him and fixing his carrier?