Homing A Loving Feral To A Friends Home...any Advise?

[TravelGirlJK]

I have been feeding a feral kitty for the last few months that is now about 5 months old. It has taken months of feeding on the deck and not approaching her. She tries to make friends with other feral cats by approaching them and flopping to expose her belly and tries to play with them. they just hiss but she keeps trying to play...

The last two months, she has slowly started coming into my home (I would keep the sliding door open so she knew she had an escape) and walking into my dining room. Then, she started eating in my home when I moved her food indoors. Then she started sleeping on my dining room rug and playing and sleeping. She purrs like there is no tomorrow when I let her inside each day and doesn't leave my side while flopping on her back for me to rub her belly, pet her and even brush her fur with a comb.

I have fallen in love with her but I cannot keep her and she seems to HATE to leave the house each evening. I travel a lot for work and I cannot have an indoor kitty but this cutie needs a home. I have a colleague who would love to take her and she is a cat lover with a 16 year old kitty who may pass soon so she would love to have another cat in the home and since my feral kitty just wants friends, I think this is a good fit. My question is this:

I should have no problem getting kitty into a carrier since she loves/trusts me. She will hate it, and be scared and I am not sure how I will stomach that but I will...Any advise for when I "trap" her and take her to vet for spaying and shots etc....to make it easy for me to take her directly to my friends home/my kitties new home from the vet. Do you think I should take her back to my house first since she is comfortable there or just bit the bullet and let her get used to her new home? I want tomake this easy and not scary for this cutie. any tips?

 

[tinydestroyer]

Oh my god, she's so cute! Thank you for finding this adorable kitten a loving home. I'm sure that someone with lots of experience homing ferals will come along soon to answer your question.
In the meantime, I'll ask some questions that might help them answer you: is she going to be spayed and get all her shots at once? Is your friend able to keep her in a safe, enclosed room away from her other cat until she's recovered?

 

[TravelGirlJK]

She is adorable! I so wish I could keep her. Yes, i plan to spay her and get shots etc....even chipped if they can do all at once...my friend should have no problem giving her private space for a while....

 

[Norachan]

She's beautiful, thank you so much for helping her.

Even if you can handle her a little bit I recommend using a humane trap to get her to the vet. If your vet is used to treating feral cats they may have one you can borrow.

The reason I suggest a trap is that if you try to get the cat into the carrier and something goes wrong you'll scare her and then it could take weeks before you are able to get her to the vet. It's also much easier for vets to handle a skittish cat from a trap rather than from a carrier.

Weigh the trap and then when you get the cat to the vet they can work out how much anesthetic she needs before they take her out of the trap, so she will be knocked out for the whole procedure and won't be so traumatised by being man-handled.

Once she is in the trap keep her covered with a blanket or towel. Cats relax if they think they are hidden, but sometimes freak out and bash their face into the sides of the cage if they can see out.

Blood tests and spay can be done at the same time. Vaccines are usually given the day after surgery, as the anesthetic affects the cats body temp, which effects how effective the vaccine is.

I think it would be better to take her straight to her new home after being spayed. Ask your friend to prepare a cat safe room for her. Cats feel safer in an enclosed space, once it has become saturated with her smell it will feel like home to her. You can get a Feliway plug in to make her more relaxed.

https://www.feliway.com/us/FELIWAY/FELIWAY-Diffuser

If you have any bedding that she has been using or litter from a litter box she uses take that along to her new home too. The more things that smell of home the better.

Please keep us updated! I hope this gorgeous girl settles in well at her new home.

 

[mazie]

What a darling little tux she is!! I like how Norachan worded how to get her secure for her trip to the vet. One thing, to get her into the trap, you may want to use food, say her favorite food placed at the foot of the trap so as to entice her in. Your friend is lucky to be getting such a cutie. So glad you found a good fit for this little one! Keep us informed of this final journey you will be having with this sweetie up to deliverance to her new forever home!

 

[di and bob]

Her crying will tug at your heartstrings, it always brings tears to my eyes and a sick stomach. Since you can't keep her in at night, I would take her to the friends house. Make sure this friend is aware that she is fairly new to indoor living, and she is not going to be friendly or maybe even approachable for a while.I have rehomed several cats like this and have had them hide out of sight for literally a month. your friend has to have patience and a understanding of semi tame cats. Have her check out some of the feral sites here. She is not a true feral, she would not let you touch her that soon or come inside at all. She has had some exposure to humans and your start with her is very good. She MUST have a place to hide at the new house, a box or under a bed. Food must be brought to her and left if she won't come out right away,she will most likely come out at night for a while.The friend needs to sit in the room and talk quietly to her. She is young and WILL adapt, but it will take time. Please stay in touch with the friend and make sure she keeps you up on things. The kitten will NOT be able to go outside for a couple of months, I hope she is aware of that, I hope she can be an inside cat. All the luck and keep us posted!

 

[orange&white]

I think you should be able to take her in a regular carrier, since you've been feeding since 8 weeks and having her inside since she was 12 weeks? Sounds like you've done a great job of socializing her. Congratulations! I expect she'll act like a "normal cat" at the vet's office. She's still a young kitten.

Are you taking her to the vet who your friend already uses? That would be the best choice, so that her medical records "start" at that office.

I would flip a coin on bringing her home for observation after surgery or taking her straight to her new home. Talk to your friend to make plans ahead of time. It will be best if one of you will be home for the following 24 hours just in case there are any complications and she needs to go back to the vet for anything. I expect all will work out splendidly with no issues.

Thank you for taking her in and socializing her. She sure is beautiful!

 

[tarasgirl06]

I have been feeding a feral kitty for the last few months that is now about 5 months old. It has taken months of feeding on the deck and not approaching her. She tries to make friends with other feral cats by approaching them and flopping to expose her belly and tries to play with them. they just hiss but she keeps trying to play...

The last two months, she has slowly started coming into my home (I would keep the sliding door open so she knew she had an escape) and walking into my dining room. Then, she started eating in my home when I moved her food indoors. Then she started sleeping on my dining room rug and playing and sleeping. She purrs like there is no tomorrow when I let her inside each day and doesn't leave my side while flopping on her back for me to rub her belly, pet her and even brush her fur with a comb.

I have fallen in love with her but I cannot keep her and she seems to HATE to leave the house each evening. I travel a lot for work and I cannot have an indoor kitty but this cutie needs a home. I have a colleague who would love to take her and she is a cat lover with a 16 year old kitty who may pass soon so she would love to have another cat in the home and since my feral kitty just wants friends, I think this is a good fit. My question is this:

I should have no problem getting kitty into a carrier since she loves/trusts me. She will hate it, and be scared and I am not sure how I will stomach that but I will...Any advise for when I "trap" her and take her to vet for spaying and shots etc....to make it easy for me to take her directly to my friends home/my kitties new home from the vet. Do you think I should take her back to my house first since she is comfortable there or just bit the bullet and let her get used to her new home? I want tomake this easy and not scary for this cutie. any tips?View attachment 216202 View attachment 216203

She reminds me quite a bit of my beloved angel Rani, who was in similar circumstances, found on the street with her siblings by one of our vet techs, who adopted one kitten, re-homed the others and asked me if I wanted to meet this kitten when we came in right after one of our beloved cats had passed. She was semi-wild at first and I didn't know if she would ever grow to love me and accept the life I could give her; not only did she do both, she was one of the most loving and affectionate of all.
Other posters have given excellent suggestions, to which I would only add: Yes, she needs to go to her new home after her check-up, innoculations, and spay. And when she is in whatever trap or carrier you bring her to her vet in, put in some soft foam rubber, toweling, cloths etc., and spray those with Feliway spray. I have done this with airlifts of cats and they did not make a peep all the 100-mile way to the airport; they arrived at their destination in fine shape, I was told.

 

[maggiedemi]

She looks just like my (former) feral Maggie. Such a little dolly!

 

[Laquigs]

She's beautiful, thank you so much for helping her.

Even if you can handle her a little bit I recommend using a humane trap to get her to the vet. If your vet is used to treating feral cats they may have one you can borrow.

The reason I suggest a trap is that if you try to get the cat into the carrier and something goes wrong you'll scare her and then it could take weeks before you are able to get her to the vet. It's also much easier for vets to handle a skittish cat from a trap rather than from a carrier.

Weigh the trap and then when you get the cat to the vet they can work out how much anesthetic she needs before they take her out of the trap, so she will be knocked out for the whole procedure and won't be so traumatised by being man-handled.

Once she is in the trap keep her covered with a blanket or towel. Cats relax if they think they are hidden, but sometimes freak out and bash their face into the sides of the cage if they can see out.

Blood tests and spay can be done at the same time. Vaccines are usually given the day after surgery, as the anesthetic affects the cats body temp, which effects how effective the vaccine is.

I think it would be better to take her straight to her new home after being spayed. Ask your friend to prepare a cat safe room for her. Cats feel safer in an enclosed space, once it has become saturated with her smell it will feel like home to her. You can get a Feliway plug in to make her more relaxed.

https://www.feliway.com/us/FELIWAY/FELIWAY-Diffuser

If you have any bedding that she has been using or litter from a litter box she uses take that along to her new home too. The more things that smell of home the better.

Please keep us updated! I hope this gorgeous girl settles in well at her new home.

Excellent advice! I agree completely. In the US when we get our kitties fixed or TNR (trap, neuter and release) everything is done the same time that the sweet thing is anaesthetized. The shelter I volunteered with, we only lost 1 kitten in 3 years doing everything at once and we altered 40 cats per week.much less traumatic especially with 1st time vaccines and micro chipping when they are sedated. I have socialized ferals in my home, it always works best if they have their own space to be safe in, a small room or even the bathroom and when they have to be vetted the live trap comes out. Never easy for anyone but much safer for everyone involved and keeping the trap covered with a cloth, rug or sheet really helps to calm the animal and keep you safe from accidental contact before the vaccination. I pray for your great success with this little beauty! Be well!

 

[Laquigs]

Btw when I use the live trap, I just keep the only source of food in the trap so it is the cats decision when to enter the trap. Sometimes takes a day or 2. Patience pays off. Can't rush purrfection.

 

[tinydestroyer]

I'm so glad some more experienced people chipped in! I definitely second the idea to keep her scent strong so she feels at home sooner, as well as the feliway diffiser. If there's anything at your house (besides that beautiful rug,) that she's been playing / laying on or a fave toy, make sure your friend has that in her recovery room. Maybe you could lay something easily portable / washable like a towel or per bed out on the dining room rug so she can transfer her scent to it. Between some familiar scents and the diffuser, I think your friend's house will be best so she can get settled in her new home.