New here with feral cat

[aloner]

The sooner you can get her to the vet, the better. However, I realize that there can be all kinds of constraints. I have left cats in traps overnight in extreme situation; however, securing the trap in a safe place on my property where the cat could not be bothered by animals or humans. If she has to stay in the trap, don't leave her entirely unattended and make sure that no one can get in to release her inadvertently. Don't open the trap at all under any circumstances such as thinking that she needs water or food. To be honest, my vet leaves the very wild ferals in the trap for as long as they are in his office, which has also been overnight in most cases. As you said, keep the trap covered; you will be shocked at how much that will calm her.

Try to work this out as best you can, but the most important point is that she be fixed. Please let us know how this all goes. You are doing a great job so far.

Thanks! I trapped her. It was pretty horrible, as she was in complete panic in there. I was just outside the window, so went right in and put the sheet over the cage. Then I had to carry it a bit to put her in the garage where there is some heating. The garage is aso "her room" where she normally sleeps, and I hope that is somewhat less stressful than being in a strange place.
She will now have to sit there for around six hours, and my hubby takes her to the vet in the morning. I pray everything goes well.

The vet's told us we could pick her up at noon. We have bought a small cat-carrier for them to put her in after the op. I have put a big nylon cage in the garage, and plan to put her carrier there when we get home. Will also put litter box.

Next question: How long should I keep her confined to the nylon cage? After that I plan to keep her in the garage/stable for at least a week to make sure she is fine before I open her cat-door again.

 

[fionasmom]

Congratulations! Please let us know how it went with the surgery. Ask the vet how long she should be confined, just in case there is something specific to her surgery. As a feral of her nature, you can't put a cone on her. If she is calm and comfortable in the big carrier, you could leave her for up to 72 hours. The common advice for ferals from the rescue groups is usually 24 - 72 hours for females. If you check other sites in general about spays, many will say 10 days; that is assuming that this is your pet cat. I have released all feral females to the out of doors within the 24 - 72 hour time frame and no one has suffered any ill effects. In the case of your cat, she is protected in the garage for the next week, so she is lucky to have her safe place. General advice is to watch for licking at the incision and jumping, but you might not be able to control either of those things.

 

[aloner]

Congratulations! Please let us know how it went with the surgery. Ask the vet how long she should be confined, just in case there is something specific to her surgery. As a feral of her nature, you can't put a cone on her. If she is calm and comfortable in the big carrier, you could leave her for up to 72 hours. The common advice for ferals from the rescue groups is usually 24 - 72 hours for females. If you check other sites in general about spays, many will say 10 days; that is assuming that this is your pet cat. I have released all feral females to the out of doors within the 24 - 72 hour time frame and no one has suffered any ill effects. In the case of your cat, she is protected in the garage for the next week, so she is lucky to have her safe place. General advice is to watch for licking at the incision and jumping, but you might not be able to control either of those things.

She is home, she seems fine after the surgery. I am so relieved that we made it! We have given her the name Layla, and she was micro-chipped and we are registered as her owners. So now we have taken the vow to care for her in a more official way I already love her, even if she will always be her own cat, prefer some distance, and at the most see me as a source of nice food
She is mostly calm in the nylon cage, as far as I can see. She has used the litter box (filled with natural dirt from outside to fit her preference). She has eaten small meals of wet food that I brought her. The vet said to keep her in a quiet place the first day, and didn't say anything about keeping her still. I will see how she seems to be doing tomorrow. If she seems OK I will let her out in the garage.
Like you say, I can't prevent her from licking the wound, and she will jump as she prefers to sleep in a bed on a table.

 

[fionasmom]

Great news! You must be so happy that you have managed to accomplish this. You will probably find that these feral cats can become very appealing and you do get attached to them. I would do exactly what you are doing in terms of timing, especially since she will be in the garage which is much different than having complete freedom. Please keep us posted as to how this progresses.

 

[dahlia]

How is she doing?

 

[aloner]

Thank you for asking! She seems well! She is in the garage only so far. Watched her through the window and she moves around normally. She eats, uses the litter boxes and uses the "platforms" I've made to sit and look out the window. Tomorrow I will open the door between the garage and the rest of the building, so that she has some more space to move around. Maybe there will be a mouse or two for her to watch too

I did keep her in the big nylon cage for 48 hours, to make sure there was no bleeding or discharge from her wound. She had pain medication (metacam) during those two days, as instructed by the vet.

And, I am so happy, it seems she is getting a tiny bit habituated to me. She won't eat when I'm in the building, but this evening she was "out in the open" on a table when I came with her late night meal. And she stayed there while I put her food down! I made sure to crouch and not be intimidating, but I couldn't resist taking her picture with my phone. I also recorded a short video, careful not to look straight at her while I did, but she gave me a slow blink.

Of course I cannot inspect her wound, but I will have time to observe how she is doing. Will keep her inside for another week.

 

[Jcatbird]

You are doing such a wonderful job! She is beautiful too. Every cat, like every human, is different but I have had great luck with feral cats and I love each one that has come into my life. They are quite intelligent as survivors and once you have their trust, you find a most devoted friend for life. The ones here have brought great happiness with them and given great love. Many have become social and learned that petting is very nice. They have brought laughter as well. They live inside with me now and are no longer frightened ferals. Given time, she may become far more than habituated to you. I suspect she is already loving you.

 

[dahlia]

That is great! Did the vet have a guess on how old she might be? I think it is wonderful that she is already staying out and watching you put down the food.

 

[aloner]

You are doing such a wonderful job! She is beautiful too. Every cat, like every human, is different but I have had great luck with feral cats and I love each one that has come into my life. They are quite intelligent as survivors and once you have their trust, you find a most devoted friend for life. The ones here have brought great happiness with them and given great love. Many have become social and learned that petting is very nice. They have brought laughter as well. They live inside with me now and are no longer frightened ferals. Given time, she may become far more than habituated to you. I suspect she is already loving you.

Thank you! We don't have the most ideal situation, as we live in a small house with two dogs. We didn't plan to get a cat, but couldn't not do something as she was hungry and without shelter. This is the best solution we could come up with for now. She has access to our stable and garage, and we will put another cat-door on a side of the building where the dogs can't go.
Luckily this is almost an ideal area for a cat, as it is out in the country on a dirt road. This is where she lived when we got here, and she knows her way around. We will provide her meals, a nice warm bed and try to be a safe place for her. Hopefully the relation will grow and she will be less shy, but it will take time. It is encouraging to hear from you that some ferals have become social and want to live inside. If it ever comes to that, she is welcome to share our home too.

 

[aloner]

That is great! Did the vet have a guess on how old she might be? I think it is wonderful that she is already staying out and watching you put down the food.

The vet estimated her to be around two years old. A younger cat. And we were happy with that, and that her teeth were fine. It means that she can have many healthy years ahead.
If the vet is right, this was her second winter, and that makes sense. She had made it this far, last year was a very mild winter, but was at the end of her ropes when we started feeding her in January.

 

[Jcatbird]

She is a very fortunate kitty to have you. You have made life do much easier for her plus she is not alone. She will definitely feel the love. I think you can expect to receive as much , or more, from her that you might have guessed at first. I find that the ones I help demonstrate gratitude. They do understand that you care. My wildest and most feral actually became the most gentle and loving. Some become lap cats and some don’t but of the many I have known, the majority came to fully enjoy life with less struggles. Many socialized well enough to be adopted into loving homes. All socialized well enough to desire living inside. It sounds like she now has her own kitty castle so whether she comes into your house or not, life will be very good for her. I am so glad you are helping her!

 

[aloner]

She is a very fortunate kitty to have you. You have made life do much easier for her plus she is not alone. She will definitely feel the love. I think you can expect to receive as much , or more, from her that you might have guessed at first. I find that the ones I help demonstrate gratitude. They do understand that you care. My wildest and most feral actually became the most gentle and loving. Some become lap cats and some don’t but of the many I have known, the majority came to fully enjoy life with less struggles. Many socialized well enough to be adopted into loving homes. All socialized well enough to desire living inside. It sounds like she now has her own kitty castle so whether she comes into your house or not, life will be very good for her. I am so glad you are helping her!

Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words!

It makes me happy just to see her enjoying her meals, relaxed stretching afterwards, and sometimes catch a glimpse of her sleeping peacefully in my home-made cat-bed on a cold and rainy day

 

[Jcatbird]

It is I who am thankful to you. The world is better because of people like you. You certainly changed the whole world for that kitty. I know what you mean about watching her. Peace is hers now. Life is good! Happy cat!

 

[fionasmom]

This is such a wonderful story of a cat who was helped and now has an ideal life with food, vet care, shelter, and freedom if she wants it. You may be surprised that she will warm up to you as she continues to feel safe and sure about who you are.