Hi everybody. For those of you who don't remember me, we have a small colony living on our property. Pictures of previous, current, and sometimes residents can be found in the Outside Cats album here: http://photos.yahoo.com/aswas
This coming season, it looks like we will have 4 fertile females, so we are looking to trap and spay them. I got in touch with a woman from the Feral Friends Network at AlleyCat.org. She gave me 3 places in my county that will spay ferals without needing all the shots and vet visits beforehand. Hooray!
But she brought up the question of recuperation time after the surgery. She suggested that if you just let the cat out, it will jump up 6 foot fences like they do and could tear their stitches. Of course, then what will we do! She suggested making a temporary home in a wire cage that'd include a place to sleep, food, water, and litter.
My question is: how the heck do I get in to change the litter so that the kitty doesn't run for it! Can anyone who has done this give some advice on feral spay recovery time, and how to set them up to be comfy and have what they need? Also, I was thinking of doing 2 sisters at the same time and having them share the cage for company and warmth. We have a good-sized cage we had for our dog, so it's about 5 feet by 2.5 feet or so. Any advice and tales are gladly welcomed! I need all the help I can get, but for now, I'm just in planning stages.
Thanks,
Debbie
This coming season, it looks like we will have 4 fertile females, so we are looking to trap and spay them. I got in touch with a woman from the Feral Friends Network at AlleyCat.org. She gave me 3 places in my county that will spay ferals without needing all the shots and vet visits beforehand. Hooray!
But she brought up the question of recuperation time after the surgery. She suggested that if you just let the cat out, it will jump up 6 foot fences like they do and could tear their stitches. Of course, then what will we do! She suggested making a temporary home in a wire cage that'd include a place to sleep, food, water, and litter.
My question is: how the heck do I get in to change the litter so that the kitty doesn't run for it! Can anyone who has done this give some advice on feral spay recovery time, and how to set them up to be comfy and have what they need? Also, I was thinking of doing 2 sisters at the same time and having them share the cage for company and warmth. We have a good-sized cage we had for our dog, so it's about 5 feet by 2.5 feet or so. Any advice and tales are gladly welcomed! I need all the help I can get, but for now, I'm just in planning stages.
Thanks,
Debbie