scared stray in my office

[wolcar]

Hi folks.  We have a small stray cat problem at my work.  It is right near a questionable rental apartment complex and usually the cats we capture are very friendly; however, we just got one that isn't mean but she is very scared.  They let her out of the cage in my office but now she is hiding in between the wall and the filing cabinet.  She doesn't seem aggressive.  She wont let me touch her. She backs away but doesn't show anger - I may not have given her the opportunity to do so, but I'm not getting a mean vibe from her - JUST SCARED.

I have an email into my rescue contact to see if I can drop her off at their vet. I haven't heard back yet; however, I'm not sure how to get this cat into the carrier I have.  Also, if I have to leave her in my office all weekend do you guys think that will be okay?  Leave food / water and litter?

What other thoughts or suggestions do any of you have?  Thanks for your help. 

 

[wolcar]

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• wolcar
• Apr 5, 2013

 

[di and bob]

If she's hungry enough you may want to try putting the carrier at the opening and put the food in the back. I don't know if she'll eat with you close though. How do you know they are strays and not someone's pet? Are they starving or neglected? Welding gloves or a really heavy glove might be needed and you could grab her, too. Good luck, I hope everything works out!

 

[wolcar]

She hasn't eaten since they brought her into the office.  When we get the nicer cats we post flyers and whatnot to try and find their homes, if they were lost and no one comes forward.  They've all seemed to have been neglected, thin, slightly injured, etc... The nicer ones we have managed to find homes with people we know, so they're basically fostering them in case someone comes looking for the cat but no one has ever came looking or responded to our flyers.  My two babies are actually kittens we've found in our yard at work. 

This cat doesn't seem like it has had a home either ever or in a long time. She is fairly young, it seems.  She's huddled in a corner now.  I called the locat TNR and they can't take her until Tuesday. Do you think she'll be okay over the weekend unattended with food and water and litter?  I will put two heavy bowls of water down and I can probably have her checked on twice over the weekend.

 

[StefanZ]

You can surely leave her in the office, with food water litter... She wont mind to be alone.  

  Take down everything which is easy to run down, and so...  "kitten-proof".

Leave the carrier there too, with something nice to lay on in... Perhaps even leave some treat in there... Hopefully she will use this carrier as her hidey hole....  Or at least, she will get used to the idea carrier is non threatening in itself.

Tx for helping these our small brethrens and sisters!

Good luck!

 

[wolcar]

The carrier I have in the office is one of those plastic cardboard types.  I will leave it out on it's side (it opens from the top).  This is my first stray that has acted like this (I guess I've been lucky all this time) so I'm nervous about leaving her but I know she probably prefers it.  I'm hoping that a weekend of sleep and getting comfortable in this environment alone will make her at least a little bit more approachable.  If I come in on Monday and she is in the same spot I'm sure I'll be upset.

*fingers crossed*

She's so pretty.

 

[catsallaround]

I would get a plastic carrier(craigslist may have one)  Large enough to easily fit in car but not the smallest cat size.  I would put a nice bed and some catnip on the bed.  You may want to look into a trap to get her to go in and so you won't have to handle her at all. Hopefully she will hide in the carrier and be ready to lock in Tuesday am or even Monday(just let them know so they can check her bedding if you decide to do this.

She will be fine with water and food.  I would offer her NON clumping litter-as after spay if she sits in clumping it is a bigger issue.  You may also want to add some cat attract to it.

 

[catwoman707]

I would say there's a big chance she has never been an owned cat. When a feral is simply over the top shy acting, it's still feral but has had exposure from a distance to humans. For instance maybe she hangs near a pkng lot and sees people coming and going, but always at a distance and has never had interaction.

The majority of ferals are just like this.

VS. a true feral (rarely seen) would be maybe, living out in the country on many acres of land, where there really aren't many people. Their fear is the same, but so much bigger that they will quickly act as a more aggressive cat since they fear for their life on a higher level you could say.

Imagine finding yourself in a situation where you were cornered by a huge and very scary monster, it's sort of like that for a true feral. The type of feral in your office is terrified but not at the point of fearing their life, of course that is unless you corner and try to handle them, you likely will see the fear increase, as it's something never felt before, and may show some aggression.

The rescue will probably have to use a trap, and it will need to be left overnight, but kitty needs his food taken away, sometimes more than a day to get them to go into a trap too. It will be during the night when nobody is anywhere near.

When the cat is trapped, immediately cover with a large towel completely, because as you approach the trap, kitty will really start bouncing off the sides, etc trying to get out, and they often injure their noses, sometimes pretty badly too.

Covering quickly calms them right away and they will just huddle down.

Good luck, and don't be upset if she is still there on monday

You're doing a very good thing!!

 

[wolcar]

I had someone check on her over the weekend. She moved from the cubby she was in, however has tucked herself between the wall and my desk. I was assured that she wasn't stuck but was comfortably snug and old get out of the tight spot if she wanted. The girl that checked on her has some experience with strays and freaks and she said she was able to touch the base of her neck and she didn't freak out.

So, I will take the food up today and reset the have a heart trap tonight with a little bit of food and hopefully she gets in there for her trip to the vet for Tuesday. I have weruva canned and brought some sardines. Which do you think is best to put down? I also have dry.

I'm really hoping to go into work in 10 minutes and she's out and not hidden but I doubt it.

So, I should also release her after she heals from getting fixed? I also had a dream that she was already pregnant. Ugh.

 

[ritz]

Thank you for caring about this little kitty.

Sardines are smelly, so that is the best food to leave as bait. 

If she can be touched, chances are she is a stray and could probably be resocialized given enough time and adopted out.  Maybe the foster group could try socializing her. 

If she is pregnant, well, spaying will take care of that problem!

 

[shadowsrescue]

I hope the trapping goes well.  I have always used tuna or sardines.  The one time I tried sardines about a month ago, the cat didn't go inside.  The next night I used tuna in oil and in he went.  My other two ferals also went right inside for tuna! 

Keep us posted on when you get her trapped and off to the vet.  It is always a worrisome experience.
 

 

[catwoman707]

I swear by tuna! I've trapped countless that way, even hard to trap cats can't resist

Also, if the cat was wedged in her 'safe spot' when she was pet, that's why. It's completely different if she was out in the open and able to be pet. So try not to get discouraged or too hopeful that she is tame either.

Do NOT feed her anything until you set the trap tonight. She must be hungry!

Oh, and chances are she is already prego...they all are right now, 'tis the season!

 

[ritz]

Another hint:  sprinkle tuna fish oil (not juice) from the entrance of the trap to the tuna fish (or other tempting morsel) at the back of the trap.  Also put a teeny tiny bit of fish (mushed up) at the entrance, a teeny tiny bid mid way, to wet her appetite so to speak.

The piece should be tiny enough and mushed flat so that she can't grab and go.

 

[wolcar]

Gosh, I don't know what I'll do if she's pregnant. I set the trap before I left work. The TNR rescue people just called and said they can't take her until Friday, ugh. If she ends up getting into the trap I have two ideas. One is to eliminate places for her to wedge into. I will leave little spots for her to hide but I don't want her to be able to hide like this. Two, a guy at work who has fostered cats before has an extra room in his house to keep her.

Do you guys think both of these ideas are good? Option #2 isn't a guarantee so really what do you think about option one?

 

[catwoman707]

I'm sure she will go in, she has all night long to smell it and get brave and go for the tuna.

I tried tuna in oil once or twice, and find it's not as smelly as the tuna in water. Just my opinion but it always gets them.

It's a good idea to take a single sheet of newspaper or even a coupke of paper towels and fold them to sort of line the bottom of the trap. Then the feel of wire under their paws is not felt so much.

Just an FYI-but I'm suprised at the amt of people who are not aware of this, but have trouble trapping, is that anytime a cat is trapped, they let off so much fear scent and adrenalin smell, it stays in the trap, so you should always clean the trap in between!

I just put it outside near the hose, spray it down with any household cleaner, 409, or whatever, saturate it, then power hose it off and allow to dry.

This takes care of the scents to discourage a cat from entering

Good luck. Bet she will be in there in the am.

 

[wolcar]

Okay, so we trapped the cat. PHEW!  We had no place to really put it, though, as the spay place can't take her until Friday now.  I'm going to call this morning to see if they can please please please take her.  She is upstairs on our second floor where there is a bathroom that only one person uses in our company.  I figured it was quite (I left the light on with the fan humming)

What do you guys suggest I do at this point?  I think I can leave it in that bathroom until Friday.  I"m pretty sure that wont be a problem.  I'm not going to be able to get up there that much. A few times a day for a few minutes.  Do you think that's okay?  She seems like a really calm cat.  Very scared but calm about it.  I'm hoping now that she has no place to wedge herself that she may come around a little bit.  WOE IS US.

I will take a picture of her environment so you guys can assess my situation for me.  Like I said before all the strays we've caught in the past have been super duper friendly so I'm not really used to this behavior.

Thanks!

Oh, I used Weruva mack n Jack to entice her into the cage.  :-) 

 

[StefanZ]

Gosh, I don't know what I'll do if she's pregnant.

Spaying a preg doing an abortion isnt nice. But it sounds worse than it is. Cat pregnancy isnt like humans. A human child can manage even if born waay to early. With intensive care therapy it can be surprisingly early, when they are in the 550 grammes out of 3500 as full borne.  Child born at 7 month with about 2000 grammes can often survive with just commons sense home remedy therapy.

So arent the kitten fosters.  More than a two-three days too early, they seldom manage, even if the owner fights on.  A whole week? No way.

Although spaying high pregs, just days before of delivery - yes, THIS is touchy and highly unpleasant. The personel must also do ´coup de grace´ on them.

If she isnt very advanced, please dont even think twice.  If you are anxious to save some extra kittens, go to a high kill shelter, take your pick.  The saved mom+kittens will be grateful forever, they know.  Probably even the personnel there will be grateful to you. 

Good luck!

 

[wolcar]

I totally don't want kittens. 

So what you're saying is if it's early on they can spay the cat and eliminate the kittens but if she is pregnant and it's late in the pregnancy all get put down?  This experience (trapping a female stray/feral) is a first as I've always caught friendly males.  I did not know that they can still spay a cat while pregnant.  Does this process always terminate the pregnancy?

I'm still hoping that she isn't pregnant and that she is in fact friendly.  Just hoping :-)

 

[wolcar]

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• wolcar
• Apr 9, 2013

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• wolcar
• Apr 9, 2013

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• wolcar
• Apr 9, 2013

Here is the current situation. We are just looking at each other.

 

[ritz]

Congratulations on trapping her.  The set up is fine.  You might play some soft music while you're gone.

Regarding spaying a pregnant cat:  it in part depends on the vet/facility/cat.  I know at least one high volume/low cost spay-neuter center that will spay a pregnant cat very late in term if there is no danger to the mother cat.