Trapped cat, but confined him to room before taking to Vet - help!

[oldernow]

From Hissy, earlier:
To give you encouragement, I scared up my old thread on Cyclone

here is the link

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...hlight=Cyclone


HISSY,
I only now read your post about the day you captured Cyclone - and I went back and read your more recent posts and realized he is now totally comfortable living with you. (Is he okay and making it?)

This made me feel more comfortable, in that this poor cat may one day trust me in spite of it all....

 

[oldernow]

UPDATE for those interested (this is quite a story to tell):
- I have the small cat carrier within the larger dog cage, door open always, in my bedroom (with food inside) - using your great idea in my hope to recapture "kitten" so we can get him to the vet.
- Kitten still stays mainly in the bathroom. I started letting him come into the bedroom, but he will only do this at night. I could hear him eating dryfood out of the bowl after a couple of nights, and sat up to try to close the kennel, but he always shoots out - and doesn't back into the cage as I wish he would, in which case he might have gone in to the carrier.
- He sprayed all over my bedroom - and I was nauseated with little sleep. The little darling did this twice (!).
- I then decided not to let him out of the bathroom. Kitten scratched and howled again at night, obviously wanting to come out again - and sprayed in the bathroom.
- The vet gave me a sedative (3 tablets, although 1 tablet is the full dose) to use before throwing the towel over him to capture him "burrito style" - thanks to ideas on your websites. I tried for 3 days to sedate him, but he wouldn't go for the food I had mixed it into - even after putting it in chicken, grinding it into his favorite canned food, etc.
- After going on feral cat websites and seeing the video on use of the drop trap, I got to thinking that the best way to approach this may be just to let kitten go by simply opening the bathroom window, then retrapping him again with the drop trap with the adjoining carrier. I fixed a shelter for him outside, and opened the window yesterday around 3:00 pm. He just hunkered on the floor and then on the bathroom sink. I waited until almost dark (but couldn't keep the window open afterward as we live in Florida with tons of mosquitos). Food was even placed near the window to draw him near. He just doesn't want to leave!
- My son said, see Mom - Kitten wants to stay with us; he knows a good thing when he has it! I have to admit that I am very drawn to this cat, and feel such affection for him - and have to wonder if he isn't getting a little attached to us in his own way, as skiddish as he still is. He spends most of his time in the bathroom sitting as close to the door as he can on the countertop next to the sink. He even once sounded like he was purring as I read aloud to him last week.
- Now I just don't know what to do to capture this boy. My only hope I think is to wait a while longer and either rig up a small drop trap in the bathroom, or possibly try camouflaging the humane trap we used before so that perhaps he will enter it again - although it will again scare the bejesus out of him. Then I need to decide, if I can catch him, whether to keep him or let him go in the backyard.

Sorry my post is so long, but I wanted to share it all as you have such great ideas. As I think toward the future, I see my house full of cats with towers and shelves around - as the other feisty male cat we already have may not be very accepting of this boy if and when we get to a point of introducing them. (Oddly, Scooter hasn't even been upset with the spray smells coming from my bedroom...!)

 

[ldg]

What about trying to put the sedative in a pill pocket? Our cats won't eat meds mixed into food, but they'll gobble up a pill pocket. Worth a try.

 

[oldernow]

LDG,
What are pill pockets? I guess I need to start googling.

Thanks so much for your time in reading my post and caring!

 

[ldg]

Pill pockets are a miracle! (At least in our home LOL).

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no....51_115&fsc=-1

We buy the salmon ones because they're the stinkiest and disguise the pill better. We always put two down - one with the pill in it, which the cat starts to gobble, and then put one down after it, so he's got the motivation to swallow that one (they often don't finish chewing, better for the one with the pill in it - and then gobbles up the second, so the pill definitely got down.

This has worked for every pill we've had to give them EXCEPT benadryl, which is a VERY VERY VERY bitter pill. I think the sedative pills are small - the smaller, the easier it is for the pill pocket to work.

 

[milk maid]

Hi,
I'm a bit late to this thread but I think you are doing wonders

Sometimes I have found that if you wrap the pill in pate, soft cheese or butter they will take take them so you may find that works.

Your story remindes me of my Sooty (long gone over the RB now) he was a wild boy and spent his first few weeks with me hiding under a kitchen cupbord, only coming out to eat after we had gone to bed, the house smelt horrific. Slowly he came to trust us, but I was the only one he would let touch him and in the end he followed me everywhere. It did however take me 5 years to get him into a cat basket, (I know a lot better now on how to do it

)

Stick with him and I am sure you will end up with a wonderful cat.