Vet visits for a semi-feral -- worth it or more harm than good?

[Cataria]

I have a semi-feral cat named Camo who lives in my house. She's 8 years old, and the first two years of her life were spent outside as a stray. Her only interactions with people were when people put out food for her and the other strays, but even then she wouldn't let anybody touch her. I took her in when she got pregnant, and now she's fixed and has lived exclusively inside since then. She seems pretty happy to be in the house and she adores the other cats, but she has absolutely no interest in me. Over the years I've tried making up with her but the most I can do is sneak a couple of pets on her head on her terms, never on mine.

This is all fine except for when it is time for vet visits. This year she has been extra horrid. I've scheduled two vet appointments for her and failed to catch her both times. Finally got her in today for her yearly exam and vaccines today after trying for two hours.

And I have to question, is it really worth me doing this, or am I making us both miserable for no reason? Legally, she has to have the rabies vaccine and unfortunately my vet only does the one-year vaccine, but I'm wondering if it would be better for me to take her to a different vet next year to get the 3-year vaccine and leave her alone unless she has some sort of emergency. I love her, but realistically, if she has some sort of medical issue that requires regular care or medication, there's no feasible way for me to do that for her.

Does that sound like a reasonable idea (get her the 3-year vaccine and cut down on the check-ups), or does anyone else have any suggestions? I asked the vet and their only suggestion was to give her a sedative, but again, how do you get a sedative in a cat that won't come near you? She won't even approach me when I have treats or stinky wet food, and I can't hide it in the food without the other cats getting it (unless I get another microchip cat dish, but I think that's probably overkill?).

 

[FeebysOwner]

The problem is, given her age, she needs an annual checkup going forward now more than ever. Once a year may be a pain when it comes time for the checkup, but in the big scheme of things it seems worth it to ensure her health is being monitored. If something were to happen with her health, finding out sooner than later can make a big difference in treatments/effort.

Aside from the microchip feeder, could you lure the other cats into a separate location when it would come time to try to sedate her food? The microchip feeder might be something that will be well worth it down the road should she ever need other medications.

 

[fionasmom]

All of my indoor only pet cats have always been former ferals, or semi-ferals with two exceptions. I agree with the once a year visit, as close as you can time it, even if it does mean working with another feeder. If something serious is brewing, you will at least know what to watch for in terms of comfort and quality of life, even if you could not realistically treat her. Cats, and ferals more so, are very good at hiding pain or symptoms.

I do understand what you are going through with getting her to the vet. If you could manage to get her in a separate place and put the sedative in some very tasty food, even human food for one bite, you may be able to sedate her.

 

[Cataria]

Yikes, I think I definitely need to figure out something different for next year.

The part I did not mention is that I since I was not able to reliably catch her for her other two scheduled appointments, the vet and I decided to schedule her for a drop off appointment today -- that way I could bring her in at any point during the day after I finally managed to catch her, and they would fit her in as they had time. When I made my post earlier, all I had managed to do was drop her off at the vet's office. I just now picked her up.

Good news: they gave her her rabies shot. Bad news: after all of that, they still were not able to examine her -- they said she wouldn't let anybody near her and hissed and struck out at anybody who tried to reach into the cage. I'm not exactly clear how they managed to get her back in the carrier, but they were not even able to put her cushion back in. It's possible she might have been better behaved if I was there since she settled down a lot after they brought her out to me, but it's not boding well for future appointments. I think attempting any drop off appointments in the future would be a mistake.

I think sedatives and the microchip cat feeder would probably be the most reasonable option for my next attempt, assuming she doesn't decide she's too suspicious of the feeder. I currently have nine other cats so trying to lure the rest of them out would be a different ordeal entirely, haha.

 

[Cat McCannon]

Start feeding your cat at least one meal a day inside her cat carrier. That will make it easier to get her into the carrier for vet visits.

When we take Belle to the vet, we always go into the examination room with her so we can help handle her for the examination. Our presence greatly reduces Belle’s anxiety during the visit and she’s careful about scratching or biting me.

 

[chelsmarie]

Depending where you live, some vets offer mobile visits. That way, if you stuck her in a bedroom, maybe with the aid of a sedative, the vet could do their work.

My cat was adopted at 8 months “semi-feral” with a clipped ear from being caught and released. While scared at first, she is super friendly now. That said, she absolutely hates the carrier and being confined to the point she has a scar now from our first vet visit where she hurt herself on the carrier.

The ONLY thing that worked for me was switching to a cats only vet that understands all kinds of cats. She prescribed me gabapentin for my kitty. It makes her super drowsy where I can put her in the carrier and she can get examined. It’s been worth it for me.