Expert: Jessica - 12/31/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jessica,
Thanks in advance for your response - I came across this site searching for answers to my current rescue, and have found it to be really helpful.

I am a great cat lover, and have rescued and rehomed several cats over the years. On Christmas Day, my partner and I went for a walk in the evening, and discovered a stray cat in a park. We had seen the cat about six months ago, and as we walk morning and night, decided to monitor the situation but had not seen it again until last week. When it saw me, it retreated back to a decking area, and we now know it is living under there. It seems to be on its own, not part of a colony.

Since Christmas night, we have established a feeding pattern. The cat is very thin and extremely shy. It has some grey hairs around its neck, and a very slight belly. Could be worms, but hopefully not kittens. No sign of protruding belly on the sides of the cat, only slightly underneath. No signs of lactation. I cannot tell if it is male or female at this stage.

At first, kitty would not come out to eat unless we were fifty feet away, but now it will let me approach while it is eating. It darts in and out of the decking a bit, but it will now tolerate me sitting with my back turned at around five-six feet. It waits for us both morning and night, and when we are leaving, it comes out from under the decking, almost like it wants to follow us. After eating, it will mostly sit near its plate, but will retreat if I make any sudden moves. I have also given the cat a couple of drops of rescue remedy in its food to help calm him/her down a little.

I am slowly moving the plate of food closer to where I am sitting, and scattering dry food down between me and the plate, and on the other farer side of the plate. Today kitty chose to eat the dry food closest to me, and with my back turned, it came within a few feet. Still very skittish - one slight move from me and the cat is under the stairs again. Not much eye contact either. Not a meow or noise from the kitty since we found him/her.

I have had a look on the Internet, and some sites suggested that putting an article of clothing near the cat's "home" as a way of getting them used to your scent. I found an old t-shirt, and placed it under the stairs a few days ago (the stairs are blocked in by decking so you can't see it) - anything is worth a try.

Are there any tips you can give me for getting the cat more used to us, and in particular, allowing me to pat it? I feel that s/he really wants to be friends, but I am not sure s/he is going to let us near it any time soon. I have never trapped before, and I am a bit scared of doing so... but we will if need be. Our best chance for catching the cat will be from now until the end of January. After that I fear it will become more difficult - there is a school next to here and there are often a lot of people around. At the moment, with holidays, it is rather deserted, so the cat is not spooked by others (only me!!).

How much time should I allow before I decide to pursue the trapping option? It has been less than a week, and the cat is responding more and more each day, but I feel that contact is still quite a way off - and time is limited.

I have cats of my own, and if I am able to desex and vaccinate this one, I am willing to isolate s/he from my cats and work on taming. I can feel she wants to trust me more, and will come along in leaps and bounds in the right environment.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!


ANSWER: Hi Belle.  I certainly understand your apprehension about trapping.  Early in my work with ferals, I had the same apprehension.  You probably feel as though trapping her will break her trust, and that you'll never be able to repair your relationship.  And it certainly is difficult to see a cat stuck in a trap for the first time, because they are scared, often jumping around trying to free themselves.  In fact, I released the first feral I trapped because I felt so badly that he'd have to stay in the trap overnight until he could get neutered!  Fortunately, I was able to trap him again a month later, and he became one of the sweetest housecats ever (though he always retained that tense, timid nature).

It may seem a good idea to try to make friends with the kitty rather than trapping her, in the hopes that she'll allow you to pick her up and bring her with you eventually.  Unfortunately, attempting to pick up a timid cat breaks their trust more quickly than using a trap will, AND you end up losing the cat!  Trapping is really the only way to go when it comes to catching timid outdoor cats (even if they are tame but scared).  The cats don't draw a connection between you and the trap that way that they draw a connection between you and being grabbed, so trust issues are actually helped out when you use a trap.  They also will allow you to get the cat to an area where you can work with her more intensely, right from the start, so you won't have to spend time making progress on the field, only to be set back at square one once you move the cat.

I would really encourage you to set a live trap for the kitty right now.  I think I have made every mistake there is to make when it comes to ferals, and waiting too long to set a trap for them is undoubtedly the most regrettable.  There are so many unforeseen circumstances that could arise and take away your chance to trap the kitty.  On multiple occasions, I have waited too long to place a trap, for one reason or another, and I've lost the cats.  Two cats were killed by raccoons, one cat was hit by a car, a mother hid her whole litter from me before she was eaten by a coyote, and several others have just picked up and left as far as I could tell.  For these reasons, I now place a trap the instant I know a cat needs to be caught.  You can start feeding food outside the trap, but move it closer to the cage over a couple days' time, until it's set at the appropriate spot in the trap.  While I have trapped most of my cats within 24 hours, some elusive cats can take a couple weeks to trap, so it would be best to place the trap well in advance of the return of the students to school.  Remember, the cat needs to be hungry in order to enter the trap for its meal, so withhold food for 12-24 hours before baiting the trap.

Be sure to keep the trap out of direct sun, and try to check it a few times a day.  It's best to move the cat into a crate at home, where you'll have access to her for taming.  If no crate is available, try to make it a small room, preferably without windows, and be sure absolutely everything is bolted down or locked in a cabinet.  Cats who come into homes for the first time can literally try to climb the walls, and they will make a mess of anything that can be knocked over.  Stick with it, however.  After a couple of weeks, she'll will have calmed down a great deal.  After a couple of months, you may not even recognize her as the same cat.  Some of my ferals are friendlier than many of the domestics I've met.

Best wishes, and thanks for taking care of this poor kitty!

Jessica



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jessica,

Thank you so much for your response and your words of advice. We have made the decision to trap, but it is now a matter of buying a trap - everything seems to be closed for new year. I find cats all the time, so I think a trap would be a good investment. I believe I will be able to buy one on Monday/Tuesday.

Can I ask you a couple of questions about trapping?

1. The area the cat is living in is a park area next to a school, so it is fairly visible from the street. Of a night, there are a lot of people out and about (it is summer at the moment where I live), and the cat seems more timid of an evening because there is a lot more activity and a lot more noise. I understand it is better to trap of an evening, but do you think it is worth trying to trap at 4am before the sun comes up? I know this will mean the cat will have to be boarded at the vet for 24 hours, but we have a wonderful vet and he is willing to do it (he has done it before for us). I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this.

2. Because of the location, it is going to be harder to take the trap day in day out to get the cat used to it. Is it possible to trap first time around, or does that harm your chances of success?

3. I know it has to be done, but I hate the idea of withholding food. Do I still visit the cat the time before we trap, and just give it a token offering (a couple of dry pellets), or do I skip the visit altogether? The cat is usually waiting for us morning and night - I don't know that I could keep walking by and not stop!!

4. Do I talk to the cat before putting the trap down, or just put the trap down and move away?

5. I have read that KFC works fantastically for trapping cats. Should I feed it something it knows, something different, or some strong fishy food when trapping?

6. Due to the public location, we will wait in the distance and stay with the trap. How long do you wait for until you give up and try again the next day? If I try to trap at night and it doesn't work, do I try again in the morning, or do I leave gaps in between setting the trap? Do I adopt the approach whereby if the cat doesn't feed from the trap I don't feed it at all?

7. And finally, I have three cats, and one has an auto immune disease. I am committed to helping stray kitty, but don't want to harm my own babies in any way. Once I have the cat desexed, and tested for everything, wormed and vaccinated, will it be OK to isolate from the other cats? At this stage, I am planning to foster it until I tame it down enough to find it a home (well, that's the plan, anyway). I really don't want stray kitty to pass on anything to my other cats.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time and your advice. I have rehomed quite a few cats over the years, but feel like I have lost my touch because this one doesn't trust me enough to get near me. You have helped me enormously - so thanks so much!

Belle  

Answer
Q. The area the cat is living in is a park area next to a school, so it is fairly visible from the street. Of a night, there are a lot of people out and about (it is summer at the moment where I live), and the cat seems more timid of an evening because there is a lot more activity and a lot more noise. I understand it is better to trap of an evening, but do you think it is worth trying to trap at 4am before the sun comes up? I know this will mean the cat will have to be boarded at the vet for 24 hours, but we have a wonderful vet and he is willing to do it (he has done it before for us). I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this.

A. I think this would be a fine time to set the trap.  I actually avoid setting traps overnight when possible, because there are so many undesirable creatures that can be caught during these hours (skunks, raccoons, opossums, etc.).  Nearly all of my trapping is done during the day.  The best idea is to place the cat’s morning meal in the trap and hope she’s taken the bait within a few hours.  If most of the day goes by, and she hasn’t entered the trap, I’ll give the cat a small meal, skip their dinner, and try again the next morning.

Q. Because of the location, it is going to be harder to take the trap day in day out to get the cat used to it. Is it possible to trap first time around, or does that harm your chances of success?

A. Yes, it is possible to trap the kitty first time around.  In fact, most of my ferals are caught within hours of setting up the trap for the first time.  Cats who have been trapped before may be more reluctant to go into a trap again, and you may need to move the food closer to the trap over the course of several days before they’ll start trusting the trap.

Q. I know it has to be done, but I hate the idea of withholding food. Do I still visit the cat the time before we trap, and just give it a token offering (a couple of dry pellets), or do I skip the visit altogether? The cat is usually waiting for us morning and night - I don't know that I could keep walking by and not stop!!

A. I would definitely still stop and visit.  Maintaining an established feeding routine is very important when it comes to trapping, so be sure that you keep your visits just as usual.  The night before you plan to trap her, offer her a few bites of food, perhaps even something extra special.  Just be sure it’s not enough for her to completely fill her belly on, or she’s likely to forego her next meal rather than walk into the trap.

Q. Do I talk to the cat before putting the trap down, or just put the trap down and move away?

A. I always talk to the cats when it’s clear they are interested in my attention, as it sounds like this one is.  You can also try to draw her attention to the food you intend to bait the trap with.  She’ll be trapped more quickly if the food is brought to her attention than if she has to discover it’s there all on her own.

Q. I have read that KFC works fantastically for trapping cats. Should I feed it something it knows, something different, or some strong fishy food when trapping?

A. I always feed the cats something special.  It needs to be something very aromatic and irresistible in order for a cat to decide it’s worth entering the trap for.  A nice, tasty chicken will do the trick – just be sure there are absolutely no bones in it.  I myself use the canned food Fancy Feast in a fishy flavor, because it’s the most aromatic food I can find, and my cats are even more attracted to it than pure tuna.  I’m not sure if Fancy Feast is available in Australia, but it’s less expensive than KFC if you end up needing to set the trap for her more than once.

Q. Due to the public location, we will wait in the distance and stay with the trap. How long do you wait for until you give up and try again the next day? If I try to trap at night and it doesn't work, do I try again in the morning, or do I leave gaps in between setting the trap? Do I adopt the approach whereby if the cat doesn't feed from the trap I don't feed it at all?

A. I have trapped some cats in 10 minutes.  They average about 1-2 hours, I would estimate.  However, some cats will spend time circling the trap trying to find a way to get the food out…walk away….return…repeat…and finally go into the trap after several hours of this.  So I would say if you have a few hours to spend, it would be worth waiting.  Maybe you could take shifts looking out with your partner?  If this is not possible, just stick around as long as you can.  Definitely after 4-5 hours, you can typically assume a cat is just not ready, and try again the next day.

I set the trap every day without a break if there’s a stubborn kitty who isn’t trapped right away.  The more the cat is exposed to the trap, the less threatening it will seem to them, and eventually, nearly every cat will enter it.

I will put food in the trap and the trap alone for 24 hours.  If the cat doesn’t go into the trap, I’ll feed a meal just outside the trap, and resume placing the cat’s meals INSIDE the trap the next morning.  However, I will never withhold meals longer than 24 hours.  You risk the cat’s deciding to move on in search of another food source if this happens regularly.

Q. And finally, I have three cats, and one has an auto immune disease. I am committed to helping stray kitty, but don't want to harm my own babies in any way. Once I have the cat desexed, and tested for everything, wormed and vaccinated, will it be OK to isolate from the other cats? At this stage, I am planning to foster it until I tame it down enough to find it a home (well, that's the plan, anyway). I really don't want stray kitty to pass on anything to my other cats.

A. It should be just fine to isolate her from your other cats.  Most cats enjoy the company of other cats, but as long as she receives adequate interaction from you, she should be okay as an only kitty.  If you ever decide to keep her and want to integrate her with your other cats, stress would be the most worrisome thing for your kitty with the autoimmune disease, and products like Feliway can be a great help with that.  See www.feliway.com for more info.  This timid cat would also benefit from Feliway during the taming process, and you might consider using some flower essences to help her along.  I like Spirit Essences, formulated by a holistic veterinarian (see www.spiritessences.com).  The Feral Cat Rehabilitation formula should be beneficial to her.  Although the company is U.S.-based, it ships worldwide.

Best of luck!

Jessica