Topic: terrifed foster feral (Read 5337 times)

Shirley · « **Reply #27 on:** February 13, 2011, 18:37:17 PM »

Awww bless her! Hope she likes her new life and pals!

I've got a semi feral myself-most people on here know his story-it went on for months in 2009!

He was one of the ferals who lived where i used to work, in fact, until i helped my boss feed them a few years before, i was scared of cats!! He's nearly 8 years old now and i've known him since he was born, but he's still so scared of most things, even flinches at me sometimes!

It's a nightmare trying to worm him.......thank God he hasn't had to go to the vets very often! He hasn't got a nasty bone in his body, tho, he's beautiful!

midgecat · « **Reply #26 on:** February 13, 2011, 17:08:01 PM »

Thanks Shirley. It was pretty touch and go getting her back to the vets - but all went well from there. Healed up ok, stitches out and off to her new barn. She's being joined by another two young cats this coming week so will hopefully get a few pics then.

So many times I desperately wish we could explain to them what we're doing and that it's well intentioned - not just teh ferals - there's such scary things for all of them - vet trips, house moves etc.

Shirley · « **Reply #25 on:** February 13, 2011, 15:53:09 PM »

Only just seen this thread. Hope the trip to the vets went ok and little puss is now happily settled in her new home. Poor ferals, i just hate to see them so scared. Wish they could understand we're only trying to help them.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #24 on:** January 31, 2011, 00:56:52 AM »

What a lovely picture and hope she loves her new home of freedom

AliCat · « **Reply #23 on:** January 30, 2011, 20:44:20 PM »

Poor little thing. Hope all goes well with the move to the barn.

Steff - Petsearch Bedford HQ · « **Reply #22 on:** January 30, 2011, 19:54:37 PM »

That's ok then

I am just passing on the advice I was given cos this was my first experience with ferals and rescuing cats...I went straight in at the deep end!! Fortunately, its all gone very well thanks to the wonderful advice I received on here

I checked up on the two at the farm last week and they have settled in really well

midgecat · « **Reply #21 on:** January 30, 2011, 19:47:47 PM »

I've not really got anything to do with the barn side of things Steff so I don't know all the details. I think she's going to be kept securely in the barn for a while so she doesn't wander off before she realises where she's well off. She has a kennel there and I believe a couple of kits are also going to be joining her there very soon. Having talked a bit more to the person who trapped her since your previous post - I think she was living in a little group of cats. The father of her kits was around and at least one other cat. So I think she's probably be happier with others around.

Steff - Petsearch Bedford HQ · « **Reply #20 on:** January 30, 2011, 19:37:48 PM »

Will you be setting the crate up in the barn and letting her settle for a week or so before actually releasing her?

When I took the two adults of my feral family to the farm, we set the cage up in the barn and they stayed in there for a week and then were contained in the barn for another week or so before being allowed free reign. Its just so they can get used to their new surroundings and learn that's where home and food is

midgecat · « **Reply #19 on:** January 30, 2011, 19:26:38 PM »

Thanks. I've let the others in for a few minutes each day. It does seem to do her a bit of good. lovely this morning to see her chatting to another new foster who has spent the majority of the week hiding under my desk.

Its countdown to D day now. She's had her last supper. Vet says she can have a tiny bit of food in the morning with her diazepam crushed into it. I so hope that all goes smoothly and she can be settling down in her new barn by tomorrow lunch time.

Liz · « **Reply #18 on:** January 29, 2011, 12:03:57 PM »

The Clan bad boys are all very sociable with newbies and the kittens tend to use their Uncles as electric blankets and can be found snuggled with them

We find that sometimes the presence of other cats makes them a lot calmer and easier to deal with but we always have nice ones we can take in to see the nasties before they are released in to the family room and clan integration which in some cases means we will not touch them again but does mean they they have friends both other ferals and the domestics and if they are lucky the ragdoll to!

The piccie is our darling Mr Mean and Nasty Ace who in 7 years has been to the vets once for his bit to be removced and drugged once 5 years ago to move house

Steff - Petsearch Bedford HQ · « **Reply #17 on:** January 29, 2011, 11:51:23 AM »

I just checked back to see if she had been living in a group before but it was just her and her kittens. I was thinking that maybe she was used to living with other cats and therefore felt safer in the company of other cats.

I'm really not too sure about her reaction.

When I brought the kittens in the other day they also did not hiss at Bourneville or Soap and actually came up to the bars to sniff but they also didn't hiss at the dog. They were living with their mum plus an older sibling.

I'm really not too sure and kinda have the same queries myself.

I was thinking along the lines of humans being much more scary to feral cats than unfamiliar cats.

Thinking of Liz's clan she has cats who are still feral to humans but will snuggle down and run with the rest of the clan cats.

midgecat · « **Reply #16 on:** January 29, 2011, 11:35:05 AM »

Can i just ask a bit more advice? Joanne has stayed more or less rooted to the spot all week when I''ve been in to see her. I try to just go in a couple of times a day - clean her tray out and water and feed her. And leave her alone the rest of the time. She hisses at me but hasn't lashed out at me. Stays up the other end of the crate. This morning a couple of my other foster cats sneaked into her room behind me. Didn't rush to pull them out cos I didn't want to startle anyone. Was amazed to find that they and Joanne sniffed at each other, I'm fairly certain Joanne was purring as well as the others (i know it can be fear as well as pleasure) and started looking alert and interested and rubbing her face against the crate. She looked happier rather than more scared.

Have I accidentally found something that might make her stay here a little more bearable ie contact with other cats? or have i mis-read the signs? I don't want to make it any worse. She's due back at the vets monday morning to have her stitches out and all being well straight on to her new barn.

Liz · « **Reply #15 on:** January 24, 2011, 20:25:54 PM »

ACP has had no adverse effects on any of the cats I have used it on and it is always done with vets approval and it makes ours sleepy.

I have crush cages for the unhandlable ones and to be honest getting a cat in cat be interesting we refuse to take Ace, Blue and Riley to the vet as they are all human aggressive and all have had injections and take a worming tablet

We have also had vets and nurses hospitalised by these 3 and my one piece of advise is make sure your tetnus injection is up to date helps should you get scratched

Mark · « **Reply #14 on:** January 24, 2011, 20:16:20 PM »

When I took Alice to the vets recently I said to the vet that I was scared she was so stressed she would have a heart attack. He said it is almost unheard of for cats to have them (assuming they have a healthy heart)

StreetKatzRescue · « **Reply #13 on:** January 24, 2011, 20:11:16 PM »

I hate the thought of any animal being given drugs needlessly. If you can borrow a proper crush cage with both front and top opening then a vet nurse should be able to scruff the cat while the vet removes the stitches. This should take seconds if the vet is skilled and certainly not doping the cat up.

Mark · « **Reply #12 on:** January 24, 2011, 19:44:05 PM »

Not sure if that is what the vet gave me for Kylie when we moved her but it made her daft - it really scared me

- she became like a big kitten - it was horrible

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #11 on:** January 24, 2011, 19:18:41 PM »

That ACP sounds terrible,

I have a rectal valium for Franta incase I have to get him to the vet while he is having seizures but the vet said it doesnt last very long and have an hours drive!

LilyandGary · « **Reply #10 on:** January 24, 2011, 17:39:15 PM »

She sounds terrified, poor thing.

I had 2 girls (and their babies) here last year for Angie, who was an absoute star and kindly came and helped me get them in the carriers before they went to be neutered.

I still have three kittens here from them, now 6 months old. They are now trained to go into a pen to be fed each night so I can confine them if needed. Two are happy to be picked up, but the other one is still very hand shy.

BTW, when I went to the vet to get some sedatives for my dog who is petrified of fireworks, they said they dont now use ACP. It paralyises, but they are still fully aware of what is going on, which is terrifying for the animal. She gave me valium instead, which has a slightly anmesiac effect too so they are less likely to remember the event afterwards.

StreetKatzRescue · « **Reply #9 on:** January 24, 2011, 11:22:24 AM »

I don't know how big your crate is but if it's big enough to have a cat carrier in it (as well as litter tray etc of course) then it's a good idea to put one in now. So if you have a plastic one with a front opening, then remove the grille and pop it in. Or if you have a proper crush cage with a front opening, then put that in, again with the front opening grid removed and covered with a towel. You'll probably find she retreats in there anyway 'cos it will be nice and dark and, to her, safe. Then all you have to do is pop the grille back on when you want to move her to the vets. Sometimes it's safest to gently move the carrier with the cat in it to the side of the crate (so there is no gap between the basket front and the side of the crate) before you try replacing the grille.

Good luck!

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #8 on:** January 24, 2011, 01:40:45 AM »

Wishing you and her the best of luck

midgecat · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2011, 20:48:35 PM »

thank you. i'm not even hoping that i'll gain her confidence. my best hope is that she doesn't die of fright and isn't permanently traumatised.

found some stuff with valerian in at pets at home - drops to put in her food. that's a good idea - if only so i feel i'm doing something to make it a little better.

thanks for the advice about not making eye contact - i'm afraid those saucer eyes were just drawing mine to them .... i'll make sure i don't fall into that again.

i'll keep her in the crate and keep her covered mostly.

its not going to be the easiest week - but at least its time limited. she has an appointment with teh vet 9am next monday and hopefully then will be off to her new barn home.

Liz · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2011, 15:57:35 PM »

Julie we have a great relationship with our vet and only have the small ACP Tablets as our vets like their skin and and some of our ferals just need the tablet or we all get hurt

CatGirl · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2011, 15:42:00 PM »

It sounds like the crate is the best idea.

Pinkbear (Julie) · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2011, 13:46:25 PM »

There's degrees of feral as we know.

What you describe (rigid and with saucer eyes) is what I call frozen. Literally rooted to the spot unable to move. A bit like a rabbit in a car headlights at night.

The downside is that if she stays like that for days and days, the more feral she is. As Steff says, you are unlikely to gain her confidence in such a short time. The upside of her being frozen is that with careful, controlled and calm movements, catching her is easier than if she just does the wall of death.

Dunno what area you have her confined in but when it comes to getting her back the the vet, a large thick blanket and/or welder's gauntlets are needed. Then it's just a sumo wrestle I'm afraid.

Or if you really can't face that, back to the trap then. We've down it that way when we've had a feral lose in a cat run.... they hold out for a while but hunger gets them in the end. Perferably get her into a crush cage but if not then a front opening carrier so the vet can transfer to a crush cage. If she really is that bad, she'll need sedating to have stitches removed and a crush cage is the safest way to go.

Liz has a special relationship with her vet but none of mine will give me ACP.

Maybe when I've got another 10/20 years under my belt and more experience than they have they'll trust me.

Steff - Petsearch Bedford HQ · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2011, 12:03:38 PM »

I know Liz has successfully used zylkene with her ferals and has had some good results. Julie and Liz have lots of experience with ferals. I am a newbie to them and was mainly advised by both.

I trapped a family last year and had two adults and still have the two kittens.

I trapped the four over two weekends so had the adults for a couple of weeks before neutering and about a week after whilst I was trying to find them an outdoor home.

I did end up taking them to the vets in their crate to be neutered because I couldn't get them out and into a carrier!! When the mum was at the vets she get out of her cage, did the wall of death around the room and bit through the nurses gauntlets when she was caught and the poor nurse had to go to the doctors. After that I was even more careful around them!!

Because they were going to an outdoor home I tried not to bother them too much because they weren't very happy around me. I did keep them covered a lot of the time and just kept them quiet. I did put Kalm Aid in their food which my vet recommended instead of Zylkene just to try and keep them calm.

Liz recommended that I tried handfeeding the adults and kittens with chicken roll, this is still a complete hit with the kittens and I had started to win the male adult round with chicken before he went off to his new home. He'd come to the front of the cage and grunt and meow for it then try to bat it out of my hand...bless.

Because she is going to be off to an outdoor home I would just try to keep her as clean, comfortable and well fed/watered. You sound like your doing all the right things and its unlikely you will win her round in the short time you will have her but you could try Zylkene and chicken roll to help her gain your trust.

Couple of important things:

Avoid eye contact and if you do make it, blink slowly and turn away.
Stay low to the ground and small so you don't look threatening
Speak softly and calmly
Very slow movements

Maybe you could leave the radio on quietly just so she gets used to a little bit of background noise

Liz · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2011, 12:02:30 PM »

Some rscue remedy in her water may help usually approx 5 -6 drops and refresged a couple of times a day, also some catnip may help or valarian if you get no reaction to the catnip

We have some ferals like that and usually allow them out of the crate in a room with some hidey holes to lessen the impact of the claustraphobic feeling they have

Ours got an ACP tablet crushed in Tuna before visiting the vets again as this makes them very drowsey and easier to decant to a crush cage

midgecat · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2011, 11:35:13 AM »

looking for any advice on my latest foster please. she was living rough in the city centre with her 3 kittens when she came to our rescues notice last year. the kits were trapped and fostered and have settled well but Joanne (the mum) was only just trapped last week. it should all have worked well. straight off to the vets to be neutered and then a new home out in the countryside in a barn all lined up for her once she leaves the vets

sadly it all went wrong. once the vet got her ready for op he found she pregnant so she had to have bigger op to terminate the pregnancy and bigger wound that needs removable rather than soluble stitches. so she's crated in my cat room until she can go back to the vet to have the stitches out next monday.

the wound seems ok - to the extent i can know. she's eating a little and using her tray. but she's clearly scared half to death. scarcely moves. huge saucer eyes all the time. hisses at me and lunges at me when i go in the room. i've got a blanket covering all but one side of the crate, feliway diffuser on and i stay out the room unless i need to go in to feed her.

any suggestions of anything else we might do or give her. someone suggested bach remedies? but no idea about them. i noticed posted in vets about zylkene (?sp) though vet said that takes about 3 weeks to have any effect. vet gave us some diazepam to give her on morning of going back for stitches to be removed.

also any advice about how on earth we're going to get her back in the carrier to go to the vet would be appreciated. sorry to be so hopeless. ive tried all ways to access some training for helping my cats and seem to have drawn a blank everywhere so far.

Author Topic: terrifed foster feral (Read 5337 times)