# unintentional trap



## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

I have been trying to catch a very attractive male cat for months. Yesterday, during the rain Mooch was outside examining my latest efforts. Inside the trap was a very wet scared young black cat. Since it was soaked I brought the trap inside so the poor thing could dry off and eat. Now what to do? The cat is scared into paralysis, has eaten 3 cans of food in less than 24 hours and hasn't a clue to what cat litter is for. Do I just let it back out, contact a rescue, or....?


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Personally if there is no issue with existing pets, I'd keep him. The trap is likely to be very restrictive so if you could even allow access to a larger cage it would be a definite step in the right direction.


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## lyle (Oct 28, 2010)

Scared, hungry and in a trap? Nothing should surprise you under those circumstances. For sure, take him into whatever you have locally to be checked out and fixed if he isn't already. Maybe he's chipped (prob not). If you have the time/inclination you might check if he's someones missing cat (prob not). After that, I wouldn't say. It's up to you. Good luck.


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## Ritzpg (Dec 7, 2010)

Agree with Llye: now that you've got the cat, take him in to your vet or contact a rescue for names/numbers of low cost spay/neuter clinics. Chances are you'll never get another opportunity to s/n this cat. What you do with him afterwards, is up to you, but at least you'll know he won't impregnant another cat and/or you won't be seeing kittens in two months.


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

In a habitat cage and has been since last night. Has 2 levels along with a space to hide but really isn't hiding. It came out of the trap as soon as I discovered it. Already provided with several cans of food, a warm (fresh out of the dryer) towel to sleep on, a few toys and a litter box. The room the cage is located in can be secured from the resident cats and an ad has been placed on craigslist in case anyone has lost this little guy (or girl). No growling, hissing or really any noise from this unknown to me animal and we have had several temp visitors to the yard. The only constant visitor has been the grey and white male who visits twice a day for his meal(s). He was the intended target since winter is soon to arrive. Not sure where these cats come from, dumps, ferals lost, they just keep showing up. The plan is to hold this cat for a few days to see if it isn't a lost pet and then see if we can foster until adopted I guess. Any advice?


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Sounds as if you are doing brilliantly!


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

This cat got lucky!


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

Well the new cat (sex remains undetermined) has figured out the purpose of a liter box. It must be feeling more comfortable since I was welcomed with a half hearted hiss this morning. That quickly changed when it realized my arrival meant food. Sort of played with a string, even permitted a light touch to the head. Hopefully a rescue group will foster this cat for me until a home can be located. 
My other visitor was waiting at the door for his meal as usual.


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## LadyK (Jan 30, 2012)

Exciting! Thank you for taking care of this little cat. Keep us posted! Maybe Mooch will get an idea that going into the trap is a good thing now.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Any photos of your new resident? A rescue would probably be more willing to take on this cat if it was s/n with current vaccinations and a check up by a vet done.

Ill bet in a couple days you'll discover this kitty is socialized and friendly already and a great candidate for adoption. Normally when a cat is in a trap, it is frantic and extremely fearful. Once it is into a larger cage or room with lots of food it calms down quickly. Thanks for having compassion on this abandoned kitty.


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

So the local rescue group essentially said "Oh you have a feral, get it to a vet, make a shelter and turn it loose. The chance of adopting out this cat is slim and none". She, I think it's a she, isn't aggressive, eats out of a spoon I hold but doesn't seem all that healthy either. After eating well for 3 days she has an awful diarrhea that could be related to worms or any other condition. I really don't want a 3rd cat but am not all that comfortable with simply turning the animal out in the cold. 
Advice anyone?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Dont call the cat feral, call it abandoned to the rescue. 

The kitty may have had a crappy diet. Its very common for abandoned cats to have diarrhea when you first start giving them a consistent diet. I usually give it crappy low quality food at first and give them better food as they adjust to have a steady diet.


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

I was careful with my choice of words but made the mistake of answering yes when the individual said "so you have a feral". I went on to explain the cat was trapped in the rain, no it wasn't covered, I brought her in because she was soaked and the continued exposure would have been harmful, I fed her, she doesn't purr etc etc etc. Apparently I should have called in sick on Monday and immediately taken the animal to a vet because now it is too late. So to date I have had 2 groups not bother calling back and one advocating a return to the wild. Not acceptable options in my book. The cat is probably stressed, certainly isn't clear yet on the function of a liter box, and eats like there will never be another meal but returning it to the outside seems like a death sentence to me. 
Since she will sit next to me and eat off of a spoon I have to believe she is a dump and not a feral. A true feral would starve before willingly approaching a human at this point in the game.


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## anie (Dec 4, 2012)

if she/he still has runny poops, maybe try to slow down her food intake to go easy on her stomach? maybe smaller meals for now, until her stomach gets used to new food?

good luck and thanks for taking her/him!


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

So another day with our guest. Last evening I stayed with Him/her for several hours just doing things in the room. The cat became quite comfortable. This morning was another story. Turned on the light, made some noise, waited a bit and walked into a snarl and hiss. That stopped immediately once the smell of food was established. My ravenous friend ate the entire can, most of it off of a spoon right next to me without hesitation. Even permitted a touch to the head and ears. 
My vet office had no advice as to adopting but made some suggestions re a shelter (not ready to consider that) The local rescue groups have been "guarded" when any response was offered. Still cannot get a look at the hind quarters to determine a sex. 
For those of you who have had a similar situation, how did you handle an unknown animial like this?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Cat Forum : Cat Discussion Forums - View Single Post - Kitty Cat Boot Camp

This could help you in the process of getting this kitty socialized. The tips have work for all of us who has worked at bringing a cat around to being socilialized.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

That was over a month ago, I wonder what's going on?


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

Our unintentional guest stayed with us for 10 days and escaped. Basically I opened the cage door to remove the litter box for cleaning, he/she charged, leaped over my shoulder (I was on my knees), headed through partially opened door and out just as my wife was coming in. I haven't seen it in the yard since that event although my original target for capture continues to arrive for regular meals and continues to defy trapping. It got very cold here the last week or so. Once the temp dipped below 25 non of the transient animals that appear in the yard for a drink have showed up. (Except for Mooch who may have staked it as his territory) I suppose they all went to ground for a bit.


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that kitty escaped because it sounded like, with some time and patience, your unintended target could have been rehabilitated. Ferals and semi-ferals are really wiley, and will take any opening they see to escape. I've learned the hard way to always keep multiple closed doors between kitty and outside when the cage is open, even if it seems redundant or unnecessary. Have you tried a drop trap with Mooch? Sometimes it's the only thing that will work with cats that are really trap wary.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I dont think there is a person out there that hasnt had a feral rocket out of a cage. Dont beat yourself up. I think the drop trap is a good idea dt8thd suggested.

I had a feral do that and he went straight up a wall and into the rafters! I was stunned how fast he was. Try getting a feral out of a tiny hole in the rafters!


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

Mitts & Tess said:


> I had a feral do that and he went straight up a wall and into the rafters! I was stunned how fast he was. Try getting a feral out of a tiny hole in the rafters!


No thanks. I had enough trouble and got enough scratches, hauling Autumn off the top of a narrow dormer window frame right under the roof peak in my bathroom when she first came home that I'm fairly confident that I'd rather not try to wrangle a feral _out_ of a celing.


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

It really is hard to tell what comes around the house. Mooch shows up regularly but never sticks around despite the shelter I constructed in the yard. Because we had a dusting of snow this week I was able to see the tracks in the yard. There are 2 cats that pass through, one is Mooch, the other has smaller more delicate paws. I don't leave food out because we did see a coyote recently (surprising for the NJ suburbs). Those critters are cat killers. Because we are working on the house I have not tried hard to catch Mooch because the construction noise would make a new situation even more difficult. We are feeling confident that this weekend will be the day however because his visits have been very regular and he has been very hungry. I suspect he had other food sources that have dried up. As far as the black cat is concerned, I think the other tracks belong to him/her. Since I have a trail camera I am going to set it up to take pictures just to see what is going on when we aren't looking. Anyway, we tried, it didn't work but at least the animal had a week and a half of a steady meals.


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