# I need help trapping a feral for a 2nd time.



## savingtess

I need advice. For nearly a year now I've been feeding a feral cat that showed up at my back door one day. Twice a day he shows up and twice a day I feed him. I have three cats of my own, two of which were feral at one point. This cat is different.

He still won't let me get within more than 10-20 feet of him. When I take his food outside he will run a short distance, hide behind a tree, poke his head out to see where I'm putting the food, hiss at me then wait until I leave to walk up and eat his food.

Last month Moses (his name) showed up at my door with an injury. He was hopping on three feet. As I knew that most animals will only be trapped once, I had to make the gut wrenching decision to trap him and take him to my vet's for help, or not trap him and wait until I was moving (2 months out at that time) hope that he recovered on his own and then trap him and take him with us to our new home. I decided to trap him.

I was successful at trapping him and took him to my vets where they were able to treat his wounds and give him a shot of antibiotics. He is now recovered, but still the same problem lingers. I cannot get anywhere near him still and I'm moving in less than 3 weeks time.

Do you have any instances where a cat has been trapped more than once? Is there any other way to capture a cat humanely?

I consider Moses, despite his fear, as a part of our family now, and know he relies on me now to feed him and take care of him.

Thank you for anything you can suggest.


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## Heidi n Q

Welcome,
The humane traps are as humane as you can get when trying to trap feral cats. I have been able to trap several cats more than once, so it *could* happen. I think, if you begin to feed him with the trap next to the plate each day, he will learn to just see the trap as 'part of the picture'. Maybe tie open the trap so it can't close and feed him in it, pushing the plate further in each day. The cats I trapped more than once were when I was trying to trap a raccoon that looked like it needed help and I caught Pretty (_still semi-feral at that time_) who had been TNR'd the year before ... THREE times and a neighbor's male cat twice in that week I was trying to catch the '****.
Most of our cats were former ferals and I wish you the best of luck! 
heidi =^..^=


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## savingtess

thanks for your reply heidi

I'm going to give it my all, and pull out all the stops. for some reason I am picturing myself with a net sitting antop the roof of my apt waiting for him to come eat. :?


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## Mitts & Tess

You are so kind to help him. Some cats are more savy than others. You could only know by trying to trap him again. 

We will all cross our fingers that you can get him again in the trap to help him. Do you plan on taking him with you too?


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## savingtess

Hi Mery,

Thank you. : )

Yes, I want to take him with me, that's why I'm so worried about getting him trapped again. 

I've been doing animal rescue since I was in college, nearing close to 20 years now, and this boy is the wildest I have ever encountered. If I can get him this time (I have to as I'm getting ready to move!) I'll have to figure out a way to best relocate him as well. I know from experience that you just can't let the feral cat out once you've moved. They just scatter about and normally never return. Wow, yes it's going to be hard, but I owe it to him to try. 

I have 3 other cats with me. All well loved and spoiled rotten. Two of them were feral's and I guess because they came to so quickly I always expected them all to! Not with Moses! 

Well, I'll keep everyone updated. Oh... to top off my circus here I have a rescued puppy pit that I'll be driving to Oklahoma (I live in NC) to pick up next week. The foster family couldn't keep him until mid april so I have to bring him back to my tiny apt of cats. !!!! 

:yikes


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## Jeanie

You're between a rock and a hard place, aren't you? It's quite a predicament. He depends on you for food, but it's hard to successfully move a feral cat. Perhaps Merry can give you some tips. Thank you for caring so much.


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## savingtess

Yes, sadly I am.

And to top everything off, a good friend who was flying over from ireland to help me move (as well as make a 2500 mile road trip to pick up my dog) has changed his mind apparently and isn't coming over to help me. 

Wow. Oh well, I suppose I'm still young enough to make a move all by myself, but this does makes things a lot harder. I won't give up though. 

Thanks for your reply. : )


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## Mitts & Tess

We’ve had an amazing couple that participated in our barn program. They 
had to move and took all our ferals with them!!! What compassion.

Are you going to live rural where you’re moving? Will you have a sheltered 
out building or barn. From our experience of moving cats to a barn you 
have a 50/50 chance of success of them staying and not leaving to try 
to find their former home. It’s so difficult when it’s in their nature to be 
territorial.

We set up a large 4x4 kennel with top on it & with shelves to be on 
and cubes or boxes to hide in plus litter box and food/water. Or its 
even better if there is a tack room in the barn. Its so easy when 
there is a tack room because they head for the rafters and you can 
easily come in and change the litter box and feed them. 

We keep them sequestered for a minimum of 3 weeks if not more. 
That way they will get use to sounds, smells, get comfortable in 
their new locations, figure out this is where the food source is. 
The hardest day for me is when we open the door and let them 
head out into the great unknown, praying they will come back. 
There are always tears in my eyes when we do this. Sometimes 
it takes a day or two for them to show up again but we keep food 
out at all times to signal them this is where you were and your 
food is always here.

If its still chilly there we put electric blanket over the kennel 
or in a tack room we put a lot of blankets and cozy boxes to 
hide in. If summer we keep fans going.

You sound like a compassionate knowledgeable animal lover 
so you may already know all this. I hope you manage to get 
Moses and move him successfully. You are totally awesome 
to do this. I’m so impressed!

PS I got tears in my eyes when I saw your name. My beloved bobtail cat 
Mz Tess just passed. I miss her so much. All Tess's are very special!


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## savingtess

Hi Merry
Thank you SO Much! To answer your question, I am moving into the country,and there is an old barn on our land, but when I old, I mean like moses old! (no pun intended) It's still a standing structure but part of the sides are missing, so I couldn't keep Moses in there without him walking right out. 

I was trying to figure out a way to kennel him in there so I wouldn't have to worry about the doors of the barn necessarily.. but how to do that as there's no getting near him without him warning me to stay away. I take that seriously! If I could figure out a way to do it where I didn't have to have direct contact to take out his litter and give him food and water... I know there must be some way to do it? (within means I should say) I don't have lots of money. What extra monies I have each month go to taking care of my 3 cats, and I also feed feral colonies. And then there's the new member of my family the 70 lb Puppy I'm to pick up in two weeks! 

Today when I went out to give Moses breakfast I put the food down, turned my back and walked toward my back door. He will walk toward the food as long as he sees my behind but not me. As soon as I turn around he will freeze, instantly. Today though I just sat down on the ground indian style, talked to him and used words I knew he knew. After an HOUR he took the ! TWO ! steps needed to get to the food. As he ate I praised him and my two cats came about to see what was going on. They get along just fine with Moses. 

I certainly don't think that means he's going to come and jump into my arms come dinner time, but it was my observation that when I'm not standing he seems a lot less afraid. Oh, I'm afraid though the time is just so short now though. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that in nearly a year he would still be frightened of the girl that brings him food twice a day. He's different. Maybe that's why I love him so much. 

Well I'm going to take another look at your post. That darn old barn would be so great if it was enclosed somehow. There's even a hay loft, still thick with hay back from the mid 1800's when it was abandoned (the old house burned down and they didn't move back) My family has since built over the old home and left the old barns standing.) 

P.S. my username is savingtess because it was a little cat many many years ago that I wasn't able to save. It's been my username/email etc since the internet began. OK, so that made me cry. atback Thanks again Merry. I'm sorry to hear of your lost. animals touch us in ways that some may never truly understand.


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## savingtess

lost=loss.


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## Heidi n Q

savingtess said:


> Hi Merry
> ...trying to figure out a way to kennel him in there so I wouldn't have to worry about the doors of the barn necessarily.. but how to do that as there's no getting near him without him warning me to stay away. I take that seriously! If I could figure out a way to do it where I didn't have to have direct contact to take out his litter and give him food and water... I know there must be some way to do it?


The cat rescue place that helped me get Malibu spayed was *very* helpful and I was able to view their feral set-up. They had a large-ish cage (_like a large-dog sized kennel-box at the vet treatment room_) and inside the cage was a cube/carrier. A long stick was used to urge (_guide, not hit_) the feral to 'hide' in the cube and the stick was used to close the opening on the cube so the cage door could be safely opened and everything cleaned/exchanged. When done, the stick was used to open the cube so the kitty could again access their cage. 

If you can't get one of those, perhaps you could set up a double wire-crate kennel in such a manner as to be able to close the kitty into one half while you clean the half that houses his litter, food, water and possibly bedding. You may choose to keep bedding in the other half, though .... so he has a place to hide when you come to clean.


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## Mitts & Tess

Heidi you are a lot braver than I am with the kennel! :lol: We use the big 4x4 with hiding places way in the back and put litter and food in the front so we can reach in quickly and pull out the litter box and food/water daily. I have a healthy fear of true ferals! Our director will go in the 4x4s to grab ferals with a towel if we need to medicate. She is fearless. The funny thing is she gets queasy when there is blood involved at the vets!  

I was pondering Moses today and wanted to add this. We had a cat, which was the companion of an elderly lady who was fearful of everyone but her. She had to be put into a nursing home so my friend was going over everyday to take care of the cat. The woman's family wanted to put the cat down since it couldn’t be adopted out. We didn’t want that to happen so we decided to try to make him a barn cat. We didn’t know if he could make the transition or not. We took him to a barn but he continued to not adjust to the barn after several weeks. So we took over another kitty. A sweet all black feral mom who had been spayed. We put her kennel right up against the other cats kennel so they’d get to know each other. It worked!

They bonded and now are free to roam the horse barn and now go up to the house. The fearful cat follows the mother cat everywhere. It was a very happy ending. I was thinking if Moses had a buddy he might be more willing to hang around!

Here is a photo I’ve posted before of our set up. It’s very cluttered with things in it. You wouldn’t have to have that many items in your set up. I had that many cuz the cats in there were blind. We wanted them to easily find safe places to reside. We find 4x4s at the thrift shops every once in awhile. You could check there esp since your on a budget. 

I would start Heidi's suggestion of starting to feed Moses in a wired open trap. Set the food bowl just in the opening and slowly move it further and further back each day. I use wet food cuz its more appealing to ferals.


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## Heidi n Q

Mitts & Tess said:


> Heidi you are a lot braver than I am with the kennel! :lol:


What?! :yikes Oh, no-no-no, I'm not brave at all!!! :lol: 
Let me describe this better, but I also found a photo to show you what I meant.
At the cat rescue place, they had this ... 'thing' ... the feral could go into that could be closed/opened with a stick through the bars of the kennel so the cat would be safely contained and the area could be cleaned. I did a google-search and it is called a "Feral Cat Den".










> Feral Cat Den (_aka Feral Cat Handler_) - When you must hold a cat for several days for recovery from an injury or extensive surgery, the den provides a quiet hiding place. The den can be placed in a larger holding pen or large cage where the cat is being held, along with a litter box, food, and water. The cat enters the den by a porthole on the side that you easily slide shut once the cat is inside. You can then take the cat for cleaning, treatment, or transportation. A vertical sliding door makes it easy to transfer the cat to another cage or return the cat to the den for recovery after surgery.


This image is awesome!
It shows the flat transfer door to transfer a feral to a carrier and it shows the smaller round door that can be operated from outside the cage with a stick to keep the handler safe.









Malibu was kept in a bank of veterinary recovery kennels, like this one, with a feral-cat-den inside.


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## savingtess

Hi everyone

thanks so much for all your efforts. If I'm a bit quiet it's not because I don't care. My friend that was going to help me with my move and the situation with my animals, including helping me pick up my puppy out in Oklahoma and the transition with moving my 3 cats and trying to get moses, he's bailed on me. I'm trying desperately trying to find someone else to help me and in the meantime trying to get packed, etc... So please know that I'm reading all your posts, I just can't answer back as quickly as I want to. 

Say a little prayer for me as I'm really overwhelmed right now.

Thank You


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## Mitts & Tess

Heidi that is brillliant! Im going to go look it up further! Thanks for posting that.

Savingtess not to worry. Packing, moving and the pressure to get Moses has to be stressful. Sorry to hear your "friend" bailed on you. Hope your not doing all of this by yourself. I know I couldnt! I hit a wall when packing! My sister has always helped me.

I know there are driving relays when getting a rescue dog across states. Is there any way someone could arrange that for you?

Best of luck. Prayers you get Moses!..... _Visualizing him in a trap_....


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## savingtess

Hi Merry

Driving relay.. I've never heard of that.. is it the same as ground transport for animals? I found a lot of those but they wanted a couple thousand dollars! I even put up his picture and story on pilotsandpaws.org to see if any private plane pilots would bring him here. so far no luck though.  

If he weren't so heavy (he's still a puppy but a BIG puppy and already weighs enough to put him into the: expensive as all get out, price range for the airlines. OH - that reminds me.. here is a wonderful site for people who are getting ready to fly their pets. It's mandated through the gov that all carries report their pet loss stats. http://www.thirdamendment.com/animals.html This was a wake up call when I read that - look at continental and american airlines! 

Thanks again for your support! 

Unfortunately what small family I have left is not the kind that will help me unconditionally. Don't mean to sound like a sad sack, it's just a fact about my family. :dis


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## Heidi n Q

Mitts & Tess said:


> Heidi that is brillliant! Im going to go look it up further! Thanks for posting that.


Wow! I guess I thought all feral cat organizations had these. You've inspired me to add this separately to the Feral Forum and find a sticky to link to it as this information could help everyone who works with ferals.

ST ... You're in the Carolinas and I'm in Georgia. Where are you moving to and is there anything I can do to help? _I am limited as to how much I can do away from home, but I thought I'd ask..._
The Driving Relay is something I've seen happen at larger sites; a horse forum I belong to has a *huge* membership and they have organized several animal-relays, usually for horses but I've seen them organize for dogs and cats, too. Mostly when reuniting people with past pets who have been separated and moved far away. I've never seen anyone charge to do this, but it mostly occured between internet "friends" and not strangers. Well, I mean, they've never formally met so they *are* strangers, but they've sort of 'met' on the internet and weren't complete strangers, _knowwhatImean_?


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## savingtess

Hi Heidi

Thank you! That is so generous, and sweet. Funny that sometimes strangers can be more willing to help people than family. 

I can't think of anything really that you could from Georgia. You wanna take a roap trip to Oklahoma by any chance??? LoL
That is another rescue of mine but as I've mentioned, this one is far from a cat. He's a half choc lab half pitty pup that was going to be put down just because of his mom being pit. They had labeled him as 'unadoptable.' So sad such ignorance. How many creatures have to die because of it. As I moving out into the country with lots of land and a big new house I contacted the person that posted his pic and story and told her I would adopt him. The only problem of course was getting him to me! If i was a rich person I would just hire one of those private planes that fly pets, or the ground transport people, but oh my it's expensive!!! 

So let's see. I have to get my dear Moses trapped some how, get a kennel of some sort set up for him in my 200 year old barn without a left side and doors and wrangle my cats from under the bed and convince them that they are as excited as I am about my new house and their new brother, a 70 pound 6 month old Puppy. His name is Simcha by the way. That means Joy in Hebrew. I'll post his pic. Sadly so many people continue to be misinformed, many times by irresponsible media, that just reinforces already false beliefs about these dogs. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. 

Well I'm going to check on Moses. I just saw him poke his head out from behind his favorite pine tree, so I guess that means he's ready to lunch. Oh my to love these creatures so much. 

:luv

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg72 ... /moses.jpg


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## Jeanie

Good luck with both animals!

As for the picture, we haven't had a photo gallery for over a year. Therefore, most members are using Photobucket, which is free. Just join and you can store your pictures there that you want to post. The directions are not difficult. I'd love to see your pictures!


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## savingtess

Hey Jeanie

I just posted a couple of pics through photobucket. Let me know if you can see them?


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## Heidi n Q

OMGheisbeautiful!!!!!! :luv :luv :luv 










*just put the image tags ([ img ] and [/ img ] without spaces) around the Photobucket URL. Also, PB has four selections under each photo and if you copy/paste the IMG one, it will automatically show up like your photo I put in my post.

_...when I was a child in grade school, I remember reading a story book about a girl moving West in a covered wagon and she brought her b/w kitty named Moses with her!_


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## Jeanie

I LOVE that cat. I want! I want! I want! (stomping my foot!) He's exactly what I am looking for. What a beauty! :heart Sigh....


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## savingtess

*Re: I need help trapping a feral for a 2nd time + Pics*

just trying to get the hang of this. another try with more than one -I tried the Img link but it didn't work? I'm using photobucket. I've never used it before so that's for being patient.  

My cats? Spoiled???? NOOOOOO 
:wink


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## savingtess

Thank you everyone!! I know, isn't he a beauty? I want so much to make it work with him. My cats get along great with him. Well that's all my cats except my eldest boy Mr. Lee. He's 13 and cranky, and well never liked Mary either. He just likes girls. 

I can't seem to make the image thing work. I'm going to try again. Thanks for everyone's help!!


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## Jeanie

How sweet they are!

I changed http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg72/savingtess/catforum/babies.jpg

to [img} etc., etc.[/img]

It won't work with That takes you to a site. [img..., give me that beautiful tuxedo cat! :wink:


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## savingtess

Jeanie said:


> I LOVE that cat. I want! I want! I want! (stomping my foot!) He's exactly what I am looking for. What a beauty! :heart Sigh....



I know Jeanie -He's gorgeous. Even my vet commented on that. It probably doesn't help matters that I had to trap him to get him looked after for the infection in his leg. now when he sees me it's more of the year ago dance when I first started feeding him. I made the right decision though. Cat bites are notoriously dangerous because of all the bacteria they present. He could have died from the infection alone. 

I asked my vet how they were able to get him treated. She said they tranquilized him through the cage. I don't know how they did that, but it's best left to the professionals! The entire night he spent in the trap after I'd trapped him that evening he was spitting and hizzing and thrasing around in that trap. My other cats wouldn't even walk into the living room !! Oh Moses, why can't you trust me just a little. 

My vet said they had to tranquilize him through the cage. I commented that I hoped everyone was still alive after that. Boy you should have seen him. Impressive. 

Poor Moses. When I took him in the vet said he had a dangerously high fever from the infection. He's recovered beautifully though. Happy, fat, yet terrified of me. :? 










http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg72/savingtess/catforum/misswinnie.jpg


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## savingtess

Jeanie said:


> How sweet they are!
> 
> I changed http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg72/savingtess/catforum/babies.jpg
> 
> to [img} etc., etc.[/img]
> 
> It won't work with That takes you to a site. [img...r cat. He is so beautiful though, *ain't* he?


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## Jeanie

:luv


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## Mitts & Tess

Ok just saw the picture of Moses. A TUXEDO!!! Now Im weak in the knees and in love. 
come on boy get in that trap!

:luv :luv :luv :luv


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## savingtess

Mitts & Tess said:


> Ok just saw the picture of Moses. A TUXEDO!!! Now Im weak in the knees and in love.
> come on boy get in that trap!
> 
> :luv :luv :luv :luv


ain't he grand? so beautiful - I just want to grab him and get him bathed and all fixed up. My vet said he's young probably 4 or 5. for a wild wild boy though to have survived out there so long, I guess his wariness of us humans could be the reason he still is going strong. ironic I guess, and sad though.


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## savingtess

OK guys I need ya'lls help. If you have any contacts near me, or within reasonable driving distance, I'm trying to find someone that will let me borrow a large kennel like the one that was posted earlier (sorry can't remember which one of you guys posted it!) but it was a large metal kennel with two blind kitties..) If I could get one to borrow then I can somehow manage I think by putting him in the 'older than dirt, but still has 200 year old hay, barn.' I'm going to make the calls on my end here, but they are usually all being used. 

Let's save this beautiful boy and get him in the barn!!! 

:luv


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## Heidi n Q

Where are you moving to?
I have one of those large wire dog crates. It is about 3x5x4tall. I can loan it out but I don't know how/what shipping would be or if it would need to be picked up/delivered. 
I wish I could just let you have it, but I use it and have need of it myself. 

Then I also think you'll need one of these:
*"Feral Cat Den"*
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=338










> Feral Cat Den (_aka Feral Cat Handler_) - When you must hold a cat for several days for recovery from an injury or extensive surgery, the den provides a quiet hiding place. The den can be placed in a larger holding pen or large cage where the cat is being held, along with a litter box, food, and water. The cat enters the den by a porthole on the side that you easily slide shut once the cat is inside. You can then take the cat for cleaning, treatment, or transportation. A vertical sliding door makes it easy to transfer the cat to another cage or return the cat to the den for recovery after surgery.


heidi =^..^=


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## savingtess

Hey Heidi

Thank you for your generous offer! I just checked with google and am trying to figure out if we have to drive to Oklahoma to pick up Simcha (I'm trying to get him shipped, but not sure, it's pretty expensive and I don't trust the airlines) then maybe we could swing by there? Gosh, I don't know. Then we would have to get it back to you then.. it's probably quite expensive to mail. Hum. Here are the google map results anyway. Thanks for your offer. I'll let you know the more I found out. :luv 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source= ... F8&t=h&z=8


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## Heidi n Q

Ooooph! 340 miles! :yikes 

I'll go to my local UPS store this week or next and see what ground charges would be, zipcode to zipcode. I'd have to have it boxed, but I think I can get a rough size/weight if I check similar products on the web...


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## savingtess

Heidi n Q said:


> Ooooph! 340 miles! :yikes
> 
> I'll go to my local UPS store this week or next and see what ground charges would be, zipcode to zipcode. I'd have to have it boxed, but I think I can get a rough size/weight if I check similar products on the web...


Thank you Heidi! You are a kind person to do that for me and my crazy bunch over here in NC. 

I just spent the past 3 hours trying to price getting simcha the puppy shipped to me. Man things are expensive!!! He's a sweetheart and we love him to pieces, but if he only weighed a few pounds less! :luv 

Just feed Big Mo. He only hid behind one tree tonight. Sometimes he will run to different trees before deciding which one is the safest to poke his head out and look at me. I'm going to try and get that on video. It's really really cute, and he's always hizzing at me then licks his lips right after. (as I'm putting the food down) I always say as I turn to head back to my apt "We love you Moses! Now be a good boy and get into this here trap already!!!"


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## savingtess

savingtess said:


> Heidi n Q said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ooooph! 340 miles! :yikes
> 
> I'll go to my local UPS store this week or next and see what ground charges would be, zipcode to zipcode. I'd have to have it boxed, but I think I can get a rough size/weight if I check similar products on the web...
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you Heidi! You are a kind person to do that for me and my crazy bunch over here in NC.
> 
> I just spent the past 3 hours trying to price getting simcha the puppy shipped to me. Man things are expensive!!! He's a sweetheart and we love him to pieces, but if he only weighed a few pounds less! :luv
> 
> Just feed Big Mo. He only hid behind one tree tonight. Sometimes he will run to different trees before deciding which one is the safest to poke his head out and look at me. I'm going to try and get that on video. It's really really cute, and he's always hizzing at me then licks his lips right after. (as I'm putting the food down) I always say as I turn to head back to my apt "We love you Moses! Now be a good boy and get into this here trap already!!!"
Click to expand...

Good Lord I just read my post and my grammar is like a 2nd grader! hizzing=hissing of course.. where did that come from?? and well, feed=fed. I always told my mom that my english degree would eventually pay off. told you mom!! :mrgreen:


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## Heidi n Q

savingtess said:


> I always told my mom that my english degree would eventually pay off. told you mom!! :mrgreen:


 :lol: I knew what you meant! You outta see some of MY grammar when I'm tired/medicated! Heck, sometimes my spelling is atrocious because I don't go back to check and see what my fingers were doing on the keyboard as the brain signal traveled there and back. Sometimes my fingers seem to have a mind of their own. It's like they have muscle memory and if I start a word that has common letters in it, my fingers want to type the common word and not the word I want. ...and htey lik eto mix letters up and randomly jump a space in before it's needed. <- _I didn't go back and fix that sentence so you could see..._ Dang fingers! 
I know, it seems odd my fingers are controlling the show, huh? :wink


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## Mitts & Tess

Heidi n Q said:


> At the cat rescue place, they had this ... 'thing' ... the feral could go into that could be closed/opened with a stick through the bars of the kennel so the cat would be safely contained and the area could be cleaned. I did a google-search and it is called a "Feral Cat Den".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Feral Cat Den (_aka Feral Cat Handler_) - When you must hold a cat for several days for recovery from an injury or extensive surgery, the den provides a quiet hiding place. The den can be placed in a larger holding pen or large cage where the cat is being held, along with a litter box, food, and water. The cat enters the den by a porthole on the side that you easily slide shut once the cat is inside. You can then take the cat for cleaning, treatment, or transportation. A vertical sliding door makes it easy to transfer the cat to another cage or return the cat to the den for recovery after surgery.
> 
> 
> 
> This image is awesome!
> It shows the flat transfer door to transfer a feral to a carrier and it shows the smaller round door that can be operated from outside the cage with a stick to keep the handler safe.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Malibu was kept in a bank of veterinary recovery kennels, like this one, with a feral-cat-den inside.
Click to expand...

Heidi I emailed the director of our group and were going to buy the feral cat den and give it a whirl! Thank you for posting that! I cant believe we missed it! We use the comb item on Alley Cat Allies to back a feral up in the traps but we all totally missed the den shown on their site! Oh happy day. Having a safe place to hide and recover is so important for ferals. As you could see Ive been using upside down starbucks boxes and cubes. Try getting a feral out of a cube! Ha.

Savingtess if your looking for the 4x4 call thrift shops, or look on craigs list. We have found most of ours used. They are in constant use. If you set it up in a barn be sure and put rugs, hay or plywood on the bottom to escape the cold.

Maybe Im selfish but if your going to rescue the pit bull why dont you say to them "I will gladly take him if you can get him to me. Im in the middle of moving and have to move my own cats too plus a diffacult feral. I have the perfect home if you can get him there"

I was willing to drive a couple of my foster out of state to people I knew would be a good home. They should too. I know the greyhound rescue people also do the relays of passing the dog with driver thru states to a new home. Maybe these people can arrange the same thing.

This is a vent but people do take advantage of rescue people. Ive learned I have to have boundaries or I get burnt out managing the total situation. If people have an animal they have to be part of the rescue or solution for that poor animal.

There was a cat, a woman and her neighbor had been feeding for two years. It got bit by a rattle snake the night before. She called animal control the next morning and they never showed up. So around noon she started calling other rescues. No one would come out and deal with a "feral". She called my group around 1 PM. My director called me and I walked off my job site and called a friend and we started driving 90 miles an hour down to get the cat. She was 40 minutes away. We drove up to this big beautiful home and luckily the cat was in the courtyard. I sent my friend to get it. It let her pick him up and put him in the carrier. (not feral) I could see my friend getting very very angry that this woman let this cat suffer and not be proactive to help. She was treating us like animal control and we work for the state or something. Get this garbage off my property attitude.

So I dealt with the lady. I graciously mentioned to her the cat was in incredible pain and why didnt she contact us earlier? I then went into the mode of, you want us to help so you need to help too. . I said I have the vet waiting to see this cat. The vet was 10 minutes away and why hadnt she taken the cat to this vet? She didnt want to spend the money it would take! I told her we work on donations, what can you give to help? She went on like she didnt have money. I shamed her into donating cuz she was making me so mad with her inhumane treatment of the cat and all about money. she gave us a measley $10! We named the cat Hamilton since it was a ten dollar bill. 

Hamilton struggled for his life. I took him home with me to keep over the weekend in my bathroom but he took a turn for the worse. he was in such pain that we had to drive him to our vet's home to be put down. the poison was too far advanced. 

I said all that to say this. People need to be a part of the solution when you trying to rescue. Its not asking much for them to take their part esp if your giving this guy his forever home.

Ok off my soap box... Ill try to keep off of it! Ha!


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## savingtess

Hi Merry

My apologies for this quick reply, but it seems as if the 'oh my god I have nothing done yet and am moving in two weeks' has just occured to me! 

On your question about my foster mom... She's actually my cousin, and is really doing this as a huge favor for me. We were desperate to find a foster and at the last minute she contacted me and said she'd do it. She lives on her social security income and I know doesn't have many extra resources that would allow her to do that for me. But knowing that she would if she could if one of the reasons she's a great lady. 

Thank you though. I wish things were a bit easier right now!! I'm still checking on craigslisit everyday as well. I'm going to call my vet today as I spend enough of my money there for them to loan me even one of their vets!! 

I'm write more later, have to go and answer some bids to move Simcha (uship.com) quite a cool site actually. 

Thank you!

:luv


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## Mitts & Tess

I thought you were being a good egg and they expected you to come get the dog. Sorry didnt understand. On top of it you had to put up with my rant.. so sorry. 

I dont know how you do it. Moving is a burn out for me, even with help. Good luck on your move. My heart is with Moses. What a sweet guy!


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## savingtess

Mitts & Tess said:


> I thought you were being a good egg and they expected you to come get the dog. Sorry didnt understand. On top of it you had to put up with my rant.. so sorry.
> 
> I dont know how you do it. Moving is a burn out for me, even with help. Good luck on your move. My heart is with Moses. What a sweet guy!


No apology necessary. Yes, it's going to be hard, but I'm up to it. I have to be!!!


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