Wish me luck!

[fenneltea]

I've just set a trap in my garden for a stray cat that I've started feeding - I need all your good vibes for it to go in it!

The cat has been hanging around for months in a neighbours garden, and I'm pretty sure I saw it a couple of years ago but then didn't see it again.

I've no idea if it is feral or just a frightened stray, I can only get up to about five feet of it before it runs away, but I suspect I wouldn't get that close to a proper feral.

I will be taking it to the vets to check for a chip and if it isn't neutered it will be getting done, I don't even know if it a tom or queen, but think that it might be a tom as its face is rather large.

I'm just hoping and praying it goes in the trap and the trap goes off okay, he(?) has been nicknamed Solomon for now.

It was awful thinking of it out in that awful weather last night, I'm hoping a new life will be starting for him/her soon and if an owner can't be found then he will become another resident here.

Oh gosh. Good luck. What a lovely thing for you to do. You will get him. A little trail of food into the trap is good. And the two things that really work are packet ham and hot fried chicken from a chicken shop.

Thanks TCN, were right out of both ham and deep fried chicken unfortunately, he did eat some food out of it unset last night, my main worry is that the door won't close properly as I'm sure it has either not closed properly in the past or somehow stuck - we found it set off,food gone and no cat! I have two traps but can't remember which one might be dodgy.

I'm going to have to put him in a dog crate overnight if I do catch him, or else I don't think I'll be able to get him in a carrier to get to the vets, so I'm hoping he doesn't get too stressed, he will also be in the conservatory which isn't ideal, the other five cats will probably be giving him evils through the glass poor thing!

Good luck

good luck cpl lady i know has quit a success with sardines in tomato sauce as they are very smelly the way to find out if your trap is working is to use a stick through the side bars to set it off

Well I've got him/her! It's still a bit hissy and spitty, which is understandable I suppose considering it's been trapped and then stuck in a cage poor thing.

It looks in good condition, so I hope it doesn't belong to anyone nearby! It was very hungry though before it was trapped.

Do you think I should try to get it to the vets tomorrow, or give it a bit of time to settle, I'm not sure if I'll get it into a carrier that easily and I think it will need a crush cage to check for a chip as it is at the moment.

pic pic?
I'd take it to vet tomorrow, move quickly is best.

Oh, well done! Have you had a chance to look at his/her undercarriage, to see if there are any dangly bits? Yes, I'd go to the vet ASAP. I'm not sure what the crate looks like, but would it be safe to take the cat in that instead of a carrier?

Archat was trapped and neutered as an unchipped adult tom 18 months ago. He's now a big soppy type who loves human attention and is seldom out of the house for more than two hours - but you can still tell from his muscular build and wide face that he was neutered late. I'm so grateful to the people who noticed and trapped him, because otherwise he wouldn't be part of our family!

Right, will attempt to get to the vets tomorrow. I haven't managed to look at his undercarriage yet lol, I've literally eased him out of the trap into the crate and left him with food water a litter tray and bed and have left him to settle in the quiet. The crate is probably too big to transport I think.

He is jet black and his back legs are a bit wonky when he walks poor lad. I haven't seen him in proper light yet as we just had a low light on to try and not frighten him too much, so no pics yet and I'm ashamed to admit that I'll have to get my daughter to post them.

Yay! Well done.

Hope the vet visit goes well.

Right - back from the vets!

He is an entire male, unchipped, so is booked in for pom-pom removal tomorrow! I'm guessing that there probably isn't an owner going to come forwards for a black entire tom The vet is going to check his legs for me too, so if he needs any medication or treatment we can sort it out for him.

He went into the carrier quite easily, lots of growling and hissing when I approach but never once tried to bite or scratch bless him. He is totally terrified, but slowly coming round. I can gently stroke him, but its like stroking a block of concrete as he's so scared. He might turn into a whirling dirvish once he gets a bit more more confidence [hmmm]

He ate last night and did one small wee in his litter tray (which is tiny to fit in the crate!) and is surprisingly non smelly for an entire male. Not eaten anything yet today, I think he's still too frightned.

He looks shattered now, but I expect the vet visit and stress of being kept in is taking its toll.

What a good thing you are doing, I'll sure he will be grateful in the long run. The fact that you can stroke him at all has to be a good sign, he has the makings of a great pet. Lets hope his legs are not a problem.

Great news.

He is one lucky puss to have you.

Yay, you're such an angel. I hope his legs are OK. I suspect you're right to think that there's no loving owner on the horizon desperately searching for him - and to be honest, anyone who's irresponsible enough to lose an unchipped unnneutered male doesn't deserve a cat in the first place.

It's great that you can touch him already and he's not spraying the crate full. That bodes well for the future. But I think it did take a few months for the male hormones to wear off completely in our case - fortunately for us Archcat was in the shelter for most of it, but he did get into a few fights with neighbouring cats when he first arrived. He still brings in a lot of presents, though. Strays tend to be VERY good at hunting.

Aw, thanks for the nice comments, but I'm doing it for purely selfish reasons really, I can't stand the thought of him being out over the winter.

Archfachnad, you've summed up my feelings about any previous owner not looking after him properly. In one way it was better to know it was unlikely anyone was missing him, I feel able to claim him now.

We're moving him to my daughters bedroom tomorrow as the conservatory has a corner suite in and I think if he hid behind it we'd struggle to tame him, and our last semi feral was better for getting used to a sleeping human first. Then we'll begin the other cat introductions, which might prove interesting!

Such a lovely thread

Very pleased that you managed to trap him & are looking after him

Well he went through the surgery well bless him and is now getting used to life indoors. I got some lovely slow blinks off him this morning and he hasn't been aggressive once. The vet has put him at about seven years old, I think he might be a bit older as his coat has a few white hairs and his eyes look a bit cloudy to me in the light.

He's been renamed Atticus and I think he's going to be a lovely cat when he loses his fear and builds his trust.
The nurse said his hormones will take six to eight weeks to get out of his system, so I'll leave introductions until then for the other cats. My poor daughter was kept awake by him exploring overnight, she's gone to work shattered while he's sleeping in the sun on the windowsill!

Atticus. What a lovely name.

Oh that's so lovely. I'm sure he'll make a gorgeous pet and he's a very lucky boy.

I must have missed the pictures he sounds lovely. What about the wobbly legs - any explanation? I'm sure he's already grateful to be in the warm and dry. Which he will show by clawing your furniture and trying to trip you on the stairs.

Sorry about the lack of pics, when we get round to it I'll get my daughter to post some.

They couldn't really find anything with his legs, but really need to see him moving, so if there is no improvement when he is more confident I'll take him back. It only seems to be when he tries to hurry anywhere that it's a problem for him, and when we're with him hes just staying still or slinking. He's managed to jump up on to things which is a good sign I think.
I already have some well clawed furniture, but one leather sofa that hasn't been touched; my guess is that will be his favourite!