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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

How to catch a feral - urgent!

34 replies

WetBandits · 04/02/2024 16:55

Greetings! A beautiful feral cat has been frequenting my garden, he’s definitely a stray; he’s absolutely filthy, has a big fat Tom head and massive balls, scars all over his mush and he’s always hungry. The local Facebook group suggests he’s been hanging around the area for at least 3 years and nobody owns him. He’s quite shy but will just about let me stroke him while he’s eating now.

Anyway, a local cat charity has agreed to take him, he’s booked in for neutering and a full vet check tomorrow and they have asked me to catch him so they can collect him 😳 any tips on how I might catch a feral cat who will probably freak out when I go to pick him up?! My plan was to get someone else to distract him with food while I approach from behind with a thick towel to scoop him up as I expect he will probably bite and scratch like his life depends on it. Any other tips would be appreciated, thank you!

Still working on DP to agree to let him stay and we’ll just have four cats 😅

OP posts:
TheSpottedZebra · 04/02/2024 16:56

Contact them back and ask if they have a cage trap?
Obviously it doesn't harm them.

TheSpottedZebra · 04/02/2024 16:57

Best of luck by the way, and you are very kind to help him.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 04/02/2024 17:00

The strength of a massive old tom cat when somebody attempts to scruff them is way beyond most people and will cause distress to him and probably some quite serious injury to you (to the extent of needing a tetanus booster and potentially antibiotics, hopefully not by drip, but all bets are off with toms).

It really needs to be food in a cage trap.

Kwam31 · 04/02/2024 17:07

Unless he's very familiar and at ease with you, you need a trap with food.

WombatCowgirl · 04/02/2024 17:09

My vet has a cage trap that can be borrowed. If he ( the Tom not the vet) is used to eating at your house it's only a matter of time!

NewYearNewCalendar · 04/02/2024 17:15

Cage trap. The charity ought to have one, if not then post on your local FB group, someone should be able to point you to someone with a trap.

Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 17:15

He lets me stay next to him while he’s eating, and will follow food trails I set to wherever I set his bowl down (have been working on that so he knows me = food as I knew I’d have to catch him!), now we’ve moved on to him letting me stroke him. In the absence of an automatic trap cage (fuck knows why they didn’t give me one!), I’ve borrowed a small dog crate from a neighbour, planning to put the food right at the back and then quickly shut the door once he’s busy eating. He’ll be furious, but safe.

Fingers crossed it works and will pay the cat tax once he’s safely in Tom jail 😁

OP posts:
Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 17:23

Scratch that - I’m off to pick up a trap from the local cat lady 😄😄😄

OP posts:
Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 19:18

Update….

After all that, I just picked him up and plonked him in a regular carrier 😂

Safe now, gorgeous boy!

How to catch a feral - urgent!
OP posts:
Coruisk · 04/02/2024 19:19

Aww! How is he doing? He's definitely yours now. ...

Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky · 04/02/2024 19:20

We caught a stray about 18 months ago.

He got cleaned up and rehomed. They had a picture of him at the end of the year - he was all stretched out looking so happy and content.

(We couldn't keep him as he had sent my male cat to the vets 3 times!)

Scampuss · 04/02/2024 19:31

Oh well done!

What a beauty he is too.

WotNoUserName · 04/02/2024 20:03

He's gorgeous and you should definitely keep him. Maybe keep the cat and get rid of your DP? Grin

Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 20:11

He was very calm and quiet in the car, only started chatting to me towards the end of the drive 🥹 delivered him safely to the foster and she’s going to flea/worm him then give him space to decompress a bit tonight and see how he gets on with the vet tomorrow.

I’d truly love to keep him but my existing boy cat isn’t very tolerant of other males and they would both be very stressed, I think 😫 he’ll make someone a lovely companion once he’s cleaned up and sorted out!

OP posts:
Datafan55 · 04/02/2024 20:13

That's great you caught him. Surprised at the charity asking you to catch him though ... I would not fancy trying to do that!

Doyouthinktheyknow · 04/02/2024 20:13

Well done for looking out for that poor cat, he’s a handsome boy😻
Hopefully this is the start of a much better life for him.

Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 20:15

Datafan55 · 04/02/2024 20:13

That's great you caught him. Surprised at the charity asking you to catch him though ... I would not fancy trying to do that!

I’ll be honest, I was dreading it 😂 my own cat bit me so badly last year I ended up on antibiotics, daily iodine dressings and reduced movement in my thumb for months because he bit through a tendon in my wrist down to the bone 🤮 didn’t fancy going through that again!

OP posts:
Datafan55 · 04/02/2024 20:26

WetBandits · 04/02/2024 20:15

I’ll be honest, I was dreading it 😂 my own cat bit me so badly last year I ended up on antibiotics, daily iodine dressings and reduced movement in my thumb for months because he bit through a tendon in my wrist down to the bone 🤮 didn’t fancy going through that again!

Show quote history

Yikes :-(
I did some training with Cats Protection recently and they did talk rather re the risks in roles, including catching feral cats...

TheSpottedZebra · 04/02/2024 21:39

Crikey, you're absolutely NAILS! Well done you!

He's a beauty. Hopefully he'll be done and dusted soon and will be snapped up ASAP by a lovely owner.

Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 22:49

TheSpottedZebra · 04/02/2024 21:39

Crikey, you're absolutely NAILS! Well done you!

He's a beauty. Hopefully he'll be done and dusted soon and will be snapped up ASAP by a lovely owner.

Ahhh he was soft as butter, didn’t even struggle! I was stroking him and he started purring and rubbing his head against my hand so I decided to just risk it all and pick him up, it was very anticlimactic 😂

OP posts:
mnahmnah · 04/02/2024 22:54

That sounds a bit too easy for a feral … are we sure he doesn’t actually have an owner?! I guess the vets will scan him for a chip

blackpanth · 04/02/2024 22:56

WetBandits · 04/02/2024 19:18

Update….

After all that, I just picked him up and plonked him in a regular carrier 😂

Safe now, gorgeous boy!

Aww he's gorgeous 😻😻

Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 22:56

mnahmnah · 04/02/2024 22:54

That sounds a bit too easy for a feral … are we sure he doesn’t actually have an owner?! I guess the vets will scan him for a chip

Already scanned him, paper collared him, posted him all over local Facebook groups for a couple of weeks, asked neighbours etc, he came back three days running with the same paper collar on him until it fell off in the rain. I suspect he’s been visiting several people over the past few years and has just got used to being touched!

OP posts:
Original poster
WetBandits · 04/02/2024 22:58

In any case, he’s filthy, has fleas, is unchipped and unneutered and is out in all weathers so even if he did have a home at some point, he can’t have been there for quite some time!

OP posts:
felinelucky · 04/02/2024 22:59

Quite invested now. Hope he finds a loving home.