Photo by Lawrence in Houston, from Flickr
“I have adopted four feral kittens and need to get them spayed. We have tried to get them in a cat cage carrier so we can take them with no success. Any ideas?”
I thought this was an important one to address right away because today’s feral kittens are this spring’s pregnant moms. Girlcats as young as five months can get knocked up — all they need is an early heat cycle and an eager Tom. Healthy kittens can be spayed as early as two months, as long as they weigh over two pounds, and if they are feral, the earlier the better.
I asked for more details and my reader explained that although she had “adopted” them, they are not indoor cats and they mainly eat and sleep in the garage — and there really is no way she could get them in a carrier. So what she really needs to do is trap them for their spay appointments.
(Side note here: I bet you thought I was going to explain how to easily get a cat in a carrier — nuh-uh! That is proprietary information that cats do not divulge in public; it takes a combination of tapping into Extreme Kitty Mind Meld, timing, swift action and the right attitude. To tattle about such a thing would risk getting me thrown out of the IFWU — International Feline Workers Union. But when it comes to feral cats, TNR and such, restrictions are lifted.)
Anyhow, back to this reader and her four feral girls. She needs to ask around the local rescues, shelters, vets and/or contact Alley Cat Allies about borrowing or renting traps for her kittens. And even though she has been caring for them and considers them her charges, she will have to go through all the same steps as if she were trapping ferals she did not know as well. If the weather allows, I would recommend setting up the traps outside of the garage — nearby, but not inside it. They consider the garage a safe haven, and ideally, it is better not to risk spoiling this for them.
The traps should be set out with the floor part covered with newspaper, and the whole thing covered for a sense of security and privacy. Leave a paper plate of their favorite and most smelly wet food far in the back so they have to crawl fully inside to eat. Do not set the traps to catch the kitties at first. Leave them open and unlatched for at least a few days while they get used to them. When they seem comfortable coming and going and eating out of the traps, it’s time to capture them for their spay appointments.
You really want to be prepared. Do make sure you have the appointment with the clinic set in advance because you will want to bring the kittens in very soon after you have trapped them. The best time to trap is usually dusk or a little before, when cats like to have dinner, and then take the trapped kittens into the clinic the very next morning. Don’t free feed during this process and on the big day, skip feeding them for at least a meal before you set the traps, so they will be hungry. Put the most tempting food in the traps on the day you set them. Then you wait. Never leave set traps unattended.
Photo by Richie Graham – Lincoln-Log on Flickr
After spending the night in the garage, inside their traps, take the kittens, still in their traps, to the clinic. Again, do not let them out! You may want to line your car seats or floor with pee pads to keep things neat while you are in transit… because when it comes to scared, upset kittens, things can get messy.
After their spay operations, the vet will give you instructions on when the kittens are healed enough to be released again. Do not be surprised if they disappear for a few days. The whole process is likely to spook them, and there is really no way you can get around that. Heck, it is bad enough for us fully tame and domesticated kitties! Feral cats and kittens are way more wary of humans to begin with. But they will come back, especially when they realize the evil traps are gone for good.
These are only the barest of instructions. Hopefully, when my reader goes looking for traps, she will also find other humans who know how to do TNR and can show her firsthand how to do it. The following articles are very helpful and explain the process in more detail:
http://www.feralcat.com/trapinst.html
Good luck! And paws up for caring for these wild little beings.
Excellent advice, YRH! That’s how our servant did it and it worked bigtime. One thing, though: before a spay or neuter, you have to fast the patient (no food OR WATER) overnight. The reason is that you don’t want them to aspirate (throw up) during anaesthesia. That could be life-threatening.
Dear Sparkle,
this article ROCKED! and what a appropriate time o year to share.
Thanks yous
Kisses
Nellie
Great article Sparkle. We hope the lady has success catching her feral kitties.
Whoa! That article gives me flashbacks cos I was once a scared feral kitten getting trapped. Shudder!
Wow Sparkle. How did you end up with so much edumacation? You’re furry impressive! And I saw the picture that nice Human painted of you! 30 cats in 30 days~you look luffly XOXOX
Great information, Sparkle! This is how the mom caught Zoey. The mom was amazed though…about 10 minutes after setting out the trap, Zoey walked into it and was caught! This isn’t typical, so the mom has heard. She was told that it would probably take much longer for the cat to go into the trap.
Very good response Sparkle!
Very good that this human wants to do this for the kitties!!
Purrs for her!!
Purrs Tillie and Georgia,
Treasure,Tiger, JJ and Julie
That is excellent advice Sparkle! We’re glad those feral kitties are going to be spayed and hope many others will since they now know how to get it done!
A big job but do-able. We’ve been there a few times ourselves and then, kept the kittens afterward. A wonderful article answering so many aspects that so many people would have. Bravo!
We wish your questionnaire luck getting those kittens to the Vet for their spays.
Sparkle, we think you did a fabulous job of answering that question. Those instructions will surely be big help to your reader. We have our paws crossed that she catches those ferals soon!
Great post! We wanted to add that if cost is a factor, check with your local shelter. Ours has a program to spay and eartip ferals for free (or a donation). A bonus is that their staff regularly works with ferals–I was able to set up a “week long” appointment since I wasn’t sure what day I’d be able to trap our neighborhood feral.
Great info and something great to do!!!
Great info!! We hope she can find some help. Our mom has been doing limited TNR – and we are lucky that our local clinic will take ferals in traps on the same day with no appointment (since it is hard to get the cat to cooperate with scheduled appointments – MOL). 🙂
thank you sparkle. our mama has contacted our local fix our ferals clinic and she has been planning on getting them spayed and neutered. there is a fee of about $15 according to the lady mama spoke too, not bad isn’t it?
Sparkle, that’s a pawesome set of instructions you’ve given that human! (And whew…you did it in a way where you can still keep your IFWU card! What a relief)
Great advice Sparkle, thanks for letting her know how important it is to get them fixed before they multiply.
In my experience, trapping all four at the same time would be difficult and would require more than one trap. For the super skittish, I like drop traps.
Thank you lady for helping the kitties..My human bean says I has to go to Doctor Susan soon to get something called “fixed”..I’m not sure what that is but I don’t think I want any of it.. I seen other kitties in my family get in them cages and then they have to go outside the house..Outside is very scary looking..I am little and very good at hiding where they can’t find me..
A bit of added advice – be sure the vet is familiar with working with feral cats. Although the kittens may be angry at first, they will be so much better off once they are spayed/neutered. Thanks to this wonderful human who wants to help them live a better life.
Sparkle, you say those are the barest of instructions….but we think you’ve gone a long way to help humans understand the process. This was a perfect question to pick. We hope your reader is successful in trapping the kittens and taking them off to the vet. And to the kittens: Try not to be scared little ones! You are loved.
xo, Katie
We’re sure all this advice will help this good hearted human to help these kitties! Thanks for sharing it
Harry, Dexter and Tipp
Great article, Sparkle! So important to have wild kitties spayed early–and what a nice lady to take in four feral kittens and give them such good care. I wish there were more people like her in the world!
Great post, Sparkle! MomKatt’s keeping this in reserve for future reference. It’s hard when you don’t have a garage, like we don’t have a garage, though when you trap kitties. We *do* have the basement, however, so that will work to put any traps in overnight …
PURRS & thank you for this!
Selina
I hope things go well..I hope SO much. Those girls need spaying.
Lots of great information. If you want, give them my email and I will be glad to help them. That is one thing that I am really good at and that is catching feral kitties. It is not hard if you are just patient. It usually takes a couple of weeks and it all depends on how big they are. I have scooped up little 4 or 5 week kittens after they had gotten used to eating around me.
Great post.
Mum says thank goodness we were done when she got us!
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Hey, I’m a domesticated cat and my mom still has to use that method to get me into the cat carrier to go to the evil v-e-t.
Excellent article Sparkle! We hope it helps alot of kitties! Have a good weekend.
What a great article, thank you my dear. Hopefully this helps some of the outdoor kitties by reducing their population.
It sounds as if the human has a big job on her hands. Congratulations for trying to look after the wild kitties. We hope you have a great success in looking after them.
Princess Aurora (Shubunkin) for The Pond Fish