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| How do I know if a Vet is "feral friendly"? The best strating point is to contact a cat rescue or feral cat group in your area and ask for a referal. Do not contact your city or loacal animal shelter as they are likely to cause trouble for you or try and scare you away. If there are no contacts in your area to get a referal from, contact various Vets, tell them what you are planning to do and get their opinion on feral cat programs (Trap, Neuter, Return, Manage). If they are receptive, determined if they are equipped to treat feral cats. A feral friendly Vet will usually have the following attributes: - Has a squeeze cage to extract the cat from the trap - Uses stiches that dissolve or do not need to be removed - Offers discounts (I had to pay full price until the 3rd visit, now I receive a SIGNIFICANT discount) - Willing to not bill you if it is discovered the cat has already been spayed or neutered - Willing to spay/neuter only and not require shots (if you can't afford it you can't afford it) - Will spay/neuter underage kittens (If you can't keep kittens it's best to spay/neuter anyway) - Willing to notch the ears of captured cats so you can easily identify those captured previously Clean up on aisle ... Cleanliness is a must. If you have your own pets, you should always change close and keep any captured cats quarantined from your own pets. You never know what fatal disease the animal you just captured may have. Likewise, after you have captured and released a cat, always clean the trap, cage, cat carrier, ... with bleach. This will kill any contaminates and make your tools of the trade safe for reuse. (I do this even if the Vet has given the captured cat a clean bill of health) Can I tame a feral kitten(s)? Unfortunately, the answer is almost always to at least some degree. The age of the kitten and it's personality (friendly, fraidy, fighter) makes a big difference in the time, energy and methods required. As a side note, kittens that are less than 4 weeks of age should not be separated from their mother. Usually this is not a big problem as you probably will not notice them until they begin to come out of their den to play at several weeks of age. The Vet can estimate the age and advise. You can surf the web using search words "taming a feral kitten" and find lots of guidance and advise. However, the way I do it is as follows: Step 1: Isolate the kitten in a bathroom where they really can not hide under anything. Provide a litter box, bedding, toys and water but no food. (I use a cat carrier as bedding and one of my old shirts for padding). Step 2: I sit with the kitten several times a day, talking softly, playing with the toys, ... I never stare at them (it's a threat to them) or try to handle them. Each time I visit them I bring food. Initially something smelly and tempting like tuna flavored cat food and offer it via a spoon. I never leave food behind tho so they have insentive to make contact. After a week or more (depending on the kitten) I switch to dry food and make them eat out of my hand and intice them to play. Step 3: Once they are comfortable with me I move them to my home office were we spend all our days together, they meet other humans and cats and become more and more sociable. At this point I start looking to adopt them out. Using this method I have had kittens come around in a matter of 3 days (friendly) and one that has taken a year (now wants to sit in my lap. likes petting but don't try and carry it.) Can I tame an older feral? In general, the answer is no. The exceptions are if the cat once had a home and was tame at one time and two if you are willing to put in years of trying and don't plan to try and adopt the cat out or you find an adoptee that is willing to put in the years. For once tame cats, the same methods for taming a kitten have worked well for me. In one case, I actually began feeding from hand while the cat was wild and caught it by hand Vs using a trap. It took about 3 weeks to gain it's confidence tho. For true feral adult cats, I move them immediately into my home office, but I keep them in a large cage until they become comfortable with having me open the cage door for cleaning the cat box and feeding. I also wait untill the daily hissing at the other cats or from the other cats stops and then release into the room. The cat will either come around or it won't. It either begins to desire the petting the other cats get or because a part of the decor. |
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| Who Do I Use? |
| Family Pet Care 1501 Handley Drive Ft Worth, Tx 76112 817-451-7387 |
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