There is a stray cat (named Pat) that lives in our backyard. I feed him twice a day, and I want him to come live inside with us. He’s pretty friendly, and will let me pet him and will also take food right from my hand. I would guess that he’s about 8 -10 months old.
Now, we already have a cat, so this needs to be done in one fell swoop – get Pat in a carrier, take him directly to the vet for a check up, neutering and vaccinations, and then establish him in our home.
The problem is that I have already screwed this up. We keep a cat carrier with blankets outside in the yard for him, and he sleeps in it. I lured him inside with food, with the intention of shutting the door on him. However, I was timid about slamming the door because I didn’t want to hurt him, so he weaseled out. Pat still sleeps in the carrier, but won’t stay inside it if I get anywhere near it.
Help! I asked my vet what to do, and sadly the vet (with whom I have been very happy otherwise) sort of implied that only a very stupid person couldn’t manage to get a cat into a cat carrier.
Good point! He lets me pet him, but not pick him up. Since he’s a stray, I’m a little worried about struggling with him enough to make him bite me, because I don’t know if he has any diseases.
I would seriously reconsider allowing a stray into your home, especially if you have another cat. If he hasn’t been neutered he’s already familiar with the rituals of territory marking. Your entire house could possibly become his property, much to the dismay of you current pet and you (the smell is atrocious). I’d suggest not doing anything. If he sleeps in the carrier, remove the door and leave be. If you take him to the vet in it he will probably never sleep in it again, and in turn may run away as soon as he’s able. After he marks your house up…
I would suggest tossing a thick towel over your shoulder when ya pick him up. Then it’s easy to wrap him up, and stuff him the carrier without causing yourself too much pain. Granted, he’s not gonna like ya for a while, but with a warm place to sleep, regular meals and lotsa love, he’ll get over it quick enough.
I have to agree with CelticCowboy. (Almost typed Catboy!) If he’s been living out of doors for any length of time he should acclimate to the comforts of home quickly, and any minor offenses you commited in the process of getting him to the veterinarian will be soon forgotten.
Three of the five cats I’ve had were strays, two of which were introduced into an already cat-populated household. As long as he’s healthy, it should work out fine.
If he’s quite happily sleeping in the carrier, could you close it while he’s asleep? If all else fails, try putting some catnip at the back of the carrier and being really quick at closing the door while he’s distracted.
Seriously though, a vet check is vital - you don’t want to get attached to this kitty only to find that he has major health problems or presents a risk to your other cat.
I’ve made pets of several stray cats, but it can take a long time to get them to trust you if they have reason not to trust humans. The fact that he allows you to pet him is a good sign, but you may need to be patient with him.
Feed him, pamper him, love him and pet him. Make little attempts like your’re picking him up and then put him down and he’ll get used to it. Being a stray you just have to know that he no doubt has been mistreated by humans who just have this damn thing for abusing cats. (I’d like to abuse them a few times.) I’ve had a couple of strays, in fact my current fat, happy and somewhat eccentric inside cat was a stray. One shy stray took me months to let me pet her, the poor dear little thing had been abused so and I managed that by putting out her favorite food and sitting nearer and nearer to it each time I fed her. Then after she fed, she’d hang around me, purring and I started petting her. I had to increase my plans in a hurry because winter hit and it was going to get real cold, so the first cold night, I went out and she came out of my utility room to say hi and before she could blink, I grabbed her furry butt up and whisked her inside.
She was NOT happy for a time, but with a lot of soft words, the warmth of a heater set out just for her to bask in front of and plenty of food, milk and a fresh cat box, she forgave me. (My resident cat, however, was a bit bemused that his window friend was inside and kind of acted like ‘now what have you done?’ and wanted to play, but she was afraid of him in person, so I had to keep them apart for a time.)
Later on, I took her to the vet in a cat box (with her meowing piteously all of the way and about breaking my heart! – I’ve a real soft spot for cats, especially strays.)
Snatch him up if you have to and bundle him in the box and get to the vet. When you get home, be prepared to do a lot of apologizing, loving and petting because he’ll be scared and trapped. Watch it when you go in and out because for weeks he’ll try to get out and you do not want that. Be prepared to love your already resident cat a lot also, because he/she will get jealous of you lavishing extra attention on the ‘new’ cat if you don’t fluff his fur a bit extra too now and then. Buy a fresh litter box for him also and later, your cats can share one. You’ll know it because both will start using both boxes.
We adopted a stray that had made its way to a shelter via a couple of abusive owners and was subsequently returned twice for hissing and biting and whatnot. It seems youngish so I don’t think the spraying thing will be an issue-but definitely get it checked out for FIV and Feline Leukemia and give him all the shots and neuter it. And be prepared-our little baby is a changed girl but for a year she was distrustful and would strike out if we approached her too fast from behind-I guess she had been kicked quite a bit so it’s instinctive-not personal for them. So agreed-the stray issue shouldn’t be a big deal if he already sort of trusts you I doubt you’ll have that much of a problem. Actually our former stray sticks closer to the house than the kitten we adopted at 6 weeks.
I don’t know about turning this cat into a COMPLETE indoor cat-I strongly suspect he’ll still want to start going outside at some point and once you think he’s willing to call it his house and not run away you may have to start letting him out in the yard or suffer several outraged yowls (personally experienced).
The easiest way to catch him is to rent one of the Hav-a-Hart traps, just make sure it is big enough. They rent very cheaply and sometimes you can borrow them for free from your county animal control department. Cover it with the same blankets that you have been using so that it smells the same.
I can’t urge you strongly enough to have it checked for FIV and FeLV by your veterinarian and then having it vaccinated before exposing your other cat to the stray.
That having been taken care of, I can say that some of the best cats I have had the privilege of knowing have been strays. They miss the outdoors for a short while but the advantages of warmth and a constant supply of food quickly convice them that they now have a good thing going! My current cat is 17 years old and was originally a stray. She hasn’t gone outdoors since she was found, and hasn’t missed it at all.
delphica, I’ve done this numerous times, and you have numerous options at your disposal.
One option is to simply pick him/her up and stuff him/her in the carrier. Since cats automatically resort to instinct in that kind of situation, wearing a leather jacket and gloves is advisable.
Another option is a have-a-heart trap (you can probably obtain one from the local ASPCA). Place some extra smelly food inside it and the cat will come. The weight of the cat triggers the closure of the door. For the cats well being, I would recommend that you be nearby during this procedure to throw a blanket over the trap–the darkness will calm it to some extent.
Since the cat is already used to sleeping in the carrier you have so generously provided, you can rig it to close without being nearby. All you need is some duct tape and…no, that’s MacGuyver. Tie some string to the door and route it through the interior so that you can pull it shut. Keep a lot of tension on the string while you approach the carrier to lock it.
Anyway you go about it wil traumatize him/her to some extent, but it’s worth it in the end. I have four little children myself that I adopted through these means. Good luck with the capture!
Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I’m going to tackle Pat and his carrier issues next Monday. I’m just goofy enough to try to jury rig the carrier door myself, as per Nen’s suggestion. Which, I suppose, realistically means that the Monday following, I will be renting a trap.
I’m avoiding the catnip for this little operation, because catnip can get unaltered male cats so excited that they spray – and if all goes well, I will be dropping him off at the vet on the way to work. I don’t always like my coworkers, but even I don’t think it’s fair to spend the day stinking of l’eau de bon temps de chat.
I have high hopes for Gryffin (the current cat and reigning champion) and Pat getting along. Gryffin is good with other cats, as we cat sit a lot for friends, and he and Pat have been window pals for a few months now (sounds like J248974’s cats).
