That right there is what I wish I had. A little mister or spray bottle. I could get that liquid in the ears much easier. That would be much better. Replied to your mail slabsides. Sent you some pics of Backy by my gmail.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
Thats what I will try spunk. He likes tuna pretty good. Hasn't been in to eat today. Sunday would be a good time as I work the weekend.

I've trapped a couple of feral females that way to get them treated/neutered at the Vet. All the ones I've done that to have now passed to their beyond. My present feral kitty out back broke her leg a few years ago and I spent boucoup bucks getting it fixed. They neutered her while at the Vet. She likes to be petted (by me, not others) when I feed her. She is so agile that one would never know her leg had been broken.

This is my outdoor kitty, Mollie, when she was recuperating indoors:

DSC_9644.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr
flashguy

She has nice colors flashguy. Looks pretty content too.

Three words of advice:

Thick
Leather
Gloves.

You'll thank me later.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
She has nice colors flashguy. Looks pretty content too.

Well, she was supposed to stay in a crate indoors for 3 months before being allowed to run around. She got out the crate within a week and hid under the stairs for a week or two, then managed to slip out to the back yard while my Handyman was doing something out there. That photo was made before she managed to get out. However, her leg appears to have healed perfectly, even though she aborted her recuperation period. I would have allowed her to become one of my indoor menagerie, but she didn't want to.

I agree, her coloration is pleasing. One of my indoor cats has similar coloration (but I know they are not sisters, or even of the same generation).

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
dsiets, if they would trap him, that would be better. I have Have a Hartz traps, crates and transporters. If he would go for tuna in a transporter or crate, that would be handy. Couldnt get UCAN in Cincinnati to answer the phone.

Yeah, our C-Snip here in Grand Rapids just reopened recently and I imagine are behind w/ kitten season. And I found out they won't answer the phone and will only respond to messages.
Last year when I went in w/ Kiki, I had no idea the line of people waiting to check in. I can't imagine what they are like now having been closed.

If any of you are so inclined, these places sometimes have Amazon Smile accounts if don't already contribute to one.

Trap it, keep it caged and well fed with a lot of tasty food to help him forget the betrayal by a once trusted benefactor. If you have to go hands on, an $11 pair of welding gloves from HomeDepot work great for handling smaller things that bite or scratch.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
feral's are not to be trifled with, and they are super smart and wary

^^^^ This. Add in, as you suspect already, fast and equipped from birth for mayhem.

Protect everything you don't want lacerated or punctured.

Good luck Sunday!

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
feral's are not to be trifled with, and they are super smart and wary

^^^^ This. Add in, as you suspect already, fast and equipped from birth for mayhem.

Protect everything you don't want lacerated or punctured.

Good luck Sunday!

From LS1 GTO: Three words of advice:

Thick
Leather
Gloves.

You'll thank me later. Wink



Yep. There is a local group here that traps and or accepts feral cats, spays/neuters them and releases them. Planned Pethood

Driving down a dirt road, looking for a place to fish along a river in Virginia, I came across a guy feeding feral cats from his pickup truck. About 30 of them came out of the woodline to be fed. I stopped to ask him what was going on, thinking maybe he was part of the problem. He told me he was helping an old man who looks after the cats; they trap them and have them neutered. He went on, the people in the nearby town who have cats they don't want have learned to take them across the river and drop them in the wooded area near the cement plant, so they can never find their way back, and that's why there are so many in that area.

What I thought was a bad thing turned out to be a good thing. I reminded me that its bad to let cats go in the country (especially since there are no working family farms anymore that might need a mouser in the barn).

I would say your feral cat needs to be caught, thoroughly cleaned up and neutered, and then given some sort of "home" or house that can be kept clean of the ear mites and fleas with regular switches in bedding. Or maybe, that is just something the cat will have to endure.

Another problem with Ferals: Socialization.
Cats should be handled and petted at a very early age so they enjoy being handled by people. This helps during Vet exams and if you need someone to care for your cat while traveling or away from home.
My latest socialization issue: My 12 year old cat died suddenly so I went to the local shelter to adopt. Found a cat who was about 6 months old who was described as "cuddly". I took him home. Not only was he non-socialized (I suspect he was born Feral) he had been caged with very little interaction for months before I got him. I have now have had him a little over a year now. I can pet him and he likes it, but thats it. He is by no means a lap cat and is perfectly content to ignore me most of the time. He hides if I have guests and often hides if he hears people outside my town house,
My point being is that you may spend a good deal of time and $$$ on your friend but still not wind up with a companion animal. Its a roll of the dice.

^^^^^ My 6 indoor cats were all born feral in or near my back yard, but they were taken in right after they were weaned, and usually had some handling prior to that (momma cat usually not too happy about that). I did have a 7th indoor cat (my first, actually) born in the yard, but he died a few years ago. His feral mother frequented my yard for 13 years and 3 of my current cats were from one of her litters.

None of my cats are snugglers -- they don't like to be picked up or carried -- but they all like to curl up on my body when I'm in my lounge chair. A couple will spend hours there. You can see photos of my cats here https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157632943756937/. Rusty was my first cat (died in 2014) -- he and Spike, Goldie, and Silver were born to Little Mother. Smudge was born to Little White Mother, as was Lucky (who stayed outdoors). Socks and Taupe were found abandoned in the alley -- I've no idea who their mother was. The first 7 pictured became indoor cats, the other 4 remained outdoors. Only Mollie is a current outdoor visitor -- the mothers are both dead.

flashguy

See if you can roll him up in a burrito. Use a towel and try to wrap him to prevent his using his limbs and claws to stop you.

Also, he's rubbing you because he has glands in his cheeks that release a scent marking you as his. You're "his" now.

There's a systemic for ear mites that work a lot better than liquid in the ears. Ask your vet.

quote:

Originally posted by pessimist:
I have a feral that's been living indoors with me for 6 months (after a 5 plus year courtship). Took over 3 years just to pet her.

For the fleas, I was sprinkling Diatomaceous Earth in her cooler with straw and on the beds I put out for her. Also, I bought a product called Cats and Mites that comes in a little spray bottle. I would give her a squirt occasionally while she was near me. It used to aggregate her

When i was able to start petting her, i began putting Advantage flea medicine on the base of her neck and it worked well.

You shouldn't overlook this advice. It's really good stuff.

V.