At my wits end with trying to catch feral male cat

RubyK

I've been trying for years to catch a feral male cat where I work. I've successfully TNR'd 10's of male & female cats, but this fella is something else. He's getting old now, but he is incredibly vicious with 2 of my neutered males, and this mornings attack on one them was just horrible.

He bolts when he sees the cage, and will disappear for the day or longer, I've tried for years even with the help of <snip> and my local cat rescue. My only hope now I think is to sedate him, and put him into the cage, I could get him into my office, feed and sedate him and then lift him into a carrier.. Has anyone any experience of this are vets likely to give sedation medication in a case like this? I'm afraid he will maul the smaller male to death :(

loveisdivine

It depends, do you have a good relationship with your vet? Do they know you and know how you help with the feral cats?

I know with my vet, she trusts my judgement and respects my opinion when it comes to strays/ferals and if I was in a similar situation she would definitely at least discuss the options with me.

StillThinking

I have a vicious stray female, it took me a good year to TNR her, I've had no bother with other cats both male and female since. I spoke to my neighbours made sure nobody else was feeding her then I left my trap out and open with sardines in it. It was open for maybe 3 weeks, that's the only place she was getting food, I moved the food further into the trap every day but still had both ends open. Once I could see she was comfortable with eating in there I set the trap. Caught her the next day, down to the vets and got her sorted. Vets said they had bother trying to sedate her through a cage, she was wicked!

saabsaab

Had a similar problem. Got a spring trap cage, set it up with some tinned fish in a can in the trap.

First night not touched.

Second night he managed to take the tin out of the cage without triggering the trap.

Third night, set it more sensitively, he pushed in the back of the cage ignoring the door and pulled out the can again!
I looked online at this stage for help and tiewrapped the back of the cage and the fish can to the floor of the cage so he couldn't just reach in and pull it out. Also put a newspaper over the floor and the trap trigger plate to hide it, then put a stick through the bars ahead of the trigger (apparently, this distracts the cat and causes him to hit the trigger plate. At last, this worked for me!

Gael23

Is euthanasia not a better options for vicious ferals?

Kablamo!

Gael23 wrote: »

Is euthanasia not a better options for vicious ferals?

If they manage to trap him and neuter him he won't be as territorial or aggressive.

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Gael23 wrote: »

Is euthanasia not a better options for vicious ferals?

Be just as difficult to catch him to euthanise him!!

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The sedation through food option would be extremely difficult to manage I think.

What if he only eats a bit of the food, then you might have a confused and disoriented feral in your office that you still cant touch!

Or he could vomit the food and lose the sedation. Or the sedation could look like its working but then his adrenaline kicks in and he turns into a wildcat when you try to touch him!

If you can trap him in your office then I would set up a cage in the office with food in it. But your office will be destroyed with male cat pee.

RubyK

Thank you for the advice. I've spent the last few years trying the trap method, but he was impossible to catch.

I spoke with a very helpful vet, who understood my situation and gave me some sedation tablets to put in his food, so this morning I got him into the office where he ate the food. An hour later, it had kicked in, but my God I still had a real struggle to get him into the carrier, he was not happy with me!! But he is in the vets now, being done. Hopefully it will calm him down and he and my other males can live happily together.

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RubyK wrote: »

Thank you for the advice. I've spent the last few years trying the trap method, but he was impossible to catch.

I spoke with a very helpful vet, who understood my situation and gave me some sedation tablets to put in his food, so this morning I got him into the office where he ate the food. An hour later, it had kicked in, but my God I still had a real struggle to get him into the carrier, he was not happy with me!! But he is in the vets now, being done. Hopefully it will calm him down and he and my other males can live happily together.

Thats abolutely brilliant news!!

Youre a very kind person.

RubyK

....... wrote: »

Thats abolutely brilliant news!!

Youre a very kind person.

It got a bit hairy for a while, I really struggled to get him in the carrier, as you said earlier the adrenaline seemed to kick in with him. Just grateful the vet was so helpful, and life for Tom, and the other males will be easier :-)

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RubyK wrote: »

It got a bit hairy for a while, I really struggled to get him in the carrier, as you said earlier the adrenaline seemed to kick in with him. Just grateful the vet was so helpful, and life for Tom, and the other males will be easier :-)

Poor fella, he must have been terrified.

It will be great for him (and everyone else) that he is neutered and not so aggressive.

I saw a very sad image online today of an old tom who was taken to a cat rescue and he ended up being put down due to his injuries. Some of his injuries were years old, he was in a terrible state. You could see he would have been an absolutely fabulous looking cat had he been looked after. Its no life for a feral cat.

aonb

OP, do keep us posted on how you get on with your neutered feral
How old do you estimate he is? You say you've been trying to trap him for years
(How long does it take for the testosterone to "deplete" ?)
If hes coming indoor to your office to eat etc, hopefully he will settle and tame (somewhat)

RubyK

aonb wrote: »

OP, do keep us posted on how you get on with your neutered feral
How old do you estimate he is? You say you've been trying to trap him for years
(How long does it take for the testosterone to "deplete" ?)
If hes coming indoor to your office to eat etc, hopefully he will settle and tame (somewhat)

He arrived at our office fully grown, he must be with us at least 5 years, so he could be at least 6 or 7, I've been trying to neuter him from the start, as I've had a lot of kittens, which had to be re-homed, and I know he is the father of last summers litter, as his girlfriend has stayed around (also now neutered, and kittens re-homed).

Vet said it would take around a month for the testosterone levels to go.

He took off on Friday evening when I brought him back from the vets (naturally), and I called into work on Saturday to check on him, but there was no sign of him. Arrived into work this morning, and he was waiting for me, had a good rub and ate and drank well, and I haven't heard any fighting with my little other neutered guy, so hopefully, all will settle down with them. My 3rd neutered male has gone walk about for the past week, but I'm hoping he has a 2nd home