I think I messed up with the kitten tonight

[Rajah]

I was too impatient to get the kitten and I think I messed up. I had her *again* tonight, but she keeps pushing on the plastic door and squeezing out of the corner before I can get up there and push it closed with my hand. I think I'm going to *have* to go with the trap instead of the carrier because the only ones we have with metal doors are too small for her to be willing to go into, plus are Blaze and Skye's personal carriers and I don't want to use them.

Anyway, after she escaped again tonight, she wouldn't come finish eating while I was there. She grabbed a couple of bites, then ran off and stayed curled up behind a tire looking at it. So I ended up taking the food back to the spot where I usually leave it for her.

I know the real problem is I'm being impatient. I have her place all set up for her -- all I need is her and to set up her litterbox, and I was hoping to have her in there tonight.

I'll see how she greets me tomorrow night. I may or may not try again for a few nights. I don't want to break her trust of me entirely, and it would probably be better for me to wait a few days before trying again, right?

 

[KaraKW]

Stray kitties have minds of their own, don't they? LOL!

I would be patient. You just can't rush the trust of a cat. It will come with time... I know it's not easy, though!

Hang in there!!!

Kara

 

[catsrule]

Hang in there! So glad you are there for kitty. She will come out again, eventually. Good Luck with your kitty rescue!

 

[Laurabearz]

Keep putting food out .... and when you see her move slow, and talk sweetly. I dont know if you have tried making a trail of treats for the cat to follow... Kinda like fishing for cats... Take some solid food and toss it in the bushes, or where ever she retreats, when you fringten her..... then slowly toss them closer to you.... all the while moving slowly. Even backing off and going away for a few minutes... Then slowly move back and toss a few more treats in her direction.

I use to catch strays with the local "cat lady" , she had 20 cats herself and spent all her 'old family money' catching stray cats, She neuterd/spayed the cats and if she couldnt tame them she either gave them homes (more often than not HER home) or released them back, to live a long and happy street cat life without adding to the cat population.....

She used large dog cages lined and covered in towels (each set of towels only had the scent of the cat we were trying to catch... after a while they grew to like them and felt comforable going farther and farther in the cage....then with a rope pull for the door.......... snap. We worked in teams of 3 or 4. And averaged 2 cats a week.... But each cat took 2 or 3 weeks to catch (we had many many traps....) working 6 hour days. It was an interesting summer.


I wish you the best of luck. And please make sure if she scratches you, you go to the doctor ASAP and if you caught her, take her to the vet to get tested. Rabies and other nasties are nothing to mess with.

Good luck!

 

[Eeyore1954]

In my book, you are an ANGEL! I appreciate anyone who would take this much time and effort to rescue to stray kitten. Be patient and keep trying.

 

[Big Dude]

OK, I'm going to give you my secret at catching cats and I hope this will work for you. The big secret? Get yourself one of those cheap laser pointers (usually can be found for $5.00 to $10.00 at a Walmart or Staples). Cats find the laser light irresistible to catch. You'll have the kitten going around in circles in no time. You can then bring the light closer and closer to you or even into the carrier. If the kitten is like any of the other cats I've met, it will follow that light to get it. My cats are 12 and 5 years old and they still can't get enough of that laser light. As with any other lasers, do not point it directly into the cat's eyes, or your own eyes for that matter Anyway, happy hunting and thanks for caring.

Adam aka Big Dude

 

[Rajah]

I guess I didn't mess up too badly by what y'all are describing -- because while she wouldn't come out from under the car, she didn't run *away* farther than one car until the end of the night. She just wouldn't come out.

Laurabearz -- that's cool that you got to work in a team for catching cats. You just described exactly what I've been doing, though. She wouldn't even come out for the treats tossed 2 feet away from her (tuna chunks, which she loves). She may have just gotten enough to eat that she didn't feel the food was worth the risk because I saw her go from "foodfoodfoodfood" to "groomgroomgroomgroomnapnapnapnap", which is usually part of the natural eat/sleep cycle of a cat. Napnapnap isn't usually followed by foodfoodfood again for several minutes to a couple of hours.

I've been trying to catch her by having a string tied to the door of the carrier. The problem isn't *catching* her in the carrier -- it's *keeping* her in the carrier. With me 5 feet away, before I can scramble to my feet and get to the door to snap it closed with the locks, she's pushed the bottom corner of the door enough that it bends the plastic door and she runs out. I'm trying to figure out how I could reinforce the door so she couldn't bend it so easily, or possibly tie the string better (like instead of at the top corner, maybe both top and bottom) so she can't bend the door before I get there. The difference between catching her and keeping her is about 10 seconds, if that. If I could get her to eat with me sitting closer, I could catch her. Or if I could just reinforce the door. I don't want to use a different carrier because the only ones we have with metal doors that wouldn't twist so easily are too small to catch her in and are Blaze and Skye's carriers. The carrier I'm using now belonged to Sage. It's bigger, but it's all plastic.

I think tonight and tomorrow night, I'm only going to take food down and see if I can get her to come out and eat with me only 3 feet away or even only 2. If she comes close enough for me to be able to get to the carrier door (if I had the carrier with me, which I won't for the next 2 or 3 nights) I'll try it again with that carrier.

I may also see if my parents still have our old dog's carrier. I think that's a little bigger, and made of stronger plastic with a metal door instead of a plastic one. I know they don't use that with their current dog so if they still have it, they might let me use it, and that would be better than the live trap that I'm not even sure she's heavy enough to set off.

I just got impatient. I knew that I should have just brought food last night -- I've only been trying this for about a week and a half now, and I know the process usually takes a little longer. I just got impatient because I have a place set up for her and I wanted her in it, and I worry about her being in the parking lot every day.

(Oh -- by the way -- I'm taking every precaution I can. When I close the carrier door and lock it, I'll be wearing heavy-duty gloves. I haven't ever tried touching her and I won't until she's been tested and found clean, and I've arranged with my vet to be able to bring her in first thing in the morning whichever morning I catch her and, if noone's available immediately, just leave her there for the day so that someone will be able to get to her and test her for things like rabies, FIV, FELV, and even the mundane things like fleas and worms or other pests. Clothes worn when trying to catch her are going directly to the clothes hamper even though I haven't ever gotten closer to her than 3 feet except the one time I had her in the carrier and had picked up the carrier but had no glove. And I do a full washing of myself when I get inside, and she'll have no contact with Blaze or Skye until she's found "clean" and/or we've cleaned everything up.)

 

[Laurabearz]

Good to hear your taking precautions...

Maybe if you tie a string both on the top and on the bottom then feed the lines thru the cage (instaed of on the outside) So the force of you holding the door shut is straight back, thus harder for her to push the door out. DOes that make sense?

Good luck.

 

[Rajah]

That's exactly what I was thinking of trying next. I'm going to do some experimenting on my back porch before taking the carrier back down for her again.

The catch is going to be how to get that to work without alerting her sooner that the door is being closed.

 

[helenabear]

Good luck Rajah! You are doing such a good thing by trying to get this stray off the streets. I hope you have sucess soon and I am sure with a little patience you'll have the kitten.