Cat Blog 4b

I’ve trapped a feral cat – what now?

Don’t stress if the cat seems to be very afraid and begins to jump around in the trap as you start moving towards the trap. It’s always hard to see a cat in distress, but remind yourself that you’re doing the cat the biggest kindness possible. If it’s a girl, she will never again have to use scarce resources raising young. And if it’s a boy, he will be less inclined to fight with other toms.

• Approach the cat from the side so that he or she can hide behind the towel or blanket that is already in place. While talking reassuringly to the cat, cover the trap completely with the towel or blanket. Cats can injure themselves in their frantic efforts to escape from a trap. So make sure that you never to leave a cat uncovered in a trap. (The towel or blanket should remain in place at the vet’s as well. You could leave a small peep-hole open to enable the cat to orient himself or herself.)
• If the door of the trap is inclined to slide open, you can secure it with a piece of string or wire.
• Now move the covered trap to an area where other cats can’t see or hear the cat you’ve already trapped. This will help ensure that the other cats don’t become afraid of the traps.
• Before leaving the premises, examine the cat for lactation to determine whether she is perhaps suckling. (Place the trap on a higher surface and try to get a good look at the cat’s tummy.) If the cat is lactating, ask the vet to sterilise her as soon as possible and to administer a reversal of the anaesthesia afterwards. Release her four or five hours later, after ensuring that she’s awake and alert. This will enable her to return to her young.

• In the car on the way to the vet, play soothing music. 
• When delivering the cat to the vet, you may want to provide the assistant with a cardboard lid that could be used as a temporary litter box. Alternatively provide a thick layer of newspaper. While the cat is sedated, the vet’s assistant will place food and water in the trap together with the ‘litter box’ or newspaper. (You needn’t remove these when collecting the cat, although you may want to syringe out the water.)
• Ask the vet to tip the cat’s ear during the procedure to show that he or she has been sterilised. This is very important to prevent the cat from being trapped again in future.
• Point out to the vet or his/her assistant if they need to re-secure the trap door with wire or string after replacing the cat in the trap.
• If a reversal has been administered, you can collect the cat four or five hours after the procedure.
• When picking the cat up from the vet, check as best you can whether everything is in order with his or her wound. There should be almost no blood on the newspapers, for example. If you can manage a peek at the wound itself, so much the better!
•  Unless a reversal has been administered, release the cat on the day following the sterilisation only. Make sure that you release the cat in his or her familiar territory – if possible in the same place where you trapped them.

More about how to trap a wary cat in Cat Blog 4c!

Did you know?

 

Cat quote of the week

A happy arrangement: many people prefer cats to other people, and many cats prefer people to other cats.

Mason Cooley

Cat Story 6

The magical, true story of Tao the Siamese cat

(Pics are unfortunately not of Tao himself, and names have been changed.)

Bringing my car to an abrupt stop, I jumped out and grabbed the empty carrier I always had with me. I knew that no cat would be lying in that spot unless he or she were in trouble!

Slowly and carefully I approached the beautiful cat while making soothing sounds. He didn’t seem phased by my presence, but he was panting – a sure sign of distress. I knelt down beside him, and his panting turned into purring. This was also a sign of stress, but he seemed to sense that I was there to help him. It became clear very quickly that he couldn’t move the bottom part of his body.

I placed the carrier next to him and opened it. Then I gently grasped his scruff and began drawing him into the carrier very slowly. He kept purring. When he was all the way in, I closed the carrier and carefully placed it on the passenger seat of my car.

I felt a great sense of urgency to get this poor cat to a vet as soon as I could. For some reason I decided to take him to a vet some distance from where I was, which I intuitively felt would be the right one in the circumstances.

When I arrived at the vet, I explained the situation to the receptionist. Within a few minutes the vet was carefully examining the cat.

‘He’s probably been hit by a car,’ he said after a brief examination. ‘His pelvis is fractured, so he may need surgery.’

The next morning the vet’s assistant called me. ‘We found the cat’s owner,’ she said, completely unexpectedly.

I was delighted but also puzzled. ‘What, already?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ she responded. ‘The lady and her daughter brought a missing poster they wanted to put up in our waiting room. It was only a short time after you had brought the cat to us. They could hardly believe that their missing cat was here, as he’d been missing for several weeks already. They were ecstatic to see him! The cat’s name is Tao, and his owner would like to meet you and give you a reward.’

I was elated – Tao’s humans had been found, and I would be meeting them and seeing Tao again. AND I would be receiving a reward, which my organisation NCat (http://www.ncat.co.za) would be able to use to sterilise a few more cats!

A few months earlier, Rina and her husband had gone on holiday. While they were away, their daughter visited Tao daily. But then New Year came, with its terrifying fireworks, and Tao must have taken fright and gone into hiding somewhere.

Rina and her husband, Wouter, cut short their holiday and returned home, desperate to find Tao. Every day they walked and drove up and down in their area, calling and putting up posters.

After several days of futile searching, Wouter made a pledge to Rina. ‘I will find Tao if it’s the last thing I do,’ he said solemnly.

The very next day, Wouter had a massive heart attack and died.

Upon hearing this, I was filled with a feeling of wonder. I knew immediately that it had been Wouter who had led me down the unfamiliar turnoff on the day I found Tao. It had also been Wouter who had guided me to the one vet that his wife would be visiting that same day.

You see, he was keeping his promise to Rina. He brought Tao back to her.

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