What to do about an injured feral cat?
January 9, 2021 2:43 PM Subscribe
Feral neighborhood cat appears to be injured, what to do? Additional details below the fold.
Apologies in advance for the length! Shadow has been in our neighborhood for at least the past two years. Both us and a neighbor have looked after her (we think it's a her) as best as we can, mainly putting out food and water on our porches and trying to see if we can socialize her. Neighbor unfortunately moved away last summer, meaning we're it at the moment. We suspect that she was born feral - she is also ear-clipped so must've been TNRed at some point.
In terms of where she falls socializing-wise: normally pre-injury she was happy to see us (meows, raised tail) and will sometimes roll on the ground in front of us. She also loves to follow us on walks (hence the name shadow). However, petting is a definite NO - we have tried for a while now and she's just not willing to get within 2-3 feet of a person (she will give you a very brief paw tap if you're lucky, but nothing more). She also didn't seem to show any interest in coming indoors. We decided to keep feeding and talking to her, even if she cannot be an indoor cat she could still have some companionship.
Fast-forward to this week. Shadow stopped coming around for food 3 days ago, no sign of her anywhere till this afternoon when we found her hanging out in a neighbor's bushes far away from our townhouse. She was very withdrawn and when she started walking it was obvious she had a broken or at least very injured front leg :( We tried catching her with a towel to try to take her to a vet, but she took off (with surprising speed).
We have since called several places for ideas or to see if they might be able to help us trap her: the county shelter (who forwarded us to Animal Control, who said they don't do traps outdoors and might not be able to help much), as well as several local animal organizations (local welfare league, SPCA, etc). Most were closed for the weekend so I had to leave a message, hopefully will hear back from a few in the coming days. We also are starting a Nextdoor thread to see if anyone has ideas, but no responses yet.
Any other ideas both immediately and longer-term? We don't have a game plan beyond hopefully getting her to a vet (if she will let us). Money isn't a concern, we're fine paying vet bills if needed. Some other potential complicating factors (which might be deserving of a seperate Ask): we live in a townhouse with no garage and already have an indoor cat (who does not get along with others) so I have no idea what we'd do with her if she has to be inside. Also I recently found out we will likely be moving overseas for my job mid-2022 (non-negotiable if I want to stay employed, unfortunately) so gotta factor that in as well.
We live in the DC-area NoVA suburbs if it matters. Thanks!
Apologies in advance for the length! Shadow has been in our neighborhood for at least the past two years. Both us and a neighbor have looked after her (we think it's a her) as best as we can, mainly putting out food and water on our porches and trying to see if we can socialize her. Neighbor unfortunately moved away last summer, meaning we're it at the moment. We suspect that she was born feral - she is also ear-clipped so must've been TNRed at some point.
In terms of where she falls socializing-wise: normally pre-injury she was happy to see us (meows, raised tail) and will sometimes roll on the ground in front of us. She also loves to follow us on walks (hence the name shadow). However, petting is a definite NO - we have tried for a while now and she's just not willing to get within 2-3 feet of a person (she will give you a very brief paw tap if you're lucky, but nothing more). She also didn't seem to show any interest in coming indoors. We decided to keep feeding and talking to her, even if she cannot be an indoor cat she could still have some companionship.
Fast-forward to this week. Shadow stopped coming around for food 3 days ago, no sign of her anywhere till this afternoon when we found her hanging out in a neighbor's bushes far away from our townhouse. She was very withdrawn and when she started walking it was obvious she had a broken or at least very injured front leg :( We tried catching her with a towel to try to take her to a vet, but she took off (with surprising speed).
We have since called several places for ideas or to see if they might be able to help us trap her: the county shelter (who forwarded us to Animal Control, who said they don't do traps outdoors and might not be able to help much), as well as several local animal organizations (local welfare league, SPCA, etc). Most were closed for the weekend so I had to leave a message, hopefully will hear back from a few in the coming days. We also are starting a Nextdoor thread to see if anyone has ideas, but no responses yet.
Any other ideas both immediately and longer-term? We don't have a game plan beyond hopefully getting her to a vet (if she will let us). Money isn't a concern, we're fine paying vet bills if needed. Some other potential complicating factors (which might be deserving of a seperate Ask): we live in a townhouse with no garage and already have an indoor cat (who does not get along with others) so I have no idea what we'd do with her if she has to be inside. Also I recently found out we will likely be moving overseas for my job mid-2022 (non-negotiable if I want to stay employed, unfortunately) so gotta factor that in as well.
We live in the DC-area NoVA suburbs if it matters. Thanks!
Good luck! Yeah... No specific advice on trapping except patience and maybe food. Nothing has "worked" for me except determination. (A buddy and some pillowcases also help.) You could let her recover in your bathroom. Expect her to pee all over whatever room you put her in. That's all I've got, but good luck and hope she feels better soon.
posted by slidell at 6:41 PM on January 9, 2021
posted by slidell at 6:41 PM on January 9, 2021
When we had a feral cat have a litter under out shed, I went out and got one of these traps for the mom. Baited it with food, and got her fairly quickly. Maybe set it up where you usually give her food? Be careful getting her out, as she will not be a happy camper.
posted by pyro979 at 7:15 PM on January 9, 2021
posted by pyro979 at 7:15 PM on January 9, 2021
I’m surprised the Humane Society won’t loan you a humane trap—most of them do. If you have any sort of neighborhood Facebook group or NextDoor ask there—I bet multiple people have traps they will loan you. You can also buy them at Ace Hardware.
Once you have a trap you just need to bait it with food and put it where you usually feed the cat. Use the stinkiest, fishiest food you can find.
posted by Violet Hour at 7:29 PM on January 9, 2021
Once you have a trap you just need to bait it with food and put it where you usually feed the cat. Use the stinkiest, fishiest food you can find.
posted by Violet Hour at 7:29 PM on January 9, 2021
Here is a link to an old answer I wrote about trapping and taming feral kittens. (Ignore the part about using a “large squirrel-sized” trap.) Adult cats are harder to tame than kittens but sometimes they act surprisingly tame when they are caged, you just don’t know until you try. This cat already trusts you as a source of food so that helps.
posted by Violet Hour at 8:22 PM on January 9, 2021
posted by Violet Hour at 8:22 PM on January 9, 2021
I've done some feral TNR, and it can be tough with older cats. DO NOT TRY AND CATCH THE CAT WITH A BLANKET: you will freak the cat out and possibly make the injury worse. Plus feral cats can carry lots of diseases, and you will get bitten if you try and do it by hand. Rabies isn't fun, so don't take that chance.
Your best hope is a Haveahart trap (linked in an answer above). Don't forget that you can manually trigger them with a stick and a bit of string in the mechanism that drops the door: pull the string and the door drops. That makes it easier.
As soon as Shadow is trapped, cover the trap with a blanket and the cat will calm down. They do usually resign themselves to their fate when covered. Don't peek: that can freak them out.
Once trapped, leave the cat in the trap somewhere quiet and dark. A garage is perfect. The vet will know how to handle the cat once you get there: they will probably have a way to knock them out to examine them.
posted by baggers at 7:41 AM on January 10, 2021
Your best hope is a Haveahart trap (linked in an answer above). Don't forget that you can manually trigger them with a stick and a bit of string in the mechanism that drops the door: pull the string and the door drops. That makes it easier.
As soon as Shadow is trapped, cover the trap with a blanket and the cat will calm down. They do usually resign themselves to their fate when covered. Don't peek: that can freak them out.
Once trapped, leave the cat in the trap somewhere quiet and dark. A garage is perfect. The vet will know how to handle the cat once you get there: they will probably have a way to knock them out to examine them.
posted by baggers at 7:41 AM on January 10, 2021
Response by poster: Thanks all. She did show up very early this morning for food (first time in four days), so that's something. We're going to see if we can get her coming back consistently and plan to call our regular vet tomorrow to see if they can assist if we are able to trap her. Unfortunately we are in a semi-urban area with very small yard and do not have a garage or closed-in porch.
For anyone else who might find this question, the group we heard back from is Animal Allies of VA - they have been extraordinarily helpful!
posted by photo guy at 11:05 AM on January 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
For anyone else who might find this question, the group we heard back from is Animal Allies of VA - they have been extraordinarily helpful!
posted by photo guy at 11:05 AM on January 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Big tip: do NOT feed her except for food in the trap. Since she's coming back to you now she's hungry. She will eventually be hungry enough to go into the trap to eat. If you can't get the trap right away you should still not feed her or not feed her enough to feel full. She won't die if she doesn't eat for one or two days (but talk to a vet before going longer than that).
Good luck with catching her! You are doing a great thing for her, even though she may never understand or appreciate it.
posted by possibilityleft at 12:29 PM on January 10, 2021
Good luck with catching her! You are doing a great thing for her, even though she may never understand or appreciate it.
posted by possibilityleft at 12:29 PM on January 10, 2021
It pretty much had to be trap and vet visit. There's probably a cat rescue group that can help you with specific details, but once trapped, put a blanket over the cage and leave in a dark with minimal noise area, like a garage. You need it to be relatively calm when vets come to visit or you take it to the vet.
posted by kschang at 7:04 PM on January 11, 2021
posted by kschang at 7:04 PM on January 11, 2021
Response by poster: Thanks all - we do have a trap and a plan now. No garage so we're going to use a spare bathroom for holding and hope we can keep our indoor cat sequestered in a different part of the house. She is at least coming back consistently now so going to try trapping tonight or tomorrow. She is acting more normal now fortunately, but still won't put weight on the leg :(
posted by photo guy at 8:00 AM on January 13, 2021
posted by photo guy at 8:00 AM on January 13, 2021
Response by poster: Last update - we were successful trapping (on the first try!), took him to the vet today. Turns out Shadow is a he! Leg is just a puncture wound thankfully, should heal. Also got him some vaccinations and fluids. He is FIV positive unfortunately, but otherwise no long-term issues. We plan to keep him indoors one more night before letting him roam free again.
posted by photo guy at 11:44 AM on January 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by photo guy at 11:44 AM on January 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
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Will still keep this open in case other people have advice/suggestions...
posted by photo guy at 3:10 PM on January 9, 2021 [3 favorites]