poo (updated video!)

No-no-no! You can still catch it!
Can you borrow/rent a cat trap? I bought one for about $40 at a Home Improvement store and I've 'rented' one from Animal Control, give them $50, you get the trap, when you return the trap you get your $50 back.
If kitty is hungry, they'll go in! You can do it!

We have a live trap at home for like...raccoons. And a tiny one for squirrels. I set some dry food out on my back porch earlier and now it is gone, but I dont know if the kitten ate it or someone's dog haha
I'm going to keep giving it food and getting close to it. It got to the point earlier where it would eat out of the can of food while my hand was right next to it. I wish I hadn't tried to close the cage, I should have waited longer :(

Don't give up !!!! and keep us posted. ;)

Thanks! I hope I can find it again. It's very elusive... I suppose maybe tomorrow or the next day it will get hungry again and show up. I'm going to tell my neighbors to keep an eye open for it and let me know. It's just a little tabby but it seems so cute to me. I can tell it wants to be petted, it was crying and watching me and rubbing on everything in sight. It is so sweet looking.

One of the mistakes rescuers make is when closing that door. You gotta just slam it home and hold it there to get it latched through all the kitty's panicked antics to make sure you've *got* them. There is time for gentle finesse later, but not at the initial capture. The kitty may be spooked, but I think you may still be able to catch it. You're feeding it and I do believe they can *sense* when people want to help them. Just keep smiling (lips closed), moving slow and providing food. I would also recommend *meowing* at it. Mimic as close as you can, the sounds it is making. It is telling you it wants to trust you and when you make those sounds back to it, you are telling it the same things. You'll be able to catch it!

I think my trap is raccoon sized?
I remember I had *rigged* it to not spring with the trip-plate and I tied a light cord to it to catch a litter of kittens. The kitties would let me stand/crouch about 20' away and I used zip-ties and cereal box cardboard to make a kitten-sized opening ([i]I was trying to catch all the kittens, not the adult cats at that time[/i]) and only 3 went in while one played on the outside. I decided to spring it and I watched in dismay as the 4th one shot off into the woods. Alone.
I felt soooo bad.
I brought the three into my bathroom that I'd already set up and then took the trap back out and set it with the trip-plate. W/in 2hrs I had caught that final kitten and reunited it with its' siblings. I was able to catch their mother the next day and she was TNR'd. Their father was done the following summer.

The four, I named them Bella, Bonnie, Leo and Tabby:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/…]
After a few weeks of socialization:[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/…]

Their mother, The-Pretty-Green-Eyed-Cat, "Pretty":
*this relaxed photo represents [b]5 years[/b] of hard work to tame and socialize her. I TNR'd her December of 2004 and she didn't let me get close enough to just barely, lightly, touch her fur for a scant moment until February of 2006. It was late 2007 before she began to come inside for short periods of time and she has been 100% indoors for the last year.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/…]
This pic was from early 2008, note how 'alert' and non-relaxed she is, compared to the other pic:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/…]

Their sire, a brown tabby with brown stripes, Dusty:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/…]
*we lost him Jan 2nd, 2009, very suddenly at the vet's. His loss is still hard for me to accept.

What gorgeous cats! Thanks for the tips and encouragement! Mom has been wanting a kitten and its just not "kitten season". And even if I get this one and it ends up not working out for me, I could at least foster it. It's so cute, the only reason I could see for it not working out is if it just needed to be an only pet. I know Caddy was MISERABLE when we had other cats at the same time as him, he just was a lump. As soon as he was an only cat he perked up tons.

I'm sorry to hear of your sudden loss Heidi. :sad I'm curious to know what happened, but I know it can be hard to talk about. :cry:

Aah, the joys of kitten catching, how I remember them well :rofl
Do NOT use your hands!!
I have been bitten quite badly by the sweetest most adorable little fiends....er....dear little kittens, but food is most definitely the way to a kittens heart.
Use really good, top of the line, cat food, I never touch the stuff normally, but it really smells good if you are a cat.
Mine get good, old fashioned, meat, and like it, but they do prefer the tinned stuff, I guess it is like kids and MacDonald's??
You may get it with just food, butI would go for a trap if you can, as Heidi says you have to jam that lid down tight and hang on,if you are going to try to catch it with a basket, no faint hearted shutting it gently, slam it down and hang on!! :bounce
Good Luck with this, I have done it many times, and always felt the rewards were well worth it.

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]
Mine get good, old fashioned, meat, and like it, but they do prefer the tinned stuff, I guess it is like kids and MacDonald's??[/quote]
:rofl Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-hah! I call most commercial cat foods "[b]McKittyCrack[/b]" because it is just like junk/fast-food; tasty, but not that good for you over the long term AND the little boogers tend to get "hooked" on it, just like drugs so I think McKittyCrack is appropriate.

My apologies, this will be lengthy... :oops:

Dusty
I noticed Dusty wanting to spend more time outside than inside, the last month of 2008. On New Year's Eve when I fed everyone inside, he walked towards the back door to ask to go back out and I saw him stagger a few steps sideways so I isolated him in the bedroom. We *had* to go out that evening. One of our good friends was suffering a marriage crisis and *really* shouldn't have been alone on that night. In fact, if Dusty hadn't been at home, I'd have insisted Kenny and I stay the night to keep an eye on our friend.

We got home and Dusty seemed okay, just chillaxin as usual, nothing serious or emergency-worthy. I set him on the bed and was petting him. When I got up, I noticed that my leg was warm/wet ... he had peed right there, with no indication it was happening. I made him a bed on the floor under my sewing table so I could drape a sheet over it and make it cozy for him. New Year's Day he wasn't active at all, though he did eat, drink and use the litterbox. The next morning I called and got a vet appointment at 11am.

...and this is where it all went wrong...

Dusty didn't want to go in the carrier and I had to 'man-handle' him a bit. Nothing terrible, just a scruff-and-stuff, but he was resisting and making things difficult for me. He wasn't struggling, other than using his feet to resist going into the carrier, but when I stuffed him in I had laid him over my arm ([i]hindquarters in my L hand, body along my L arm and R-hand on his scruff while using my R arm to brace his body along my other arm[/i]) so I could slide him in end-first and he was on his back/side with his feet up the side of the carrier. He was yowling in a rhythmic way. I carried him to the LR and set him down to pick up my purse and keys and he didn’t right himself, just kept yowling. I opened the carrier door and he didn’t react as I moved him onto his side so he could easily get up.

In the car, he continued his yowling and when I checked him, he was pulling his head backwards over his spine. I lost it. I started crying, yelling to him to hang on, it was only 3mi to the vet, 2mi of that on 55mph roads. I was crying, driving, trying to monitor him and keep safe on the road. It was a nightmare. Finally, about a half-mile from the vet he slowed his yowling down to soft cries but he still looked staring and unresponsive so I was still a mess.

When I parked and lifted his carrier, he began yowling again and I just left the car door open and my purse sitting on the front seat as I ran him inside. Here I am, sobbing and crying and the secretary looked up at me as I came rushing in. I spoke as quickly as I could: “I think I hurt him putting him in the carrier! He was posturing and looked like he was having a seizure on the drive over!” As I was relaying this info as I came across the lobby to her, she was standing up and reaching for his carrier to take him immediately back to the general treatment room.

I sat in the waiting room and tried very hard to get myself under control as there were other clients and one had a young daughter who was obviously frightened at my state. The adults were very understanding and I appreciated their murmured comments but every time Dusty yowled, my head would snap around to look towards the treatment room. Somewhere in there, they asked if they could draw blood for an analysis and do a FeLV/FIV snap-test and I agreed, though I told them he was vaccinated and current. It seemed like ages, but it was probably only about 10-15min and they asked me to come back.

Dusty was on the general treatment table, laying on his side on a towel. He had an oxygen cone over his face and he was purring and making biscuits as the tech petted him.
…but bad news was coming…
My vet told me the bloodtest showed a slight rise in WBC which indicated him fighting off some kind of infection. He also had a terrible heart-problem, but I don’t remember what she said, only that it was very serious and was the cause of his seizure-like activity during the drive because he had been stressed and unable to oxygenate himself properly. But the final blow was the snap-test came back positive for active FeLV and she needed to recommend euth. I was stunned, because he was vaccinated and he didn’t look sick. Surely some pills for his heart, maybe a shot or something and I could bring my kitty home and help him become 100% again…? She explained that the FeLV Dusty had was a rare occurance. In some cases, the cat appears to be a carrier of FeLV and it is carried silently in their bone marrow, only manifesting when the cat is older. Because he was exhibiting symptoms she said he would only continue to go downhill and she had to recommend humane euth to prevent suffering.

Well. I agreed and she began to direct her staff to move Dusty to one of the private treatment rooms and I stopped her and asked if we could do it right here in the general surgery room. He was happy, purring, relaxed and I didn’t want to stress him with moving. I wanted him to go as he was right now: purring and making biscuits. She hesitated, and I knew it was because there is no door between the general treatment room and the lobby. Some things could be visible to clients and everything could be heard. I told her I would keep myself together to prevent frightening her clients in the lobby if we could please not move Dusty. So I lost my Dusty-boy.

I wrapped Dusty in the towel I had put in the bottom of his carrier and brought him home on the front seat. When I parked and went around to lift him out, my husband was at the front door, standing there to control the door and prevent kitties from getting out as I came in. When he saw me lift the towel-wrapped bundle, he knew what that meant and he shut the door and ran to me with questions in his eyes.
Neither of us suspected Dusty wouldn’t be coming home alive. If we’d known, he would have gone with me instead of remaining at home. The hardest thing was Pretty. She remained partially feral and tolerated us because Dusty did. His loss was hard on her because she was always with him, near him, doing everything with him. His loss also opened the door for the final successful phase of her socialization. …but I still wish we had our Dusty with us…

What has been hard for me to accept about this loss, is this one was sudden. I had no preparation for it, and I felt cheated out of being able to fight for him, unable to try anything to save him. I was given no choice at all and that was, and remains, difficult for me to accept.

So sorry Heidi, that was very sad to read, you did your very best for him. I know that FeLV can be carried silently which is why it's always best to test for it before vaccination, but because of the cost most of us don't.

Hugs.x

I test *every* cat I take in. Before I spend any money on them with vaccinations/spay/neuter, they get snap-tested. He tested negative in 2005 when I took him in for the neuter/vaccs. It was just very difficult for me to get my mind around. I know I've improved the life of every cat I've touched; my own and my foster kitties. I don't feel bad about that. It just sorks that their lives are so much shorter than ours.

Oh that's horrible! I'm so sorry Heidi!! :sad :sad :cry: :cry:

I know it. It is awful to lose them so quickly. It is awful to lose them to anything at any time, whether you've had them forever or only a moment. ...but I don't mind the hurt so much, because it tells me I *can* and *do* love. So I don't regret having loved them.

[i]The sorrow of loss is but the measure of how great the love.[/i]

...I wish I knew who said that. I read it somewhere and I find it comforting to remember whenever I've lost any of my pets.
I also vowed some years ago, that even though these kitties don't live as long as me, I will love as many of them through their short lifetimes as I can, for my longer lifetime. When I lose one, it means there are others that I can love and help. I *try* to foster, and I do, but it is mostly the kittens and young cats that go through the adoption program. I seem to keep all of the adult ferals that took much longer to reach through their barriers.
The ferals also seem to *know* what side the bread is buttered on after I've worked with them. ;) They really become [i]awesome[/i] cats. :D

That's just the way Cooper went, one minute jumpin around like an eight month old pup, leaping through and over the snowblowers spray, to having a seizure like attack. The valve on his heart gave out ( a boxer thing ) and it looked like someone pulled the rug out from under him and he couldn't find up. I am sorry for your loss.

Care Krikette, care. It means we are real. human. alive. Thank you for doing right by this kit, even if s/he doesn't thank you! :lol:

A little update!

I hadn't seen this kitten in quite a while, and was worried that something bad had happened to her. (Recently discovered that it is indeed a girl.)
So today Glenn saw her outside under my car, so we decided to sit out there and get it to come to us. She was rubbing against the car tires and just looked so sweet. She'd cry every once in a while, which I'd answer.
I got a handful of dry food and we threw it to her, getting her to come closer and closer. Then I went and got some canned food from the pantry that I had left over and she really perked up. She was letting us pet her! I mean, even rough pets! I was sitting cross legged and she'd come up and rub against me and then lay down by my leg and just purr while I pet her. She was rolling on her back and trying to play, but then she'd get nervous and watch us from under the car for a minute before coming up again and eating food out of Glenn's hand while I petted her. She was just the cutest thing. I realized today how skinny she really is, and her coat just feels oily and dirty and gross. She doesn't come when I say "kitty kitty kitty", but when I say "pretty girl", haha! At one point I was sitting petting her while Glenn, Brooke, and Maggie stood around me and talked. She started rubbing on Brooke's leg, even though Brooke wasn't being quiet or careful or anything, just talking, and being quite animated as any self respecting southerner is when they tell a good story.
But I don't have my cage with me! I brought it home and accidentally left it there! So if I do manage to catch her, she'll have to get locked in my bathroom i think.
Glenn and I aren't sure about how to do it. He keeps pushing, picking her up lightly and putting her back down, walking around her, talking loudly, trying to get her less shy, but I'm scared it'll be forever before I get this chance again, and wanted to just traumatize her and grab her and put her in the bathroom. I dunno...

Wow, I just realized it's been a month. Honestly she doesn't look much bigger at all, maybe a tiny bit but...wow.

Oh, you're totally going to get her. She wants to be a pet. :) If she is small, like under half-grown, get some good leather gloves that go up your arms and just go for it. This has worked for me with kittens and oddly it seems to help if you give kind of rough pets/scratches at the base of the neck while you're hanging on. If she is bigger though you're going to need your trap. Good luck!

CRAP!

I poked my head outside to see if it was still there, and it was asleep in the bushes below my window.

So I figured my luck would run out soon, so I started petting her again, and picked her up, which she didn't mind at all this time. And then I brought her in!!! OMG! She's in my bathroom, hiding behind my toilet. I put food and water and made sure Riot's box was clean. Why did I do that? I feel like I should have waited, but she's there now and if I let her out she'll never let me near her again. I'm like freaking out. What do I do now!? Do I leave her alone or do I sit in there with her??? OMG! WHY'D I DO THAT?!?!?! My heart is like pumping so hard! I feel so bad for her, I know she's scared, but I know it's best for her in the long run....
HELP!!!!!

Ah, you've got her now, she'll be fine. Once she learns about steady supplies of food and pettings and cat toys, she'll forget all about her earlier scared moments.

*looks over shoulder to see ex-feral cat sleeping peacefully in the living room*

yeah, you guys will be fine. :)

Thanks Sara!
Here's a video I took before I caught her today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIgj-Zcb…" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[quote="Sara"]Ah, you've got her now, she'll be fine. Once she learns about steady supplies of food and pettings and cat toys, she'll forget all about her earlier scared moments.

*looks over shoulder to see ex-feral cat sleeping peacefully in the living room*

yeah, you guys will be fine. :)[/quote]

I agree with sara , all but one of my cats started out feral and as soon as they realise there is a never ending food supply and lots of fussing they will relax and make themselves at home

ooh she is pretty and I can see how thin she is , I can also see she wants to be loved and she has chosen you for the job :love

Thanks! She seems really sweet.

She's still going back behind my toilet, but no longer hisses at me. She lets me hold her and just purrs and purrs.

Riot however, is not impressed. I went to pet her after handling the kitten and she spat at me, and when she sniffed my hand she went to bite it and swat at it. I'm thinking I'm just going to get them used to each others smells now.

And like I said, I want to rehab it for sure, as much as I can, but I don't know if I'll keep her. If she and Riot don't ever get along I'll ask around, I know that there were some girls down the way that have been trying to catch her, but they were just leaving out bowls of milk. If they don't realize that's a bad idea I'm not sure I want her going to them. They'd have to learn a bit before I trusted them with her, you know? I mean I know I'm not an expert, but yeah.

OK getting cats used to one another.....easy!
Put down two of your own jumpers for each cat to lie on, with NO actual contact between to two cats.
Make lots of fuss of Riot. Do not introduce her to the smell on your hands again.
Once the cats have each slept on their own jumpers for a few days, swap the jumpers. At the same time start letting Newkitty out into the main room to play while Riot is excluded, and then shut Newkitty away and let Riot back and make lots of fuss.
Once each cat is used to the smell of the other around the place, apart form a few fireworks as they work out who is Bosscat you will be fine.
Always let cats go at their own pace, never try to push them.
You have done a great job here, BTW, Bastet will be proud of you, you have earned yourself a sardine in heaven!!

Yay! :bounce
I was gonna say grab-em-when-you-can! If I can grab it, I do. I worry about what I'll do *after* .... well, AFTER! :rofl

Bathroom, always a small room where *I* control where they hide. I always want easy access in case of emergency. Because she is letting you come visit and pet her, you are MILES ahead in the socializing process. Simply continue to be The Bringer Of All Things GOOD. Do scent-swaps like RF described. You can even rub two wash cloths over the cats; both on PrettyGirl, then both on Riot, then back to PG, then back to R and then give each cat one of the washcloths, placing them in each cat's favorite place to hang out, so their scents mingle and become 'normal' and familiar.

The cat site I belong to has good information about socializing cats and cat-to-cat introductions. The thing with cat-intro's is to Take Your Time. This is definitely not an area you want to rush, if you want long-term positive results.
Anyways, YAY! :bounce

Thanks for the tips!!!
And I'm about to bring evil evil things....
she needs a bath, and she needs her shots.

When do you think I should give her these things?

If you wish to not look as if you have danced with a refugee from Twilight over Easter, do NOT attempt to bath the cat.
Cat bathing should be left to nine year old girls who, for some unknown reason, can do it and emerge unscathed :rofl

^:)^

Maybe it depends on the cat? I've never had trouble with bathing my two.

The trick with bathing Riot is clipping her nails right before, wearing a carhartt and gloves, and praying haha!

I ended up going ahead and giving the shot, because I just want that to be in her system, and I've never had a cat give me trouble. (Cadillac I didn't even have to hold, he'd be sitting there or drinking water or something and I'd just grab the skin on his neck and poke him.
She was a trooper, she didn't even pout. She wasn't sure about it when I initially poked her, but it was a good stick and she just settled down. Then she went back to playing haha! She was doing flips and going nuts over a toy on a string type thing

I have nothing for you Krickette (advice-wise), but I'm rooting for you and the stray! :D