Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK so I was the one with the cat who wouldn't stop crying all night long. Now we have a new problem.
This cat was a stray. She started coming around over a year ago when we first moved in. We slowly started letting her inside. She was hesitant, of course, but loved the attention (and food). We trapped her by putting food in the cage and shutting it when she went in. This is how we got her to the vet once for blood work (she's healthy) and once after she had kittens for a deworming. Now she won't go near the cage even if she's starving.
The vet gave us a sedative but we tried everything (and I mean everything the vet suggested and everything else we could think of) but she would not take the pill. Even wrapped in food, and once she smelled the pill she wouldn't even take food that didn't have a pill in it.
Then came the disaster, we had cancelled two vet appointments for lack of being able to get her in and this was the last straw, my husband and I haven't slept for weeks. So we tried to grab her, with a towel, and put her in the cage. This was the worst thing we could have done. She went crazy, thrashing, hissing, biting, scratching, until she got herself loose. Then it was like this year of trust we built up was destroyed and the cat wouldn't come out of hiding. When my husband opened the door to take the garbage out, she ran outside for the first time in 6 months (since before the kittens were born). We thought she'd be out for the night, but she disappeared for a week. She's bee back late at night but wouldn't come in. This morning I found her sleeping on our back porch and I opened the door and she came in. We had flee and tick stuff on her (Frontline) so we weren't worried about that.
After she came in, she let me pet her and even rolled around on her back purring with delight. Then she re-united with her kitten and they had some food together. She skiddish again, like when we first let her in but I would rather she didn't go back out because I can already see that another cat has scratched her nose and she was definitely found by a male because when her kitten sniffed her hind quaters the stray (Elsa's her name) almost whacked her even though you could tell Elsa was very happy to see her kitten again. She may even be pregnant again for all we know.
Now I don't know what to do. We love this cat, she's lovable, friendly and cuddly. But we can't get her to the vet and even in this last hour she's started the crying we used to hear all night. We bought those comfort zone plug ins but to no avail. Should I keep her inside or let her go if she cries by the door? I'm sure if I get her spayed the crying might stop but how can I get her to the vet? Any suggestions would help, we're at our wit's end!

Wow, you do have a difficult problem on your hands, also an ethical one.

Hopefully someone else will be able to help you more.
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Can I take a shot?

Madame, I really hate to disagree with you, but if this cat enjoys human interaction and petting and has lived inside pretty peacefully for the last six months until the recent carrier-trauma, she isn't really feral, is she? She's just an extra sensitive kitty who does enjoy and has confidence in people. She even came back in the door on her own.

Poster, getting her spayed *very* soon is priority one now, since she has managed to escape outside and could be pregnant. So, this one time it's super important that you succeed. Do you know if she is in heat? There is also now the possibility that she has come into contact with a virus. Getting her tested again while she is being spayed might be advisable since she could pass it to your other cat. Ask your vet what they think.

Once you have managed to get her spayed, getting her to the vet won't be as much of a problem because you could find a vet that does house-calls for routine care. Obvioiusly, surgery will have to be done at a clinic or in a mobile unit, if your area even has one.

First thing I would do if you want to try things the old fashioned way would be to limit her space some, close some bedroom doors so she can't get in there. Sit the carrier out, disassembled. Make it friendly, put something she likes in there. If she likes toys, put a favorite in there. Or something soft and comfy. You might also try spraying it with some Feliway spray. The idea is to just put it in her path in a non-threatening way, so she gets used to its presence. Frankly, I would leave it out for good, just so she can remain desensitized to it in case of anything happening in the future that you might need to use it.

I would try the pill sedative again. Ask your vet for a strong-ish dose and purchase what's called a "pill-gun" from your vet to help you get the pill into her. They should be able to show you how to use it. Heck, if you have a really good relationship with their staff, one of them might be generous enough to come over and help you! Who knows when you will be able to get it down her, but whenever it is, just go ahead and take her to the vet once you have her in the carrier. They can board her there until they are able to do surgery if they are unable to do it at that moment. Just getting her there is what's important. They should be able to handle her once she's there.

If none of that works, ask to pay your vet or a house call vet to come over and actually give an injectable tranquilizer. (If it's a vet that doesn't know your cat, explain to them that they will need to bring help.) I'm sure everyone is just as anxioius to have this poor kitty spayed as you are, so they should be willing to help you out. After trying everything else, asking can't hurt.

I hope this helps some. No matter what method you use, just do it in the next couple of weeks in case she actually is pregnant. Waiting is not good. Best of luck.

Excellent answer, Martissimo!

Your mention of a vet coming out to tranquilize the cat reminded me that at least one of our local rescue organizations (not the ASPCA!) has a vet who works with them. You might contact a rescue group in your area if you can't get your vet or vet assistant to come out and tranquilize the cat and see if they have a vet willing to do so. They may also give you some help in capturing her and getting her spayed.
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thanks so much to both of you who responded. We really do love this cat and want things to work out. We have an appointment at the vet one week from today. We have the carrier out and opened in the living room. We've put her catnip toy inside it and we fed her in there tonight and plan to continue that routine. Unfortunately we both left the living room and we're not sure if she ate the food or if it was our other, older cat. The good thing is that the kitten goes into the carrier freely which seems to reasure Elsa. I'm confident that she won't starve, so if we continue to feed her in the carrier she will eventually go inside. I'm going to make sure the vet can keep her until everything is complete, spaying, shots, blood work, etc. If he can't keep her, I found a cat only vet that I'm going to call. I'm going to try hard not to have to go through this twice!! Thanks again. I love this website!