Attention Crazy Cat People

[LeftBrain Artist]

You know who you are.

My sister picked up a new cat from the humane society a few weeks ago, it used to belong to some elderly lady who died. As soon as she brought it home it went straight for the basement and hid behind the heater, and there it stayed. She puts food and water down for it, and the litter box for the other cats are down there, but my sister wants to get it out of there. She's got a live trap big enough for the job down there right now, but the cat ain't having none of it. Any ideas on how to get it out? Umm. Safely?

[morea]

lmoa... death by snu snu. What did they die of? Broken pelvises.

I guess you mean me, don't you. You know, calling me crazy gives you a -2 penalty to your persuade roll... for the record.

Cat stuff. My best advice:

Remove the food, and the other cats' litter boxes and keep the other cats out of the basement. Cats ideally only eat twice a day, morning and evening, so not leaving the food out won't hurt anything. When supper time comes, there are two options.

a) if your sister wants to invest the time in it, she can sit downstairs with a small plate of food (usually a strong smelling canned food is good for this) and try to bribe the cat to come to her for the food. It can take a long time - and the cat will probably be able to out-stubborn her if she's not very patient.

b) if it's more of a priority to get the cat out of the basement sooner rather than later, she can put the strong-smelling canned food into the haveahart trap and catch the cat that way.

Once the cat is caught, she can put the litter boxes and food back downstairs for the other cats, and her best bet would be to isolate the new cat in a room of its own. Continue feeding twice a day, and ideally sit in the room with the cat while it eats. The cat will come to associate her with good things, like food, which will make bonding easier.

Then it is best to introduce the new cat to the other cats slowly. She can start by taking a hand towel and rubbing it on the new cat, then rubbing it on the other cats so they get used to the new cat's scent. Another trick is to let them interact by playing with a toy under the door.

Once they get used to each others scents she can begin allowing supervised excursions from the "safe room" for about 10 minutes at a time, a few times a day, and gradually increasing the amount of time they are together, as well as the frequency of interactions.

Here's a website that explains introductions in more detail. (Note: I did not design this website. I am posting it for informational purposes only, lol)

http://www.operationnoblefoster.org/multicat.htm

[Red Kittie Kat]

Good advice Mo ... I can't think of a thing to add ;)

[Neballer]

http://www.angelsoftheweek.com/carp/BD/scared.gif
What if the cat out weighs you by 800lbs or so?

[LeftBrain Artist]

I guess you mean me, don't you. You know, calling me crazy gives you a -2 penalty to your persuade roll... for the record.

But including the word crazy gives you a +5 to your spot check to notice the thread. Yuk yuk yuk.

I'll edit the title.

Thanks for the info, I'll pass it along, but my sister works full time and is raising three kids by herself - so she's kind of limited on time. She's already tried the Havahart trap - it got set off but the cat wasn't inside, so I'm sure it got spooked and won't go anywhere near it again.

Hey! Could you give it catnip and get it really screwed up? Would that make it easier to catch if its stoned out of its gourd? Is that a feasible plan? Or maybe slip it a mickey (sedative) in a saucer of milk?

[Red Kittie Kat]

Then I don't think it would be able to hide behind the heater :D

[LeftBrain Artist]

I'll just call you Feline Aficionados from now on.

[mac.FINN]

http://www.angelsoftheweek.com/carp/BD/scared.gif
What if the cat out weighs you by 800lbs or so?

Then you're zoological judgement is terribly screwed up, and what you have there is not a housecat at all but a Tiger.

A Tiger? In Africa?

shhh.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Catnip makes my cat more hyper - she's more agile and faster when she's high. She's usually quite relaxed once she comes down though, but it's not like she won't notice you're coming towards her. Different cats react differently to catnip, and some don't react at all.

[morea]

not all cats respond to catnip... seriously.

Also, you'd be surprised, but cats can be trapped multiple times, even though you'd think they would avoid the trap like the plague... and the trap is definitely the quick way.

If I were her, I would remove the other cats, all but one litter box, and the cat food first thing tomorrow morning.... then tomorrow when she gets home from work, put down the trap, bait it, and leave it... she should check it if she hears it go off, or right before she goes to bed. That would minimize the amount of time the cat would actually be in the trap if it gets caught.

The cat is more prone to go into the trap if it feels safe - no people or other animals around - and also a little bit hungry. While I would never condone depriving an animal of food for a prolongued period of time, it usually won't hurt for them to skip a meal. (Domestic cats are really quite spoiled. If the cat were a stray, it could miss several meals in a row.)

Now, if she isn't in a rush to get the cat out of the basement, she could follow the same steps, but instead of setting up the trap, she could sit downstairs when she feeds the cat (bring a book or something). Don't have her sit right beside the food, but across the room. Let the cat eat, then remove the dish, and each meal time sit slightly closer to the dish until the cat is no longer afraid of her. Given time, the cat will likely come out of its shell on its own, but how long it takes varies from cat to cat. I've taken in foster cats who were completely fearless, and I've taken in feral cats that took years to trust people.

I thought that you might get some more helpful advice from some people I know, so I posted the question on a cat forum I use from time to time. Vets, technicians, and people who work with rescues and rehabilitate cats frequent that site.

Here's the thread... it does take time to get answers sometimes, but you can usually expect something within 24 hours.

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=39780

[Neballer]

Then you're zoological judgement is terribly screwed up, and what you have there is not a housecat at all but a Tiger.
hmmm...so I should trim my antlers before going down to feed it.

[Virgo Nightingale]

hmmm...so I should trim my antlers before going down to feed it.
Well, you might need them to defend yourself.

[Samakimoto Graphics]

Then you're zoological judgement is terribly screwed up, and what you have there is not a housecat at all but a Tiger.

A Tiger? In Africa?

shhh.

Eh, no. A tiger in India :).

[Patrick Shannon]

When I was a kid and we brought my cat home, the first place she dove was under a bed and stayed under there for quite a ridiculous amount of time. Finally we entered the room for a while and she came out of hiding and started being affectionate with us. As soon as another strange person entered the room, WHHOOOM! back under the bed.

She eventually got used to it all, of course. Believe me, they go from being reclusive to completely becoming king/queen of the domain :D

[mac.FINN]

Eh, no. A tiger in India :).

Ah, well, it- it has… probably escaped from a zoo.


(Morea come to my rescue, it seems no one knows what I'm talking about!)

[Red Kittie Kat]

ahhh ... if only we knew the "Meaning of Life"



:D

[mac.FINN]

phew.


Thanks Kittie.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to go find the fish.

[morea]

Ah, well, it- it has… probably escaped from a zoo.

(Morea come to my rescue, it seems no one knows what I'm talking about!)

Doesn't sound very likely to me.

http://www.mwscomp.com/movies/mol/m-06-iii.htm ;)