Phantom, she came to feed tonight, and I decided to try and grab her. I opened up the catio door over my head and then just reached down to pet her. She allowed me to touch her so I took a deep breath and scruffed her (no struggle) she is way to weak. I picked her up and placed her in the catio and shut the door. By the time I made it to the inside of the house so I could open the window and let her into the cage, she had found an escape hatch (a 2.5″ opening) and wiggled free! Any well-fed healthy cat would have gotten stuck, but she is so depleted, she managed to escape rather quickly. Now I fear, it will be months before she will be trust me again. Dang-it I had her- I really did. I wish that hole had been sealed, but with the window closed she found a way out.
Feral Cat Behavior
Blogging about feral cats and life in general
Dang. Worth a shot, anyway. Maybe you can keep a spare cage/carrier by the door for the next shot.
Did Phantom run for the hills right away, or did she hang around to eat afterwards? If she kinda hung around, she might not be that spooked.
Give her time. She trusted you enough to let you pick her up. She might be hesistant for a few days but I’ll bet she’ll be back.
My fear is she doesn’t have much time left. If you consider she got out of a hole that wasn’t even 3″ then you know how depleted she is. She has heavy drool coming out of her mouth lately and I want to get her to the vet, get her tested, examined and see if we can bring her back to health. After this long period of surviving outside, she deserves a chance to play out the rest of her life healthier than now. There has been no sign of her since she wiggled free of confinement. I just hope she comes back soon.
You’ll get another chance. My foster-cat, Cammie, squeezed through an opening in a carrier about the same size, so Phantom may not be as depleted as she seems. Good luck on your next attempt.
We’re kinda with Bellen. If the kitties head can fit through the hole, the rest of the kittie can usually slide through no problems. Phantom was well enough to find a hole, fit through it, and run for the hills in a couple minutes. She may not be as depleted as she looks.
Phantom still knows theres food available by your door. She’ll be back in due time. (if the food is available at night or when you aren’t around, she might already have been back, actually)
If this is an urgent situation, have you considered a live trap?
Tried several different types of live traps over the years, she won’t go in any of them. I just now saw her duck under the house when I went out for the noon feeding so at least she did come back. She saw me and couldn’t get under the house fast enough- LOL Not that I blame her.
Nice to hear that she sorta, maybe, almost showed herself to you this afternoon, even if was by mistake. So, she didn’t completely run for the hills. That’s a little bit of progress