Our local SPCA has a feral cat clinic 2 Sundays a month and the cost is quite nominal – though with the numbers we were dealing with, it was still a lot of expense! My first clinic appointment was for 6 cats. Actually, my very first one was for 6 and I only caught 1. This was my second appointment. Wanted my quota this time. We had over 20 cats. No time to waste.
Catching the cats was the trick. Most people who do this are catching true ferals and they use the traps…catching one per trap and transporting said trap to the clinic. Our ferals are kinda sorta tame in that they will come around you…may let you pet them…and get close to you when you feed them. However, close or not, try to pick them up and feral prevails! Big time! And due to their habits of eating, there was no way to bait traps and we needed to catch many at a time. Besides, do you know how expensive it is to rent traps? Oh, my gosh.
We borrowed a large collapsible dog crate from a friend and put it up in the barn aisle. I started putting the food in the back of the cage, then, when a bunch were inside, I closed the cage door. I caught 6 but by the time Bob got in there, there were only 5. Huh? Turns out the bars on the bottom row of the crate are slightly higher and longer than the others. Once the kitten got its head through it was all over! The crate was already up against the wall on one side and we quickly put a board up on the other…while pushing heads back through to the inside! Now, how to get the kittens from the crate to the carriers?
Ta-dah! Bob backed the horse trailer right to the barn door. Then, with great alacrity (!), we transported the crate inside the trailer, dealing with escaping cats in the process! Once in, the trailer door was closed. But we’re not done. Now I have to go in and catch the little darlings and put them in the carriers. Oh, that was fun. Their claws and teeth went through my leather gloves, for heaven’s sake! These cats were wild, climbing up the sides, hanging from the top – and wanting to take me out! But I did it. Got them all in their carriers. We were even able to catch one more before we were finished! I was a little battle worn and bloody but, what the hey. Next stop: SSPCA.