Our question this week was:

My cat plays with another cat outside. The outdoor cat is sort of feral. One day I had the door open for MY cat and this cat came in. it is in my basement. How do you get out of the cat out?

Debra Massey – Atlanta, GA

Answer

Hi Debra – thanks for your email. Gosh, that is a tough situation. It is hard to catch any animal that doesn't want to be caught. I'll give you a few options.

You can try to open the doors and allow the cat to exit the same way it came in. You can try to "herd" the cat into one room. From there you can corner it into a box, crate or pet taxi. For example, if you herd the cat into a corner, if you fact the crate toward the cat, you can try to scoop the cat up.

If you or someone is experienced with cats – sometime you can put a blanket over the cat and try to grab it and take it out. You can also sometimes do this with leather gloves.

Sometimes the best option would be to try to trap the cat with a cat trap and perform the TNR: Trap, neuter and return. TNR is reducing the number of stray and feral cats in communities nationwide.

You need to be careful as many feral cats are scared and will try to bite and scratch. Make sure you don't get hurt.

Articles that might be helpful to you are Care of Feral Cats and The Truth About Feral Cats.

Best of luck!


Dr. Jon



P.S. – Do you have any additional ideas for Debra? I love learning from pet owners and would love to hear your tips! We can share them with other PetPlace users! Send me your Ideas on Getting a Feral Cat Out of the House!






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