Conference misery::feline

    Sandy,
    
    Is there any way you could put a tranquilizer in her food.  Maybe your
    vet has something that wouldn't harm her, but sedate her just enough to
    get her to the vet for treatment?
    
    Donna
    

    That's the way Tommy reacted the first time I closed the kitchen door
    after luring him inside.  It took about two weeks after that
    before he'd let me near him again while he was eating.  I understand
    that seeing a cat go into extreme panic mode is disheartening;  however,
    after that first attempt I tried again with Tommy a bit later to get
    him more comfortable in the kitchen (door open, food dish -- with
    tuna-- a bit further inside each day) and just slowly kept working
    at it, and succeeded.  So, that panic thing can be overcome.

    
    
    Sandi, How nice of you to take care of this baby. I think your approach
    is good and should be patient with her to gain her trust completely
    first. I am certain (well hoping sorta) that when it gets colder 
    or by the first snowfall, she will want to be inside with you a lot
    more . How about when you feed her leave a comfy cat bed or big pillow
    and maybe sprinkle a bit of catnip on it but still leave the door 
    open. She will eventually discover that. Cats love to snuggle on a 
    soft pillow. If that works then eventualy closing the door would come
    next. 
    
    Good luck, 
    
    Shaw
    

    So far this week I have tried the following....
    
    	Putting her food way back on the porch (as far away from the door
    	as possible.
    
    	Staying and talking to her and creeping towards the door.
    
    	Putting catnip down on the rug as well as her food.
    
    So far it hasn't worked.  The minute I even look at the door, she darts
    right back out even with the catnip down.  She is more afraid of being
    locked in than the catnip can overcome.  Even with catnip on my hands,
    she won't let me touch her belly.  I have even tried to entice her by
    going into the house and leaving the inner door cracked open.  She peeks 
    in but thats as far as she will go.  
    
    She knows my car and comes to the porch when I am home.  She sits in an
    area where I can see her from the kitchen window.  She does
    *patty-paws* when I pet her.  I guess this is as far as I will get in
    her trust category for now.  
    
    It took eight years to tame Beauty so I guess I will just have to be
    patient with Little Mama.  
    
    Thanks for the feedback and suggestions,
    
    Sandi (patience is *NOT* one of my virtues)
    

    When we were trying to coax Misty to be more accepting of humans, we
    found that she'd make a lot of progress, then for some reason, she
    would back right off again for a few weeks.  I think Little Mama's
    panicking about the door being closed is directly related to being
    trapped in that fire.  (I can barely imagine that horror!)
    
    Give it a lot of time.  I would drop back a few steps, keep her in her
    present routine (such as it is), then introduce new things *very
    slowly,* that is, one thing at a time.  Too much stimulation will only
    confuse her, and changing things too quickly will just frustrate her
    and you.
    
    Frankly, I would like to get hold of that "family" and do a little
    ear-tugging and kicking around myself....
    
    kate

    
    
    	Ok, I know there are a zillion notes in here on this already
    	but......
    
    	I take classes at night at New Hampshire College and most of
    	them have been at the small Nashua campus.  However, due to
    	the Nashua campus not having classes I need for the past
    	couple semesters, I've been up at the main campus in Manchester.
    	Because this is the main campus this is where the day students
    	are.  The kids get kittens while they're at school but then 
    	when they go home to mom and dad, they just leave the cats outside
    	to fend for themselves.  I know of at least a half dozen.  Last
    	night I saw three of them and was able to get within a couple
    	feet of two of them.  They're wary but don't completely freak
    	out when I try and get closer.  The black one almost let me
    	touch it but pulled away.  They look rather young.  I'd say a 
    	year old, not much more.  There's a black one with a little
    	white tuft on it's chest, a beautiful little gray one (looks
    	like a Russian Blue), and a black and white one.  The B&W took
    	off immediately, the other two were curious.  They'd peek around
    	the cement post that holds up the overhang over one of the 
    	entrances.  I plan on bringing some food with me the next time
    	I go to class (Monday night).  I'd like to try and get them to
    	trust me but there not always around.  This is the first time
    	I've seen them in quite awhile.  I will be at this campus next
    	semester as well.  *If* I can get them to trust me and *if* I
    	can catch them.......... then what?  We're coming up on kitten
    	season and the shelters are already full according to some notes
    	in here.  Seeing as I rent, I don't have a place to keep them
    	with me to socialize them.  They don't look like they're starving
    	so they're either eating out of the trash cans or some of the
    	students and/or staff are feeding them.
    
    	I want to help them but I don't know how much I can do.  =(
    
    	JJ
    

    At Stanford, there is a group of people called the Stanford Cat
    Network.  They feed the ferals and have them altered, so hopefully the
    population doesn't grow.  A big job.
    

    
    
    	Hmmm........ maybe I'll try putting up flyers outside
    	the library and student center.  See if I can round up	
    	some help when it comes time to try and catch them.
    
    	JJ
    

    JJ..that is the hundred dollar question.  The easy part is
    to catch them....but then what!!!   I could rescue atleast
    3 cats a day if I had somewhere to bring them!!!
    
    My guess is there is probably other people in the school that
    are feeding them too.  Hopefully you can find some help.  The
    sad part is...there are probably 30 more that you haven't
    seen yet!  Good luck...if the time comes I do have a trap
    you can borrow..but that is about all the help I can give
    because of my own kitty colony!! (I also live near a college)
    
    Sandy 

    
    
    	Sandy,
    
    	Thanks.  I'll keep the trap in mind if that's what I
    	decide to do.  I may just try and trap them, get them
    	fixed and then release them.  At least they won't 
    	multiply.  =(
    
    	JJ