Herd your cats here

[0susanna]

Let's see if this group has any advice I haven't already tried with my newish catten. Here's the backstory: early in December last year, I discovered a 6-week-old tabby kitten with white paws, vest, in my garage. I'm pretty sure it was one of a feral litter I'd seen in the yard earlier (don't know what happened to the others). I fed it and gradually tamed it, brought it into the house & confirmed it was female. I have several pics of her cuddling serenely in my lap, next to my face, etc. She got along with the other two cats. She went to the vet for her first checkup & shots. A couple months later, the vet said, "Bring her in to be spayed." Kitten categorically refused to be put into the carrier, and ever since will not allow me to pick her up or hold her. She never goes outside, and the other two cats are neutered, so no danger of unplanned kittens, but at some point, this cat needs veterinary care. I've been working for months to calm her down, and she will approach me and occasionally sit on my lap, brings me toys to throw for her, but she's still very spooky. (The other two cats are extremely mellow and love everyone.)

Things that have failed so far:
drugs--she now refuses tuna (disguising the sedative), and last time, the other cat ate it instead and had a very sleepy morning.
leaving the carrier out--she just ignores it, even if a treat is inside. One of the other cats has slept inside the open carrier very happily.
wrapping her in a towel or pillowcase--she runs away from any large, flappy objects, including laundry being folded

[clean]

grind the pill to a powder first, and then put the powder in something she will eat/drink. 
Often pills are bitter, so that may cause a taste problem with milk or something else.

My cat loved chicken livers.  IF you can stand raw chicken liver, perhaps mashing the liver and mixing the pill powder will work.

Try a time or 2 to see if it works and then maybe put her in the box when she is out will remove the fear.  IF she wakes up in the box, safe and secure, it may reduce that fear. 

(Or she will also avoid liver, and that may make your life easier, because my kitty demanded chicken parts whenever I was cooking chickens!)

[OneMoreYear]

Sorry to hear your catten is spooked, 0susanna.
Does she respond to catnip?
Does Feliway work for her?   It did not work for my squirrelly kitty (the vet suggested the the diffusers), but I know folks with cats that responded well.

[the_geneticist]

You could try shutting her in a small room with food, water, and litter box.  Best if the room has nothing the kitty can hide in or under that you can't reach.  Leave her for the night.  Put on sturdy clothes you do not care about.  Shut yourself in the room with the kitty and a carrier.  Be determined to catch the kitty.  Ignore the whirling dervish of claws/howling/peeing.  Attempt to put kitty in the carrier and secure the door.
I'd put your odds at 50/50.

[clean]

You could try shutting her in a small room with food, water, and litter box.  Best if the room has nothing the kitty can hide in or under that you can't reach.  Leave her for the night.  Put on sturdy clothes you do not care about.  Shut yourself in the room with the kitty and a carrier.  Be determined to catch the kitty.  Ignore the whirling dervish of claws/howling/peeing.  Attempt to put kitty in the carrier and secure the door.
I'd put your odds at 50/50.

I would NOT try this. 
This is a trust issue. You dont want to be on the kitty's 'bad side'.  And kitties have long memories!

Just a note about zoos.... The one giving the shots is NOT the same person that does the other things for the animals. The one that is associated with 'pain' is not the one that is the 'helper'/good guy. 

Trust is hard to regain once lost.

[0susanna]

Sorry to hear your catten is spooked, 0susanna.
Does she respond to catnip?
Does Feliway work for her?   It did not work for my squirrelly kitty (the vet suggested the the diffusers), but I know folks with cats that responded well.

She doesn't seem very interested in catnip (maybe too young?) But I plugged in a Feliway diffuser last week and it seems to be making a difference in that she's a bit calmer, more willing to be touched. So I call that progress.

[0susanna]

You could try shutting her in a small room with food, water, and litter box.  Best if the room has nothing the kitty can hide in or under that you can't reach.  Leave her for the night.  Put on sturdy clothes you do not care about.  Shut yourself in the room with the kitty and a carrier.  Be determined to catch the kitty.  Ignore the whirling dervish of claws/howling/peeing.  Attempt to put kitty in the carrier and secure the door.
I'd put your odds at 50/50.

I would NOT try this. 
This is a trust issue. You dont want to be on the kitty's 'bad side'.  And kitties have long memories!

Just a note about zoos.... The one giving the shots is NOT the same person that does the other things for the animals. The one that is associated with 'pain' is not the one that is the 'helper'/good guy. 

Trust is hard to regain once lost.

I am concerned about this. I'm pretty sure her first experience with the carrier & vet is what led to her current unwillingness to repeat the experience. But I'm the only person who can do it--though friends have offered to come and help if I get the cat into a small room, etc. Since the immediate project is getting her spayed, a vet making house-calls won't work, either. We continue the calming process.

[MarathonRunner]

Haven't posted in ages but we lost our rescue to a sudden saddle thrombosis. Now our youngest cat is lost - our two older boys are old and don't play anymore. Looking for a new rescue. Hope to give a cat in need a loving home before too long. Playing with our youngest as much as I can, but I'm obviously not the same as having a feline playmate.

[mamselle]

Oohh, so sorry.

Your youngest cat is lucky you understand her needs.

You could try connecting with Sassy's people (upthread...)

But they might have decided to let her keep them.

M.

[0susanna]

Haven't posted in ages but we lost our rescue to a sudden saddle thrombosis. Now our youngest cat is lost - our two older boys are old and don't play anymore. Looking for a new rescue. Hope to give a cat in need a loving home before too long. Playing with our youngest as much as I can, but I'm obviously not the same as having a feline playmate.

Very sorry about this loss, MarathonRunner. About 12 years ago, a stray my cat had "adopted" for us died from the same thing, and it was traumatic for everyone. About a month later, a young cat reached out to me at an adoption event, and he has been the best cat ever since. I'm sure you'll find the one soon.

[Larimar]

Haven't posted in ages but we lost our rescue to a sudden saddle thrombosis. Now our youngest cat is lost - our two older boys are old and don't play anymore. Looking for a new rescue. Hope to give a cat in need a loving home before too long. Playing with our youngest as much as I can, but I'm obviously not the same as having a feline playmate.

Sorry to hear it, MarathonRunner. Hope you find the right new kitty soon!

Osusanna, wish I had some advice for you about getting your kitty to the vet for spaying; unfortunately I don't. I do wish you luck.


Larimar

[spork]

Does anyone have a specific recommendation for an extra-strong cat litter scoop? My wife decided to "help" by cleaning the cat litter box and promptly snapped the scoop in half. I feed our two pandemic cats a wet food-only diet, and there are always lots of large, heavy pee clumps in the litter box.

[the_geneticist]

Does anyone have a specific recommendation for an extra-strong cat litter scoop? My wife decided to "help" by cleaning the cat litter box and promptly snapped the scoop in half. I feed our two pandemic cats a wet food-only diet, and there are always lots of large, heavy pee clumps in the litter box.

We bought a metal scooper.  It was worth the cost. 
Or maybe a small garden shovel?

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Youngest evil cat spent the last 20 minutes hauling ass around the room. Well, essentially, she did some parkour off the walls, leaped over the baby gate, you know- what she usually does. Now she's taking a nap on one of the arms of the sofa.

[Puget]

The cats are exceedingly pleased about the return of the down comforter to the bed and the throw blanket to the couch. They will be even more pleased by the eventual return of the gas fireplace.