Update on Precious...

[MadHound]

30. I shook my head at that suggestion

Sedatives that go through the digestive track aren't fast acting. She could very well eat the food, run off, and fall asleep in the middle of the street several blocks away. Not to mention that your dosage control is going to suck, and if the cat has problems with the drug, you're going to be on your own in an emergency situation. Dosing animals on your own is not a good move.

Ask around instead, your neighbors, friends, vet, shelters, to see if you can borrow a trap. Somebody in the community should have one. I admire your intent to bring her into your family, but the most pressing matter at this moment is her health. An abscessed wound will kill even a healthy animal quick if left untreated. Before that happens though, the animal will go to ground somewhere, probably somewhere inaccessible, and you will never see Precious again. And frankly, without an examination, you cannot say exactly what Precious' condition is. She has fleas, and the parasites that they carry. She apparently has been in more than one fight, and those wounds need attention, now. She is malnourished, and probably has little access to clean water. You need to get her off the streets now, and if that involves a little traumatization, so be it. Better than a dead cat.

I respect that you've taken care of feral cats before, but you aren't the only one. I spent many years of my life doing animal rescue, working at shelters, working as a vet assistant and other such related fields. I can't count the number of animals, cats and dogs both, that I've brought in off the streets and fields. And in every place that I've worked, the number one imperative is to get the animal off the streets. That's it, get them off the street, get them cleaned up, get them healthy, and then worry about getting them a home. A bit of trauma in exchange for ultimately saving their life and giving them a good home is a great deal, one that any feral cat would take, even if they don't seem happy with it at the time.