Wherever I may roam…..

Out of the cats that share my home, three of the four were cats that appeared in my garden looking worse for wear and scavenging for food.

When they arrived, none of them were approachable. But without getting close I had no way of knowing if they were chipped or neutered. (Other than the pungent aroma the boys deposited around the garden. But honestly, that’s not always a behaviour they ever get a handle on if they’ve been left entire for too long.) So to do this, I did something I refer to as “grounding.” I have no idea if there’s an official name for it, but that’s what I call it.

For rescues, the situation is different. The sheer volume of cats they get calls about in this capacity means they have to use the fastest, most efficient way of catching a cat. So they use traps.

For me, I always felt concerned about the trust aspect when navigating this situation. So I went with grounding.

What grounding entails:

Much like it sounds, grounding is about making sure the cat has a base he or she feels is likely to be a constant source of shelter and food. So I obtained an outdoor shelter with a balcony. Food can be put in bowls on the balcony, while a heat reflective bed can placed in the enclosed section.

Recognising a cats pattern is important. So keeping a quick record of times you’re seeing the cat most often to ensure the food is there as part of their routine is a good idea.

The cat may not trust you immediately. But the things put in place will have your scent present to some degree.

Ensure there is always dry food in case you are unable to pinpoint times to leave out wet. Wet food left out will attract every cat in the immediate vicinity, and in warmer weather, flies. The dry food is likely to get noticed by slugs and snails, so at this point don’t purchase costly food for the role. The food is purely for a genuinely hungry cat to realise the shelter has a constant food source.

Once you are seeing the cat you are concerned about with regularity, attempt to initiate some kind of contact. Buy value ham or chicken roll and if the cat is too nervous to eat near you, go out when you see them and leave the meat in a place you can observe for the cat to collect.  Gradually, the cat will recognise you’re safe and you can progress to throwing small pieces of meat to the cat.

Once trust is built up you will be able to get the cat close enough to check for a chip, which may require the help of a local rescue. While trust is being built up, be sure to check local lost and found pages or rescues and vets who are likely to have a list of cats missing in the area. You can also be more proactive by making posters to gauge if the cat is simply a local opportunist or genuinely in need of help.

When it’s established the cat has no definite home, the decision becomes whether or not you are able to keep the cat. If you feel unable to, it’s best to contact a local rescue and get the cat on a waiting list to go into their care. This is unlikely to be particularly immediate due to the sheer velocity of cats needing help within the UK.

With feral cats, grounding is likely to be ultimately a LOT more time consuming and not necessarily successful, so unfortunately, a trap may need to be used in that instance.

Simply feeding a cat, although giving him or her a slightly less stressful life short term won’t benefit the cat long term. So if you feel unable to go through this process to gain a cats trust for whatever reason, the quickest way to be proactive is contacting a rescue for their assistance.

A set up ready for “grounding” a nervous cat….