r/crownheights • u/bassmnt • 8d ago

Need help with a capturing a cat

My good friend had taken in a feral kitten. He had him in his finished basement. Then he passed away suddenly. The cat has found a hole to get into a section of the pipe run in the ceiling. His daughter can't get him to come out to capture him to find a new home.

Food and a litter box is there, and they are using it. However, whenever someone goes down, they hide.

Can anyone offer any advice, short of cutting the ceiling open?

edit to add:
Everything has been tried.
The cat will come out and sneak peak at the daughter, but runs back if she moves towards.
It's a railroad style brownstone. The hole is in the ceiling at the rear wall.

At this point, unless there's a cat whisperer out there. I think the only recourse is a trap or cutting a hole(s) along the space they are in.

12 Upvotes

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7

u/RustnKrust 8d ago

Where’s the pipe go? Can you access it anywhere on the other end of where the cat is? Send a snake down that end, cat will be scared and run out the opening in the basement.

Edit* I mean a drain snake, not a scaly snake danger noodle.

2

u/bassmnt 8d ago

that is an idea in my head. it leads to the boiler room and there is a small opening at the end of the pipe way. I was pondering what I could use and a snake is ideal.
Thanks for completing the thought as an alternative.

2

u/RustnKrust 8d ago

I mean, it’s a kitten, you might even be able to scream into it at that end and scare it out the other. But I’d think a snake would work very quickly. As soon as the kitten saw this weird thing sliding towards it, “RUN!!”

6

u/Smarterthanthat 8d ago edited 8d ago

Get a humane trap and zip tie it open. Start leaving it's food at the entrance. Inch it towards the back of the trap and once they're eating inside it, set it.

2

u/New_Firefighter_6363 8d ago

this the correct answer!

5

u/limelimpidgreen 8d ago

You could get a trap from good home pet adoptions or Flatbush cats and set it in the basement with their food

2

u/bassmnt 8d ago

any contact info?
Thanks in advance

1

u/limelimpidgreen 8d ago

https://www.goodhomepetadoptions.org
I think the email is info@goodhomepetadoptions.org
The owner is in the process of moving her pet store from one location to another so it might be a bit before she responds

https://www.flatbushcats.org
I know nothing beyond this website for flatbush

2

u/bassmnt 8d ago

thanks, I had looked them up and saw they are next door to the Vet I took one of the dogs to day before. Used contact form.
Thanks again

1

u/imalittlemonster 8d ago

Yes, Bronwen at Good Home pet adoptions will lend you a cat trapper!! She’s lent me before. She’s amazing.

2

u/boocars 8d ago

I would post this on Nextdoor. A lot of cat rescuers/colony carers monitor it and they’ve seen it all.

2

u/Sensitive-Lemon186 7d ago

Hi, I don’t have any special tips but I do have a humane trap you can borrow.

2

u/bassmnt 7d ago

Thanks, that’s what I would like to try.
I will DM you

1

u/Xiao_Long_Bao17 8d ago

Try luring them out with treats?

1

u/pingu3899171 8d ago

Probably best just to wait and see for when kitty comes out to eat/use the litter box and close up the hole?

2

u/bassmnt 8d ago

Been two months now. Tried everything.

1

u/Difficult_View7325 8d ago

Wait, did your friend pass away?

Also, depending on how big the hole is, you may be able to use a broomstick or those sticks with a claw at the end to grab it.

This may sound mean, but if you see feral cats on the street, leave them there.

2

u/bassmnt 8d ago

yes, my friend passed. The cat would come to him only.

It is an enclosed pipe runway along the ceiling that runs from front to back. They only have access in it to a certain point where it is blocked.

It was an older kitten when he got it.
Don't knock feral, I have three, two from around here and one from LA

2

u/Difficult_View7325 8d ago

Very sorry to hear about your friend!

Also, remember to neuter those feral cats, keeping the population in check is important

1

u/sevensevens7777 8d ago

Set up a trap down there. Put the food and water in the trap

1

u/sevensevens7777 8d ago

What are the cross streets

1

u/Vera637 8d ago

My friends had a cat like this that was very shy. Eventually it got used to them and stopped hiding as much. I take it your friend’s daughter does not want to continue caring for the cat until it gets used to her.

1

u/ehlisabk 7d ago

You could also put something in the ceiling that will deter the cat from running back there. Like a battery operated kids toy. Some cats are just impossible to catch with a professional trap.