Good luck, you're doing the right thing by getting them spayed.

I get my barn cats caged for vet visits by skipping a feeding, then putting a dish of canned cat food or canned Jack Mackerel fish in the cage. The combination of hungry tummies and stinky cat food makes them rush right in.

Do you make box nests for them in the winter time? I got that tip from the Alley Cat Allies website. Take a cardboard box, line with an old sweater, close up the top, cut a cat-sized hole, and put it somewhere in the barn (high up is good). Cheap warm cat nest, they'll love it.

We don't have a barn -- just hoop houses for the chickens. Since those are locked up at dusk, we can't put the cat's winter shelter in there. We took a 55 gallon plastic barrel, cut "entrance" and "exit" holes near the bottom under the curve of the barrel to keep rain from getting in. It is positioned against the house so should be warm enough with four cats (and blankets) in it.

They haven't used it to sleep in yet, but they play in it so it should work once the cold weather gets here.

If, when you get them in the cage, you can cover it with one or several beach towels or a blanket, they should stay calmer and less likely to panic in transit. If the cage doesn't have handles, it might be a good idea to make some out of rope or wire. I don't know how old/large they are, but 4 cats milling around in a panic can make things a bit hard to carry, if they all dive to one corner!!

I hadn't even thought about the transit. It will be a 45 minute ride and of course, they have never been in a car! They are 4 mos. old now and all four fit comfortably in the cage but probably won't be that comfy once they are locked in it!

I am finding it very easy to coax three into the cage in the evening with tuna, but there is always a straggler that has a tummy full of miceys that doesn't care to eat any more.

I sure will be glad when this is over. I hope they don't hate me when the dirty deed is done. Thanks all!

Better get some earplugs. I bet those kittens yowl all the way to the vet! LOL!

You have a great plan for the kittens' winter bed--the barrel. I wonder if you should put something on the top of it to insulate from that side.

Good luck!

I have an old heavy chase lounge cushion that I can tape over the top. It will get wet but that doesn't matter. Right now, I just want to get the "snip snip" over and done with!

I think getting the snip snip done is a great idea...I live in the country and people from town seem to think that everyone in the country wants all their stray kittens and they come and dump them on our property when a snip snip is all it takes to keep the kitten population down and to say the city folks from having to drive out to my place...Oh I do have a cat that is basically an inside cat...He is 12 years old and he does get up on my counter cause that is where I feed him...but he has never pee'd anywhere except in the littler box or outdoors...He actually perfers to go outdoors...I actually prefer him to stay inside because the vet bills are much less...My Charlie meows for a few minutes when I put him in the car but he settles down fast and I don't hear a peep out of him.

Roberta, we did the same thing right before we moved to rural Tennessee from Chattanooga. After several months of milk and catfood I was able to befriend a feral kitty (who turned out to be pregnant). She finally trusted me enough to bring me her 4 kitties one day. We fell in love with them (boy were they wild, too!) My husband and I decided to take them with us to the country when we moved so they could have a better life, so we did what you're doing, letting them get used to the cage and putting cheese inside (their favorite). One day SNAP! the door closed and we had 4 VERY upset little kitties (we called them little helicoptors). We had them spayed/neutered and actually had to keep them in the cage until we moved (several weeks). We had joined two large dogcages together, and for the most part they seemed quite happy (until we tried to handle them!). They (and mama was fixed, too) all moved with us to our new farm and became very happy outdoor kitties. Our little mousers. They're still somewhat wild to others, but very tame with me.

Thanks for all of your encouragement. We got them all in the cage Sunday night but it sure wasn't easy. We finally got three in and #4 wasn't cooperating. Every time we got close to getting him in there, two would escape! It took a fishing net and some rough handling to get them all in. We really assumed they would never trust us again.

Surprisingly, they didn't make a peep all night long. Mon. morning we loaded the cage into the back of the car and they really didn't complain as much as I thought they would. They are so bonded to each other and I think that really helped. It was a 45 minute drive and was pretty quiet. We picked them up yesterday and the trip home was LOUD!!!!!

Today, they are completely accepting of us and are right now all sleeping in that same cage. I washed the blanket that was in it so it wouldn't smell like the vet's place. We are amazed that they just got right back to normal. Only thing is, we are supposed to keep them from jumping and being overly active. RIGHT!!!

So, the whole thing wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. This is true of so many experiences. We expect the worst and the worst hardly ever happens.

3 years ago, our neighbor passed away, and I was left with her cats. I had 7 fixed cats of my own. Her kids insured me that this ladies cats were all fixed, so I didnt have a problem in taking 4 of them in to our barn. Wellllll, many cats later, and almost a divorce, we took all of the females to our local shelter, and had thme all fixed. Try gathering 14 feral female cats...not an easy task. I used a live trap,(and leather gloves) and started several days in advance. I still had one wise old lady that was VERY pregnant, and ready to pop at any moment, that I had to take to the local vet and pay an arm and a leg to get fixed, but I am happy to say that we havent had one kitten born on the place since that time. PHEW!!!! We are now down to a total of 15-18 cats left, and finally they are a level of control.
Voice of experience....dont leave any female UNFIXED!

During this whole ordeal, my daughter called. She lives in a Chicago suburb and has taken in two strays. I told her she should have them both spayed but she wanted to let the female have kittens (for a learning experience for her son!)

She said "Don't worry Mom, we plan to sell the kittens". YEAH RIGHT!!!!! Well, the cat had three kittens and they sure can't afford to have 5 cats fixed. Sometimes you just have to let people learn from their own mistakes.

Our kittens are doing great. The boys are looking after their sister and are being very gentle with her as though they know her operation was more invasive than theirs.

I applaud you for getting the cats fixed.

The barrel idea is very interesting. Is it on it's side? I am getting visions of them all sleeping on one side, and getting it started rolling, and rolling it around the yard....

The barrel is on its side. The top is sealed and a cut rectangle is on each side down by the bottom so the curve of the barrel will keep snow and rain from coming into the barrel. I have a cement block on each side to stablize it so there will be no "roll out the barrel and we'll have a barrel of fun" stuff going on.

I hope you can picture this. I have blankets inside and an old chase lounge cushion taped to the top and sides. It is next to the house so it should be fairly well sheltered and hopefully the heat from the house will help to heat it. The four of them sleep in a pile, so just their body heat should be enough. I sure do hope so anyway!