I set the food dish and nanny cam in the Pet Porter and tied a cord to
the gate, which I then fed through the crack in the bathroom door.
That way I could observe when the cat entered the porter and pull the
gate shut from outside the room.  It took some patience, but it
worked.

The cat lunges furiously at the gate when I approach and growls in a
low, menacing tone.  I have never seen such a display of raw
aggression from felis cattus.

Are you all SURE it's not a lynx hybrid???

I turned Jerry Howe's DDR on full blast.  (I have been keeping it
turned off and saving it for this occasion, because it supposedly
loses effectiveness like hearing a favorite tune too many times.)  I
also gassed the Pet Porter with a walloping dose of Feliway.  Then I
closed the door and turned off the light, so as to give the animal a
bit of time to calm down.  I will burn some plastic on the late-night
weekend vet I guess, because I want this over with.  Poor kitty has
suffered in confinement for far too long.  But soon it will be as free
as the wind, and I will finally be able to clean the damn bathroom.

Still, I face a conundrum.  Neutering is not in debate, but what about
vaccinations?  I do not want to turn a cat loose if it is sick from
the complications of feline vaccine.  My inclination, based on
everything I have learned recently, is to save my money and protect
the animal's immune system.  It is healthy now, and I don't think
there has been any rabies around here for years.

Opinions welcome!

Charlie