Open Tread: Stray Cats

People, I am pissed off at myself.

When I left work today, there was a stray cat in the concrete tundra that is my work parking lot. (Seriously, there is nothing but concrete as far as the eye can see.) I managed to coax her into butting her head into my hand, but then I had to make a judgment call whether to try to build more trust capital before picking her up, or to just go for it then and there.

She looked super-skittish and I didn't think I had time to lose, so I picked her up. She responded badly; when I put my hands on either side of her to lift her, she bit me hard enough that I reflexively let her go. (I don't mind being bitten, but I let my cats go when they bite because that's them saying Mom, I don't want to be picked up. Stupid muscle memory.) She got under a row of cars; I was able to track her for several minutes before I lost her and couldn't pick up the trail again. So now I am angry at self and also my knees are killing me.

The only 'good' spot in this (if you can call it that) is that Husband swears she's been in the parking lot for years, so she's apparently not in imminent danger of starving to death tonight.

Is there anything I can do better next time? I'm pretty sure if I approach her with a big cat carrier, she'll dart off at full speed, so I think it will have to be hand-catching. And she was a slippery little thing, so I don't think oven mitts to protect from the teeth will leave me with the necessary dexterity.

Also, there is not going to be anyone at work who can be alerted for help, so that's out from the get-go. The people who would help (co-workers) won't be walking down to my car with me, and the people who should help (management, or security) wouldn't.

Thoughts?