Female, spayed feral has a distended abdomen - what can it be?

I caretake several ferals. One of them has gradually been getting a more and more distended abdomen. She is waddling around as if she's heavily pregnant, but I know she can't be since she was TNR'd in June and I have the vet report.

As far as appetite, she eats wet and dry food twice a day.
Wet food: Gerber baby food (turkey + turkey gravy) mixed with Natural Balance Ultra Premium
Dry Food: Purina's new "natural organic" kitty kibble, forget the exact name. I consider it junk food but the wet food she's getting is quality nutrition, as far as I understand these things.

Her appetite was off last night and this AM, she ate just a little bit of her wet food before waddling away. She has also had the sniffles for about a week, which I see in a runny nose and some sneezing. Last night I think she was wheezing a bit, the way you do when your nothe is thtuffed up.

Poor darling, I know something is wrong but I don't know what I can do to help her. She is quite feral and will not allow me to touch her except for the briefest pat, and only on her terms. When she was TNR'd she also got a rabies vaccine, FVRCP, and Frontline.

Can you give me some idea what might be wrong and more important, what I could possibly do to help a little kitty who's too feral to be caught?

I know how hard it is to have sick ferals. We had a feral male tabby that had a distended stomach a few weeks ago. We managed to get him to the vet and he had FIP. Sadly he did not make it. I hope things get better.

I would be concerned bout the wet food in all honesty, as it isn't cat food, so not sure about the levels of taurine etc - my vet told me off for using baby food on a cat. I would try and trap her and do a vet check just to be on the safe side.

Thanks so much for your replies and empathy!

Originally Posted by Skimble

I know how hard it is to have sick ferals. We had a feral male tabby that had a distended stomach a few weeks ago. We managed to get him to the vet and he had FIP. Sadly he did not make it. I hope things get better.

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I am afraid of FIP as well. Some of her symptoms fit, but others do not. My main concern really is to help her not to suffer. Today I thought her abdomen looked a little less firmly round and more hanging, although maybe it is wishful thinking. She is still eating but I think a little less than normal. I try to feed her separately so I can tell how much she eats but itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hard to know if the others come and finish her food. I am praying it is something less serious but unfortunately itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just impossible to make even a semi-educated guess.

Originally Posted by booktigger

I would be concerned bout the wet food in all honesty, as it isn't cat food, so not sure about the levels of taurine etc - my vet told me off for using baby food on a cat. I would try and trap her and do a vet check just to be on the safe side.

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She is on half baby food/half cat food because I am trying to transition her back to cat food after a round of antibiotics, when I tempted her with baby food. But the baby food – which is only half her food anyway - is all meat so I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think taurine is the problem.


The problem is I can't trap her. She remembers the TNR and gives a very, very wide berth to any situation where she might be boxed in. All I can do is observe and try to encourage her gently. She sometimes comes to rub on my leg and allow me to give her chin skritches but nothing below the neck, so I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even feel up her belly to get a sense if there is a solid mass or whatnot. And of course, without having a clue, I don't want to administer any kind of remedy, even homemade, because it could do more harm than good.

Well, anyway, I do appreciate the empathy. Thanks so much.

Does meat retain taurine once it is cooked? If not then the baby food meat will not have taurine in it, but at least the 1/2 cat food portion will.

Not sure whether the half cat food will have enough nutrients in it to make up a balanced diet though, with treats and complimentary food, the thought is they shouldnt make up more than 10% of the diet.

I do hope you can get to the bottom of it soon - have you been able to worm her?