Semi-Feral with a MASSIVE ear ifnection - how to treat??

I've got a tiny little cat with a big problem!

Tabitha, one of my semi-feral barn cats was limping tonight. (My Damita Mae's sister)

So, when I fed the kitties, I nabbed her, stuffed her in a carrier. She was pissed when I caught her & wow I thought she was gonna kill me.

Got her in the bathroom, she's purring & sitting in my lap.

She has got the single worst ear infection I have ever seen! I've seen some massive ear infections & such at the humane society these past years - but wowza - this is bad.

I haven't a clue how to treat her - or get her to the vet even. The vet normally does Panalog/Animax ointment in the ear 2x a day for 10-14 days. Obviously that won't work so well with her. I don't want to keep her inside so she looses any of her coat & I'm not sure I have a building to keep her enclosed in (she's smart & quick). I could keep her in a dog crate in the shed or the heated shop....I'm worried she'll loose some of her coat in the shop & in the shed she won't be warm enough (been below 30 at night in the 40-50 range during the day).

Any suggestions/advice on where to keep her & what I can ask the vet about to treat her tomorrow would be great!

Oh - her leg - all I could find was an old almost completely healed wound. I hate not being able to pet her & notice these things.

Here are some pics....the first one you can kinda see how nasty her ear is



Those 2 tone legs



A body shot - she's not ear-tipped - the tip was gone when I caught her to be spayed years ago - frostbite



Now I'm wondering if she has an eye infection in that left eye, too....haven't released her yet for the night, so will have to check before I do.

White Cat lover - fish anti biotics for flesh wounds... this board
doesn't encourage it, but you can find the information, sometimes
vets will assist.

Go to Terrierman.com and look under health care, for the section on using antibiotics for less:

http://www.terrierman.com/antibiotics.htm

doseages on Clavamox for cats are 62.22 mg 2x daily
or every 12 hours (I know because I've got the pills direct from the vet
sitting at home, and the package is marked with the dosage amounts per
pill.) If you have not got some sitting round your house (I happily do have some) then you got to go to Cephalxin (sp!!) or FishFlex.

Fishflex is probably your best bet, as its the one you don't need
a prescription for, it will esentially do the same thing as Clavamox - and is available at the pet stores, but not in 62.22 mg dosages.

You have to cut them up which means estimating dosages, not sure
about exact dosage for cats, he does give the dog dosages.

consult Merck's Vet Manual (at a public library) and see what they
say. I think I remember it being something similar to the dog's dosage.
You grind up the pill(s) or capsul into powder and put into the food.

In a pinch its better than nothing and will definitely
help. If you can trap and get to a vet, bully for you, but you
may not be able to do that.

There is a NEW product at Vet's an injection that will give you
14 days worth of anti bio on time release for the cat, you give
the shot, et voila no more pilling! If you can get to a vet,
that would be the best option. But I do understand otherwise.

PM for more info if you need it!

I agree with you about the eye. The last time I took a pic (of one of my fosters) and the one eye was opaque in the camera while the other was clear, the opaque one turned out to be really serious uveitis. I wonder if you can try to get some more pix and see if that eye is opaque in every picture or if it was just the angle?

It is a shame about the infection because the ones in areas like the ear where fluid is involved seem like they are the most pervasive, not to mention painful. If you can get her to the vet and I would try to get them to give her a shot of a "big" antibiotic that they usually only give to cats with infections resistant to everything else (the one I am thinking of is Xenaquin).

On the cold/warm areas- where does she usually stay? If it is the barn, can you make her a lair in the dog crate in the barn, and maybe put a cat heating pad in the crate? I realize that might be impossible but it is just a thought.

She's never one to like to be enclosed or "trapped".....she sleeps under a shed where she has 3 exits (we packed straw under there for her).

I tried to catch her again tonight, but she wasn't overly hungry after getting fed too good last night. Once I catch her, then I'll call the vet again to see if they can get her in.

If you DO catch again, DO NOT LET HER GO UNTIL THE VET SEES HER!
Even if this means she has to be caged in a trap and pee on newspapers you
clean out of the trap periodically. This kitty needs a shot of anti bio most likely, either the 14 day variety (new and wonderful thing!!) or a one day
boost" that will be followed with stuff in the food and/or topically applied.

You may even have to have it cleaned out surgically and flushed
if its bad enough. About the eye - not sure on that. The last poster
was correct however, that may be an infection of the cornea.

In which case, the 14 day anti bio shot looks more and more
valuable...

I agree with opilot if it is possible to get the time release antibiotic. I haven't heard of this before but it sounds like a dream for anyone treating ferals.

She wont loose too much of her coat in a couple of weeks, and it is much better than leaving the infection. We have the 14day antibiotic over here, it hasn't proved useful in everything, but for cats like this, it is wonderful, and maybe if it wasn't enough, crushing them in really nice smelly food for her?