Sick stray in my yard...

I came home from work tonight to find a very sickly looking tom staring in my porch window at Gibbons and hissing up a storm.

This poor fella looks like hes got fleas and probably worms as hes so skinny. His fur is dry and dull and his third eyelid is partially covering both eyes. I tried to pet him and he let me, but howled when I touched him, not sure if it was because he could see Gibbons inside, or because my touch was painful to him He was snuffling too the poor guy.

I know this guy needs medical attention and if I can catch him I'm going to do my best to fix him up and adopt him out. my hubby said if we can quarantine him in the back room while hes getting well, then he has no objections.

I'm just worried about Gibbons and Onyx getting upset at being able to smell this guy from under the door. Whats the best way to go about this? The tom ran away when I came inside and the door slammed- I hope he comes back so I can help him

Melissa,

I would be careful and change my clothes and shoes and wash my hands really good after coming in contact with him, just to be safe and keep your two cats from coming down sick. If you can start feeding him some place secure away from the house, he will hang around that area instead of your place then perhaps you can trap him and get him to the vet. That third eyelid showing and loss of weight would concern me. He needs veterinary help ASAP.

I washed up well after touching him briefly. I think he'll be no problem to catch, he probably belongs to someone and is either severly neglected or has been tossed out to fend for himself. I can tell he'd be a beautiful guy if he was healthy- hes a tuxie with longish hair.

I'm going to fix up the back porch and get it ready for him to recover in, Theres like a little 'anti chamber' between the porch and the rest of the house so it would keep he far enough away from my boys to keep things safe, I'd think.

Heres hoping he comes back- I'm going to scout out the yard tomorrow and set up a feeding station for him, to get him to come back. I've got some canned food I can set out for him as well as some of my boys' dry.

That's so nice of you.. poor guy. I dont think I'd be able to do it, living in a small apartment with Zoey and all. Kudos to you. Keep us posted!

Hi Melissa,

You're a wonderful person for wanting to help this kitty and it sounds like you're being smart about it. I'd be very careful about exposing your animal(s) to this cat until you can have him checked out by a vet. There are so many diseases that can be passed to a healthy cat by a sick stray.

Hope you can help this poor little kitty.

Tammie

I wish I could keep him - but with allergies that are barely under control now, I can't I will make sure hes better and has a good home though. Please send 'kitty come back' vibes this way. I hope he doesn't wander off in the neighborhood and never get the help he needs

Did you happen to give him any food when you saw him? If you did there's a good chance he'll come back. Or maybe leave some out for him. If you're really adimate about catching him you could always rent a food trap from your local humane society.

*good kitty come back vibes*

He ran away when I came inside to put my groceries down. I only had time to get a look at his condition and give him a little scratch on the head.

I put some food out a ways from the house hoping he'll come have a snack at least. Maybe he'll be around in the morning again. If so I'm going to catch him and keep him in the porch away from my cats until the vet can see him. Its been taking up to a week to get an appointmant

Gosh, I would hope there is a vet that take emergency cases. Maybe if you call your vet and tell them the situation they can at least tell you who to call that takes emergencies.

Tammie

Worst case scenario- I'll take him to the SPCA who has a Vet do rounds every couple of days.

Well I guess that's better than letting him die out in the neighborhood.

They're a no kill shelter- they'll keep him there until hes well and adopted. However , its kitten season and they're pretty full. My best bet is to keep him here and try to get him well myself, if he comes back. I shudder to think how long his life has gone on like this He seems so miserable, but looked like he wanted to be loved so badly. Shame on the people that let this happen to him

I am sending out "kittie come back vibes" This breaks my heart. I hope the little guy will come back and gets all fixed up. How angry it makes me that people can do this to thier animals (if he does indeed have a owner) I wish him and you all the luck. Keep us posted on what happens!

Heather

You need to be very careful with a sick feral. Do not bring him in your house if you have other cats. The only safe way is to keep him in a secure location away from your other cats. After handling a sick cat make sure you change clothes and do not wear you shoes you wore near the cat into house. Also not just wash up use a solution of water and clorox. Even if you take him to the vet and he passes all blood test wait until he is symptom free. The tests that vet's do cover most diseases, but some strains of deseases like distemper can slip by the tests there are just too many variations of the desease to catch them all. I learned this the hard way when the first feral I fostered passes all the blood test. I brought her and her kitten into the house. I kept them isolated in a spare bedroom. To make a long story short I lost 2 cats and ended up with a $3000.00 dollar vet bill.

You can help the strays and ferals. Just do not take any chances - no matter what.. Treat them with love , give them medical care, food, and lots of hugs. When you leave them to be with your cats just pretend that you have just visited a toxic waste site.

I still foster strays and feral. I just never , never take any chances with my own babies health.

This is really and SOS topic, so I'll slide it over there for ya!

No sign of the little guy today The food was untouched- maybe hes moved on? I'm keeping my eyes open for him.

I talked to the vet today and she said to bring him in if I caught him and they'd get some blood and do a swab for leukemia. She advised leaving him outside until the tests come back. If I see him I'll keep feeding him way in the back of the yard away from the house until we get the results.

any news?

He came back the night before last and Onyx had just run out the door when my husband opened it (hes an indoors only kitty, but he still loves to try to sneak out) Well, Mr. Tom Cat decided to come after him and was all claws and teeth. We had to push him off Onyx with a broom and I was able to scoop Onnie up and get him inside. He wasn't injured, just ruffled. Now I'm worried that he may get something from this Tom- hes due for his shots soon, I'll have blood panels and the like run on him then. So far, so good.

So, it appears I'm left with not a lot of options. Right now theres no animal control units in my area , as the two ladies who did it resigned So my vet is suggesting I trap the kitty and bring him in. My neighbors have a raccoon trap that I will set up ( they have to search the barn for it) and see if that works.

I honestly don't know what will become of Tom. He appears very ill, and my cats obviously arent' impressed with him. I'm not sure what to do, but maybe putting him down is the most humane thing if hes really that ill