- Joined
- Feb 19, 2001
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- 34,872
- Purraise
- 77
Yesterday, a feral that I have been seeing for a very long time, came to visit and feeding time. I was sitting on the stoop and I placed his food within my reach and to my surprise, he dug right in! I noticed when he ducked his head, that he had a wound on his nose and a bite on his leg. Ordinarily, he would run from me, so without hesitation I hissy grabbed him up, and swung him over gently into a cage we have outside, and captured him! He went ballistic inside the cage, and even after it was covered, he was still running across the bars.
I took the cage upstairs to the quarantine room, and opened the door to the cage. He raced out and started bouncing off the tables and counters, the walls. He climbed up the trellis I have over the window and started clawing wildly at the trellis, but it was screwed down firmly in place. He was panting so heavily and so out of control, I was afraid he would stroke out on me. We have a large wire door in front of the quarantine room, and I stepped beyond it, clearing out of the room so he would calm down.
A few hours later, I returned to the room, and he was squashed into a corner. Getting down on my knees, I approached him slowly and his sides were heaving and he was watchful and wary. I stopped right in front of him, and slowly with great care, I reached out and was able to touch the top of his head! I pushed this contact with him for two reasons. One, he is really ill, and two he is wounded. I needed to get medication and water into him quickly.
It took about 3 hours before I was able to scruff him without incident and I syringed water and medication into him, and it all ran out of his mouth.
I knew he was in serious trouble then. When I backed off a bit, he once again went ballistic, and ran up the walls and over the top of the wall over the window, clawing madly looking for escape. It broke my heart, he is an old fellow with the scars of the street vividly upon him. His eyes were running yellow drops of pus and again, he was in dire straights.
I went downstairs to call the vet, and we had a conference. He said he would do a farm call first thing in the morning and come out and take blood and run it for me. We both knew that a trip to the vet's office would kill this poor cat. I hung up and then went upstairs to see him, and discovered, that he finally managed to claw his way through the trellis and he pried open the screen, leaped to the roof then to the ground and was nowhere to be found.
He did come back last night about midnight. I opened the door outside and he saw me and fled as if the hounds of hell were at his heels! Now I have a severely diseased feral running around, and if I don't gain his trust and get him looked at, he is slated to die a slow death. I strongly suspect he either has Enteritis for several times I caught him leaning over the water bowl but unable to drink, and after he left I was cleaing up and found small amounts of bile in the corner, or he has something equally as dreadful.
I hope he comes back, I really do. I know sometimes God brings them here just to die, and if that is the case, I will only be able to bring it to him quicker and easier based on what the vet finds.
I took the cage upstairs to the quarantine room, and opened the door to the cage. He raced out and started bouncing off the tables and counters, the walls. He climbed up the trellis I have over the window and started clawing wildly at the trellis, but it was screwed down firmly in place. He was panting so heavily and so out of control, I was afraid he would stroke out on me. We have a large wire door in front of the quarantine room, and I stepped beyond it, clearing out of the room so he would calm down.
A few hours later, I returned to the room, and he was squashed into a corner. Getting down on my knees, I approached him slowly and his sides were heaving and he was watchful and wary. I stopped right in front of him, and slowly with great care, I reached out and was able to touch the top of his head! I pushed this contact with him for two reasons. One, he is really ill, and two he is wounded. I needed to get medication and water into him quickly.
It took about 3 hours before I was able to scruff him without incident and I syringed water and medication into him, and it all ran out of his mouth.
I went downstairs to call the vet, and we had a conference. He said he would do a farm call first thing in the morning and come out and take blood and run it for me. We both knew that a trip to the vet's office would kill this poor cat. I hung up and then went upstairs to see him, and discovered, that he finally managed to claw his way through the trellis and he pried open the screen, leaped to the roof then to the ground and was nowhere to be found.
He did come back last night about midnight. I opened the door outside and he saw me and fled as if the hounds of hell were at his heels! Now I have a severely diseased feral running around, and if I don't gain his trust and get him looked at, he is slated to die a slow death. I strongly suspect he either has Enteritis for several times I caught him leaning over the water bowl but unable to drink, and after he left I was cleaing up and found small amounts of bile in the corner, or he has something equally as dreadful.
I hope he comes back, I really do. I know sometimes God brings them here just to die, and if that is the case, I will only be able to bring it to him quicker and easier based on what the vet finds.
