I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to take up too much space my first post, and I am not sure if there is an unwritten rule about post lengths. So I will just say that more detail about the cat I am asking advice on can be found on my website here http://honeylioness.proboards.com/in...lay&thread=152
The short version is that last week I was able to get into my home a stray cat I have been feeding for about a year who has a variety of scabs, scars, wounds, and abscesses from fighting to just barely survive on the streets. He has tested negative for FLV or FIV and got his shots last week for rabies and distemper along with treatment for his ear mites. I had been keeping him quarantined away from my other cats until I knew he was not going to spread any sort of contagion through the house.
The cat, David, never made a sound as he was put into the cat carrier, driven to the vets or while he was being examined and having blood drawn – which I found really strange. I have heard him mrowled late at night as if calling for unseen comrades still outside – but no sounds other than that.
He is incredibly underweight as evidenced by the prominence of his back bone and ribs but the vet said this is normal for a cat on the streets and suggested kitten food for now as it has more protein. He is currently sequestered while I am not home in my studio with a clean cat box and fresh food and water each morning and sometimes again at night.
Here is my question/dilemma –
I have been reading a lot in the last week about how to deal with feral/wild cats and I am wondering if I have, or am, doing everything wrong with David.
Much of what I have read says to not touch the cat, basically pretend to ignore him completely and let him come to you which could take weeks or months. However David has a large abscess on his back from whatever fight or accident he got into and the other night it burst. The vet and I had talked about it and she said if I was comfortable with doing what was necessary I should help it drain or help express any puss inside and then apply an antibiotic ointment to the area as his immune system was likely not as robust as it should be.
So I have been “catching†him once a day to tend to this wound. Which all I have read says is the worse thing you can do. He does occasionally hiss at me when I reach for him, but once I have him in my arms he is very quiet and makes not a sound, though I did detect a shiver from him. Would I be correct in assuming that rather than being docile he is actually terrified? And is my treating his wound only terrifying him more so that he will never relax around people?
I have never taken in a cat before where I had no idea of any past human interactions or experience and cannot determine if he is socialized or not. Of note he has not made any aggressive display towards any of the other cats who this weekend were allowed to wander into the office for brief visits.
What is the difference between a feral or a wild cat? Can one be a wild cat even if they were originally or at some point lived with a family? To me feral means they were born wild and have never had any positive contact with people at all. Anyways …..
Any comments or suggestions on how to balance the two – tending his wound versus ignoring him all together – would be appreciated.
The short version is that last week I was able to get into my home a stray cat I have been feeding for about a year who has a variety of scabs, scars, wounds, and abscesses from fighting to just barely survive on the streets. He has tested negative for FLV or FIV and got his shots last week for rabies and distemper along with treatment for his ear mites. I had been keeping him quarantined away from my other cats until I knew he was not going to spread any sort of contagion through the house.
The cat, David, never made a sound as he was put into the cat carrier, driven to the vets or while he was being examined and having blood drawn – which I found really strange. I have heard him mrowled late at night as if calling for unseen comrades still outside – but no sounds other than that.
He is incredibly underweight as evidenced by the prominence of his back bone and ribs but the vet said this is normal for a cat on the streets and suggested kitten food for now as it has more protein. He is currently sequestered while I am not home in my studio with a clean cat box and fresh food and water each morning and sometimes again at night.
Here is my question/dilemma –
I have been reading a lot in the last week about how to deal with feral/wild cats and I am wondering if I have, or am, doing everything wrong with David.
Much of what I have read says to not touch the cat, basically pretend to ignore him completely and let him come to you which could take weeks or months. However David has a large abscess on his back from whatever fight or accident he got into and the other night it burst. The vet and I had talked about it and she said if I was comfortable with doing what was necessary I should help it drain or help express any puss inside and then apply an antibiotic ointment to the area as his immune system was likely not as robust as it should be.
So I have been “catching†him once a day to tend to this wound. Which all I have read says is the worse thing you can do. He does occasionally hiss at me when I reach for him, but once I have him in my arms he is very quiet and makes not a sound, though I did detect a shiver from him. Would I be correct in assuming that rather than being docile he is actually terrified? And is my treating his wound only terrifying him more so that he will never relax around people?
I have never taken in a cat before where I had no idea of any past human interactions or experience and cannot determine if he is socialized or not. Of note he has not made any aggressive display towards any of the other cats who this weekend were allowed to wander into the office for brief visits.
What is the difference between a feral or a wild cat? Can one be a wild cat even if they were originally or at some point lived with a family? To me feral means they were born wild and have never had any positive contact with people at all. Anyways …..
Any comments or suggestions on how to balance the two – tending his wound versus ignoring him all together – would be appreciated.
