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Cat disappears after surgery

post #1 of 9
6/8/11 at 8:31am
Thread Starter 
We have three cats who are happy together and the input I received on this forum helped to achieve that goal. Anyway---a stray tomcat showed up some time ago and our cats gave him a wide berth. We started feeding him on the deck because we felt sorry for him. Time passed and I put FrontLine Plus on him because he was covered with fleas and ticks. He went off his feed, became sick and started vomiting worms. Expensive vet visit, deworming, screened for leukemia and aids negative. So once he was stable, about 2 weeks later, grabbed him up and took him for neutering and his vaccinations. This was last Thursday. It was hot. Left him crated until the anesthesia started to wear off. Then we fed him and he ate both wet and dry food, drank water, etc. I saw him crawling beneath one of the free standing storage sheds, not uncommon behavior, to cool off. Tomorrow will be a week since he has been missing, just disappeared. We feel sick. We should have done this, should have done that. Our own three cats have the house and the barn. We made Tom a shelter on the covered side deck, with water, food dishes and a condo. Does anyone have any thoughts about what could have happened????
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post #2 of 9
6/8/11 at 11:43am
Sure! He associates your care with getting very sick and being dragged to a vet! Of course you meant well. But animals don't know that. He'd rather go somewhere else to look for food. The price was too high for him at your place.
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post #3 of 9
6/11/11 at 7:05am
I'm wondering if he has returned. ?
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post #4 of 9
6/11/11 at 9:34am
Thread Starter 
Presto, Ligwa...thank you for your responses. Presto---Frankly, I sincerely wondered whether Tom did in fact associate my care with trips to the vet, ipso facto, he got out of Dodge.. He showed up purring at the front door exactly one week from the time of his disappearance. That was Thursday morning. Initially he did not look any worse for the wear so to speak. Then last night before dark we noticed that he was bloated, and he had been eating roughly half of what he normally had, e.g., Tom would consume an entire can of 9-Lives, then go through a bowl of dry food in the beginning. Anyway, then we noted he had bad diarrhea. So, Presto---more stress for the poor guy, back to the vet this morning. Surprisingly, he was calm in the crate, his usual cooperative self at the vets, and is now stretched out on the side deck. He has been treated and the vet thinks all we be fine, surgery did great insofar as the neutering. We want to introduce him to the "inside" cats---Mattie (spayed Momma cat) and the two kids now 13 months old (neutered son and spayed daughter). They are such a close knit little family that I am terrified of disrupting the peace. What are the chances that Mattie and the kids will "see him around" in the next few months enough to get used to him??? They go outside at will, and know he is on the deck but run the other direction. No aggression noted from Tom. As usual any input is appreciated. Thanks a million!!!
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post #5 of 9
6/11/11 at 12:10pm
Just wanted to say that I'm glad it all turned out so well, at least to this point. Tom may associate you with trips to the vet and all, but maybe he showed up again because he knew he wasn't right and thought you would help. He's not so dumb.

I have no advice as to how your other cats (because Tom is yours now, you know) will adjust to him. One never knows how that will go. You just have to wait and see.

Good luck and to you for taking care of him.


Robin
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post #6 of 9
6/11/11 at 12:34pm
I have the opposite opinion about stray cats taking off after trips to the vets. Most times, they bond more with you and do not leave the safety of your yard or their territory, and their constant food source. Very unlikely that his disappearance had anything to do at all for your kindness and vet care trips. Not sure why he left, but could have been a bit disoriented too after the neuter. But glad he is back.. I am sure your other cats have already seen Tom around your place so visually they all ready know him. The following is only if you want to bring into the house full-time: If you want to bring him in full-time you would follow the same protocol as any other new kitty addition. A room all to himself for a bit to settle in. Then you can start transferring smells from him to your cats and visa-versa. I would also allow your cats to investigate Tom's room initially without Tom in there, and then let Tom investigate the rest of the house without your resident cats around. I would do this a few times before actually introducing them for the first time. And just make it a short visit before you separate them again. Just do this over, and over quite a few times and allow them to spend more and more time together. If you just want them to get to know eachother outside, I think that has already been done, because your cats go outside and they probably already know eachother's smells and have already seen eachother. I bet they already have a relationship going. Tom sounds like a very nice boy and you have taken wonderful care of him
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post #7 of 9
6/11/11 at 2:57pm
I'm really, really glad he showed up.

Introduce him like you would any other newcomer, with care.
I just want to add that I think it's great that you are taking in and taking care
of a stray kitty.
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post #8 of 9
6/15/11 at 11:55am
Glad I was wrong! So, what was wrong with him after he returned, i.e., why was he bloated? What did the vet say? Did he eat something outside that made him sick? Anyway, good luck with him, and remember - outdoor cats have an average lifespan of only about 4 years; indoor cats ~ 15 years!
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post #9 of 9
6/21/11 at 6:11am
Thread Starter 
Hi, The vet trip after Tom left for a week after the neutering left us with no real answers, only more questions. I had him retested for leukemia and aids since they were pulling blood for chemistries anyway. The vet did an abdominal x-ray. Tom was without fever, had "food" in his belly on x-rays, and normal blood work. So--does he have a home?? Maybe he was put up for a week indoors??
Meanwhile, the slow introduction to Tom with our loving family of 3 cats is NOT going well. Tom has gone from "ignoring" them to actively chasing them away, e.g. from the deck initially, but now he will chase them on the fence, under the car, etc. Last night he went into their outdoor sanctuary, the workshop in side our barn---contains multiple heated beds (not heated at the moment!), water, dry food, litter pan, and so on. Right inside the "cat door" cut into the side of the workshop, there is a box they jump down on. Tom sprayed the living daylights out of the box.
It appears now that 1-Tom will not ever be coming indoors knowing that neutering did not curtail the spraying, and 2-He is becoming more territorial and wants our three cats gone so that he can be the only cat around ("ain't happenin'). All three of our "babies" are afraid of him now. The "no good deed goes unpunished" is so applicable. If anyone has any suggestions, please post. Thanks for everyone's input. Carole AKA jararaca
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