New feral protector needs advice

hroswitha

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My husband and I have 5 indoor cats, and this spring, we became the protectors of three ferals.

We now look after two males and one female.  With the help of the local humane society, we trapped them all, neutered them, and got them rabies shots.  We've been feeding them since March.

The eldest is around 2; the two younger ones are less than 1 year old, and are probably siblings.  We've named them Simon (the oldest), Brighton, and Esther.

I have three problems.

1)  Simon has an upper respiratory infection.  When the vet had him, she washed out one of his eyes and gave him an injection of antibiotics.  Since April, his eyes look red-rimmed and rheumy.  His appetite has decreased as well.  I think he has trouble smelling his food.  He is active, though, and we have seen him grooming and goofing around near our property.  Is there anything we can do to help him be more comfortable?  

2)  The two younger cats have insatiable appetites.  Our indoor cats eat around 1 5.5 ounce can of wet food per day.  Esther has been known to put away up to 5 in a day; some days, Brighton will match her.  We feared they might have worms, so we gave them de-worming medication yesterday.  Does anyone have an idea how much food a feral should eat in a day?

3)  My indoor kitties have been dealing with the interlopers fairly well, but we are getting some marking around the doors.  Is there some way to calm them and keep the spray down?

I find the care for these cats fulfilling, btw.  My own kitties will never know the pure joy of running top speed outdoors, chasing prey, climbing trees, or other such activities.  They trade freedom for comfort and a good life, but I wonder what they would choose were they offered the opportunity to run free.  I will never pet these kitties or hold them or hear them purr, but watching them be free as they are gladdens my heart.  

Thanks for any advice y'all might have.
 

ondine

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First of all, thank you for all you've done for them. Your last paragraph captures many people's feeling exactly!

Simon may need another dose of antibiotics. You can get liquid form and put it in his food but that means watching to make sure the other two don't get it first. And it sounds like that might happen! With an URI, the cat doesn't smell and, now knowing what's good, may even starve.

I feed Schofield, my outside kitty, three 3-oz cans a day and sometimes, some chicken pieces for a bedtime snack. He's about a year and a half old and has maintained his weight of about 7 pounds. He's also very active, way more so than my inside cats.

Have you tried a Feliway diffuser inside? That might help calm the inside kitties.
 

shadowsrescue

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For the URI, I have an indoor kitty who suffers frequent attacks.  I have him on a daily maintenance dose of Lysine.  I get it in powder formula and sprinkle it on his wet food 1x a day.  When his eyes start to get runnier, I up the dose to 2x a day.  Are you able to get the cat back to the vet or could you call the vet and ask for some medication.  You would have to watch closely to be sure he was the one who ate the food.  My outdoor feral has had a few infections and to make sure he is the one eating the food with the medicine, I place the liquid drops in a very small amount of Gerber Stage 1 baby food (chicken or turkey).  I mix it really well and he gobbles it down.  I only use about 2 teaspoons of baby food so that he will eat it quickly.  I then feed him is regular amount of wet/dry food.

My outdoor ferals feeding varies on the seasons.  Since it is summertime they tend not to eat as much.  Shadow will eat about 2/3 of a 5.5 oz can of wet food and then about 1/4-1/3 c. of dry food.  In the winter, he will eat almost a whole can of wet food and 1/2 c. dry.  He is not a huge eater.  My other two boys are bigger eaters and would eat all day if I let them.  For summer time, I will only give them 1 full can of wet and about 1/2 cup of dry.  If they are out running around all day/night and not hunting at all, then they might be really hungry and I will supplement with a bit of extra tuna or chicken as a treat.  I would hope that the deworming will help.
 
 
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hroswitha

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Thank you for the advice.  I had heard about lysine from a woman at the human alliance, where I got the ferals neutered.  Where can it be purchased?  I'll try to pick some up today.  What is a Feliway diffuser?  That's a new one for me.

For the record, my house doesn't feed kibble to cats.  In part, it's a result of being caretaker to a diabetic kitty.  In 2006, my cat Mala was diagnosed as diabetic, and her regular vet predicted she'd last perhaps another year or two.  Through the advice I gained on the FDMb, I not only learned how to manage her disease, but we put her into remission.  Mala is perfectly healthy, but part of that is not feeding food with a high carbohydrate count.

In learning about her disease, I accessed various feline nutritional studies which indicate that kibble for cats is the primary reason for illnesses such as renal failure and diabetes.  In addition, as cats in the wild gain most of their liquid from eating prey and don't drink standing water, a cat who drinks from a bowl, a bath tub, a sink, or anything else, is already chronically dehydrated.  So far, this seems to be true; although we put out fresh water bowls, none of the ferals kitties have touched it.

Even my outdoor kitties won't get dry food.  Although it's pricier, I'll stick to cats of wet food for them.

Thank you for feedback.  It's great to have found this site - so far, my husband and I have been going this alone.
 

shadowsrescue

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Thank you for the advice.  I had heard about lysine from a woman at the human alliance, where I got the ferals neutered.  Where can it be purchased?  I'll try to pick some up today.  What is a Feliway diffuser?  That's a new one for me.

For the record, my house doesn't feed kibble to cats.  In part, it's a result of being caretaker to a diabetic kitty.  In 2006, my cat Mala was diagnosed as diabetic, and her regular vet predicted she'd last perhaps another year or two.  Through the advice I gained on the FDMb, I not only learned how to manage her disease, but we put her into remission.  Mala is perfectly healthy, but part of that is not feeding food with a high carbohydrate count.

In learning about her disease, I accessed various feline nutritional studies which indicate that kibble for cats is the primary reason for illnesses such as renal failure and diabetes.  In addition, as cats in the wild gain most of their liquid from eating prey and don't drink standing water, a cat who drinks from a bowl, a bath tub, a sink, or anything else, is already chronically dehydrated.  So far, this seems to be true; although we put out fresh water bowls, none of the ferals kitties have touched it.

Even my outdoor kitties won't get dry food.  Although it's pricier, I'll stick to cats of wet food for them.

Thank you for feedback.  It's great to have found this site - so far, my husband and I have been going this alone.
I use a product called Viralys.  I order it online from Amazon, but you can often get it from your vet and maybe at PetsMart.  There are other varieties that you can find at most drugstores, but you would have to crush the pills and hide them in the wet food.  I am also unsure about the proper dosing.  The Viralys is flavored so most cats like it.  You can get it in a liquid paste, treats or powder.

The Feliway diffuser is available at most pet stores and even my vet carries them.  They are usually cheaper online.  You can use the plug in diffuser or the spray or both.  They provide phermones which help to calm the cats during stressful times.  I have one right now in my cats safe room and also use the spray as needed.  Here is a link to it from Amazon

 
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