I've two semi-ferals who live in my garden (and the surrounding fields) - various posts on them elsewhere in this forum. I've had them for a year - they are lovely little things.
One, Squeaky, my c. 18 month old b/w girl, is a picture of health and is getting ever friendlier - boy, does she like her scritches and playtime. She's growing up to be a gorgeous lady.
The other, Bubble, a teeny-weeny little c. 2-2.5 year old semi long-haired black cat, remains an enigma. I've one behavioural and one health-related query on her:
BEHAVIOURAL: whilst she doesn't like being petted (I can get the odd finger or two on her if she's immersed in chow), Bubble/ Bubbsy has no problems with me standing a foot or two away while she eats. I have noticed she is a really messy eater: I'll empty the pouch into her bowl and she'll basically tear off lumps and drop them down a few inches from the bowl and then eat them. I've never seen another cat do it. Any suggestions as to why and possible implications?
HEALTH: I think Bubbsy may be 'over grooming'. I don't see much of her during the day (she tends to come for food at dusk), unlike her little sister who probably spends 3-4 days a week in her box in the bushes. Bubbsy's daytime appearances come in fits and starts and I use them to check on her wellbeing, as - given her bible black colouring - checking her in fading light or by torchlight is very tricky! About 6 weeks ago, her daytime visits stopped completely - think an intruder cat and her had a fight - but this past week she's been around a couple of times. I've noticed that, whilst she generally looks in tip-top shape (I did a spot-on treatment on her a few weeks back as she'd clearly been scratching her ears a lot - this has healed up nicely), she has a fairly major bald patch at the inside-top of her right leg. It's about 2 inches at its longest, triangular shaped. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was a surgery scar. My original thought was fleas, but, as I say, the spot-on treatment is fairly recent. Another thought was dietary change, but I realised that there has been no difference in what I've been feeding. So I'm starting to think it might be over grooming - I partly say this based on Internet searching and partly based on watching her in the garden a few minutes back giving herself a major cleaning session!
If she were an everyday indoor cat I'd have no issues with getting her to the vet straightaway, but obviously the situation is different for ferals (and she is at the feral end of semi-feral, I'd say), not just because of the rigmarole of trapping, but because of the subsequent release/ care issues. Moreover, if it is over-grooming I've heard that it tends to be stress-related and so I can't really see how vets advice could really help me - it'll probably only stress her more!
So my thoughts are:
a) another spot-on treatment and ...
b) keep monitoring and, if it doesn't improve in a week ish, bite the bullet and get her to the vet
I'd welcome advice from anyone else who has had similar issues with their ferals/ semi-ferals.
One, Squeaky, my c. 18 month old b/w girl, is a picture of health and is getting ever friendlier - boy, does she like her scritches and playtime. She's growing up to be a gorgeous lady.
The other, Bubble, a teeny-weeny little c. 2-2.5 year old semi long-haired black cat, remains an enigma. I've one behavioural and one health-related query on her:
BEHAVIOURAL: whilst she doesn't like being petted (I can get the odd finger or two on her if she's immersed in chow), Bubble/ Bubbsy has no problems with me standing a foot or two away while she eats. I have noticed she is a really messy eater: I'll empty the pouch into her bowl and she'll basically tear off lumps and drop them down a few inches from the bowl and then eat them. I've never seen another cat do it. Any suggestions as to why and possible implications?
HEALTH: I think Bubbsy may be 'over grooming'. I don't see much of her during the day (she tends to come for food at dusk), unlike her little sister who probably spends 3-4 days a week in her box in the bushes. Bubbsy's daytime appearances come in fits and starts and I use them to check on her wellbeing, as - given her bible black colouring - checking her in fading light or by torchlight is very tricky! About 6 weeks ago, her daytime visits stopped completely - think an intruder cat and her had a fight - but this past week she's been around a couple of times. I've noticed that, whilst she generally looks in tip-top shape (I did a spot-on treatment on her a few weeks back as she'd clearly been scratching her ears a lot - this has healed up nicely), she has a fairly major bald patch at the inside-top of her right leg. It's about 2 inches at its longest, triangular shaped. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was a surgery scar. My original thought was fleas, but, as I say, the spot-on treatment is fairly recent. Another thought was dietary change, but I realised that there has been no difference in what I've been feeding. So I'm starting to think it might be over grooming - I partly say this based on Internet searching and partly based on watching her in the garden a few minutes back giving herself a major cleaning session!
If she were an everyday indoor cat I'd have no issues with getting her to the vet straightaway, but obviously the situation is different for ferals (and she is at the feral end of semi-feral, I'd say), not just because of the rigmarole of trapping, but because of the subsequent release/ care issues. Moreover, if it is over-grooming I've heard that it tends to be stress-related and so I can't really see how vets advice could really help me - it'll probably only stress her more!
So my thoughts are:
a) another spot-on treatment and ...
b) keep monitoring and, if it doesn't improve in a week ish, bite the bullet and get her to the vet
I'd welcome advice from anyone else who has had similar issues with their ferals/ semi-ferals.
