Conundrum with Feral being sick

Hello folks again,

I hate to say it but I'm back asking for insight and information or at least ideas.  I feel bad that we aren't able to throw money around and just go all out for him (Will as someone named him..Will Feral) but we are trying to do what we can for a little bit.  First the situation...

Will has been a "patio" feral almost since two months old.  That is to say he spends on average 8 to 12 hours a day on the patio and the majority of the rest in our garden I think. He is almost completely nourished by us as near as we can tell and this has been for about two years now.  About a month ago, we noticed that he was getting pretty thin AND was not eating as much.  This has seemed to get worse and for at least a couple days last week we felt he didn't eat at all.  He spends his time for the most part just lazing on the cushions we leave out for him.

Although he has allowed us to lightly pet and scratch him around the neck and ears, it is very tentative.  Yesterday morning I was able to grab ahold of him and get him into our cat carrier to take to the Vet.  Our hope was that with a little bloodwork or a quick exam we might find out the problem and try and resolve.  That hope went out the window when the initial estimate for diagnostics of bloodwork and an xray would have been nearly $700 and that is before any medication or treatment.  I finally compromised and got feline HIV and Leukemia tested (both negative) and a fecal test which found he has the type of tapeworms that come from lizards.  The vet felt that alone is not likely the cause of his problems but without the other tests wouldn't be able to say for sure.  He also had a fever and the Vet felt his breathing was a bit off but that might have been from stress of the environment (he had to be scruffed throughout the vet visit).

Deciding that some possible treatment was better than not, we got Will an antibiotic shot, a shot that was supposed to help his appetite, some fluids to help hydrate him and a pill to give him yesterday and today to get rid of the worms.

When I got him home I put him into our spare bathroom to give him a room to himself, as the Vet advised keeping him indoors to try and monitor his eating and stuff.  I put some food and water in there, the food had one pill powdered in it, and pretty much left him to himself.  I think in 24 hours he MIGHT have eaten half of a large spoonful or two of food (very little) which means probably not even half the dose of the medicine.  The water doesn't looked like it was touched much at all if at all.  He had diarrhea once or twice with a hint of a blood spot possibly and stringiness indicative of worms or so I have read.  When I enter the room he is either in, or retreats to the cat carrier.  I have only noticed him out of it once in the past day but the diarrhea was outside of it (at least some was, not sure if he has some in there too) so he got out then too I imagine.  He is opting not to use the litter not that I'm surprised about that heh.

So, the dilemma at the moment is I feel guilty having him in the bathroom as I feel I have him imprisoned (silly I suppose), he still doesn't appear to be eating or drinking which is the main problem since how long can he last like this, and we have our own cat Pan that doesn't allow us to give Will more freedom and probably with his diarrhea issues having him wander the house wouldn't be a great idea anyway.

Apparently no one knows of places or organizations that take in sick feral cats other than possibly to euthanize.  My wife has expressed that possibility if there isn't anything else we can do for him but I really don't want to give up on him either by that avenue or just releasing him to see what happens.

Am I being silly worrying about him being bored and bothered being cooped up in a safe space like the bathroom (no windows or any distractions)?

Is actually exploring euthanizing an option that makes sense?  He doesn't seem in distress but I imagine he has to be somewhat not eating or drinking and I really don't know if I can make that decision unless it was very obvious with no chance of recovery.

Would he be better off letting him back onto the patio and hoping he stays around and eats at some point (other critters eat the food if left out too long).

Rob, Pan's Chew Toy

First of all, thank you for helping him.  Having him in the bathroom will be worrisome but it really is the best option right now.  You need time to assess the effect that the antibiotic and the wormer are having on him.

The worms take up room in their stomachs and usually make them look fat.  Plus because the worms are eating all the nutrients, cats with worms will often eat more food than usual.

Whatever was causing his fever may be what is causing his lack of appetite, so wait a bit and see if he starts eating some more.  If the antibiotics work on that issue and you get rid of the worms, his appetite will pick up.

Put some dirt on the litter - it is what he is used to pooping in - he may not know exactly what litter is for.

Because he is negative for FIV and FELV, I wouldn't consider euthanizing him.  If I am correct, until this illness hit, he was content to live his life in your yard?  Once he's on the mend, you can decide whether you feel comfortable releasing him back outside.  I will assume he's neutered but if he isn't, get that done first, please.

You can bring him some toys - fuzzy mice, balls with bells in them, etc.  Try a little catnip but go easy; many cats can go a little overboard with it.  If you have time, see if he will play with a wand toy with you.  After a few days, he may feel better and surprise you by showing more sociability.  If that happens, perhaps you can consider keeping him inside and introducing him to Pan?

ps - I LOVE his name!

Sound advices so far.

Is a Feliway adapter possible for you to get?  I know they arent cheap.   But it may help him to get more relaxed.

You can also try with calm, relaxing music.   Almost any will do, but classical harp music is best.

Has he peed in the litter?  If yes, try to have two litters.   Ferales usually dont pee and poo in the same place.

The vet sounds ok, but also a little  high pricey.   Do you have possibility to find some other, good vet who isnt so costly?

And not so dependant on x-rays, and thus - knowleable with palpating... Like old fashioned docs and vets often are.

You perhaps have some low cost spaying clinic nearby?  Vets at these clinics may perhaps also do other vet treatmenst cheaper than this fashionable vet?

Good luck!

I'd recommend searching for a new vet. Complete bloodwork costs about a hundred dollars, and two xrays cost another hundred, plus vet exam is about forty dollars. Your bill should not have been estimated to be $700. Yikes.

Your kitty sounds more like a semi-feral or even a pet outdoor cat. The fact that you can pet him at all, pick him up, take him to the vet without sedation, etc. means that he's not a true feral. Since you've been socializing him since early kittenhood, he is more domesticated than not, at least as far as you are concerned. I've been caregiver for my outdoor feral tom for 2 years and 8 months, and he will still not allow me to touch him.

I would not be at all worried about him feeling imprisoned right now. If he felt that way, he'd be yowling, scratching at the door and windows, and literally climbing the walls. He is where he should be--getting TLC while he's ill! And I'm sure that instinctively he knows this. The focus now is on getting him to feel better. Deciding whether or not he should stay indoors can be addressed later.  I would also not adress the neutering issue right now. If he's ill, he shouldn't have surgery or be anesthesized because of the increased risks of complications or death. One of my ferals almost died after spay surgery because I didn't do the pre-surgery bloodwork, and she was severely anemic and malnourished and the surgery was too much for her. I will never make that mistake again.    

If he has tapeworms, they will come out in the litter and his appetite will improve. As Ondine suggested, mixing some garden or bagged planting soil with the litter will make him feel more comfortable using the litter.

The diarrhea could be from stress, from the antibiotics, or from the  medicine for the worms. Try giving him a little some tuna in a lot of tuna water. It's important to keep him hydrated. He may simply have a virus that will pass in a week. I wouldn't jump to the worse possible conclusions yet! Give it some more time, and if he gets worse, take him to a different vet, one that is less pricey.

It sounds like you're doing a great job with him!

I would try to keep him inside for a few days to be sure the fever is gone and he is eating.  Soft calming music really does help.  Also some calming treats might help him if you can get him to eat them.  I like the Composure feline treats.  If he has accidents and is not using the litter box, you can sop up the urine and bury the paper towel in the litter box.  Do the same if he poops, but just bury the poop.  Add some dirt or get some Dr. Elsey's litter attract to mix in with your current litter.  It has some herbs in it that attract the cat to it.  I have had very good luck using this for ferals. 

If he doesn't start feeling better, definitely look for a new vet.  You should have a low cost clinic or even humane society that could help. 

Keep us updated.

Thanks for the responses.

@Ondine  I believe that based on the stringy nature of some of the diarrhea that at least that little bit of medicine he got off the initial food with it mixed in MIGHT be working (that and the blood which I also hope is from the de-wormer).  I will have to try the dirt on the litter trick since he has peed at least once along with the 5 or more times he seems to have had liquid form diarrhea from lack of a better description and hasn't gone near the litter (but loves the towels as targets heh).

Unless he seems to lose ground significantly I don't know that euthanizing is really on the table although it came up do to his deteriorating condition and if nothing of the more expensive options could be sought, we just wondered if it was more humane than letting him essentially starve to death.  I'm not even sure I would be able to make that call, although I suppose if things got way worse maybe we all reach a point we can make that call.  Hope I don't have to though.

I am guessing based on his lack of other tests having been done and the sheer nature of something like worms, I should plan to not let any toys that I leave with him make there way back into Pan's toy chest yes?

@StefanZ  I don't know what that adaptor is so I'm going to go with a no for now   I do know of a place that I took Will's mother and sister through an earlier litter to back a few years ago to get spay/neutered that may be an option if we don't see some improvement by tomorrow I think. Not sure what they would or would not offer at this point though.  The music sounds like a nice idea but ironically with the technologically these days, not sure I have a radio to put in there.  I have considered throwing the vent on just to clear the air some of the smell of cat food but have hesitated since I'm guessing that smell doesn't bother him tons and the constant noise of the vent might freak him some possibly.

@MsAimee  I might have to try the tuna with tuna water (if for no other reason than based on Pan I KNOW they love that treat) and my wife and I were encouraged earlier today when I found that he actually ate the small amount of food I for him.  Not sure ready to call it a breakthrough just yet as the other food that I replaced it with this morning is still sitting in there uneaten, but it is the first noticeable food he has eaten I feel in three days at least.  Would love if he drank some noticeable amount of water.  RE: the climbing the walls... I saw that firsthand at the vet and despite the situation that brought him there, it was something else seeing him literally climbing the walls as the two staff tried to towel-corral him.  He does seem okay for now in the bathroom and isn't darting to get out for now.

@ShadowsRescue  I hadn't thought or read about the burying the urine or poop in the litter to try and steer him that way.  Is it okay to do that even with the bloody (likely worm infused) stool?

Right now my hope is that tomorrow morning I find the food gone again in which case I can throw more out and maybe try a trick or two with the litter box.  If not I will likely check with the low cost spay/neuter place to see if they will also treat.  My fear is that they were only doing the spay/neuter but since I wasn't looking for other treatment for the most part maybe they do that as well and I didn't notice.

Thanks again for the feedback. 

So glad you are working with this kitty.  Worms are nasty things and he is probably genuinely sick from them.  Anything you can do to get him to eat a little is a biggie.  I forgot to mention this - if you can get Gerber chicken baby food (just chicken - no onions), it may tempt him.  I have never seen a cat walk away from that.  It will at least get something in him.  You can try kitten replacement milk, too - it is rich in nutrients.  Also, try a can or two of kitten food.  It, too, has loads of nutrients and fat and would go a long way towards getting his strength back.

And yes, please don't mix the toys.  In addition to the worms, Will may have some bacteria that Pan hasn't met yet.  No sense in spreading that around!

Vibes to you and Will.  I really hope things work out for him!

Well, when my two geriatric cats were sick with URI's last month, they wouldn't eat the Gerber food! But there's lots of things you can try, including chicken breast in a water broth, tuna, and fancy fast appetizers. It has to have a strong aroma to attract a cat who doesn't have an appetite. In their case, my vet prescribed an appetite stimulant to give them. I only had to give one dose, and they started to eat again--not a lot--but enough to gain their strength back.

You may consider getting a large syringe to hand feed him some wet food saturated in water. Do you think he would let you? You need to be careful not to push the syringe too hard, because you could get too much air into him which would bloat his belly and give him a tummy ache. When I force fed my female feral after she almost died from the spay surgery, I'm sure it saved her life because she was malnourished, anemic, and the anesthesia caused temporary liver damage. After 3 days of feeding her with a syringe, she began eating on her own.

Thank you all for your comments and advice.

This morning, after only one minor success with him eating the baby food two days ago (less than half a jar), I took Will up to a lower cost vet location, First Coast No More Homeless Pets, in northern Jacksonville, FL.  The intent had been to do more blood work and tests (including Parvo which came up as a possible culprit from the symptoms when discussed making the appointment) and have them do a perhaps more thorough exam as they were going to put him under anaesthesia to do so.

I got a call from them about three hours later which had the "unfortunately" used as a preamble to what they found out.  The doctor advised me that Will almost certainly had Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) and that it was untreatable and fatal.  After a very short question/answer back and forth, it was recommended and I reluctantly agreed to have Will euthanized.

This was far harder than I thought it would be and perhaps the week of having him in the house in the bathroom has made it harder, but at the same time I like to think he enjoyed the socializing with us over the seven days.

I was nearly selfish (and likely would have been if she had said he had longer) in not euthanizing him since the interaction with him had been so good the past week, but the doctor felt he had maybe 5 to 7 days before liver failure was likely and not more than a few days beyond that tops before he would have died from the disease anyway.  Not prolonging his discomfort, that the doctor implied he likely was in from not eating, and concern about knowingly putting our Pan at risk, I made the call.

The doctor and the literature she had to let me read about the diseases all seems to point that this was out of my hands from day one, but that doesn't help much at all. 

Thanks again for lending your 'virtual' ears and your support.

I am so very sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences. I pray his little spirit is at peace and in God's loving hands.

In case any of you care to see this awesome little guy, I figured the least I could do is put up a picture I took during his week "in house".

Oh, poor boo-boo. Thank you so much for helping him. FIP is terribly painful, so you really did the correct thing. So good of you to get the testing done. He's at peace now. I am praying for you both.

I am so very sorry.  You are in my thoughts.  You did the right thing.

Rob, on behalf of the team at TCS we would like to offer you our heartfelt condolences.  Will looks like he was a gorgeous boy and it's wonderful that you could give him such love and a peaceful passing.

We lock threads after such a loss, but invite you to place a tribute at our Crossing the Bridge forum.

RIP Will