What's Wrong With This Cat? I'm New. Long Story.

Hey, I'm new here and I'm glad I found somewhere to ask my question.  Let me start by saying I love dogs and don't know much of anything about cats.  I like them, but I've always preferred dogs, especially big ones.  So here goes my long story.

I've been taking care of this stray black kitty for quite awhile now.  He's been wandering around my neighborhood for a long time, so I don't know if he actually belongs to anybody or not.  I've heard the saying, "Once you feed him, he's yours."  So maybe he is mine now.  He's definitely an outside cat.  When I first saw him, he wouldn't even come near me or anybody else. He always seemed to have minor injuries, so I wanted to help.  

It took a long time to get him to trust me.  He'd come sit by me on the back steps for a few minutes but run away if I tried to touch him.  It was a long process but once he trusted me a little, I could pick him up and let him sit in my lap.  Eventually he trusted me enough to actually climb in my lap by himself.  The day he leaned up and rubbed his head under my chin was a surprise to both of us.  

When I thought he needed some doctoring, I just had to force him into my house and put some peroxide on his cuts.  He wasn't very happy about it, and I could tell he had no idea what the inside of a house was.  I never tried to make him go any further than the back door, and I'd always just sit there with him for while so he wouldn't be afraid.  When he seemed a little too anxious, I'd let him right back out.  He always comes around in the morning and late afternoon.  I'd open the back door and see if he wanted to come in, but he always wanted to stay just a few feet away.  He looked curious but too scared.

June 27 was a very bad day for me.  I had to put my 14yo wolf husky, KiKi, to sleep.  The next morning, I looked out the back door, and the cat was sitting there waiting.  I expected him to just sit there, as usual, but when I opened the door, he waltzed right in and wrapped himself around my legs.  He'd never done that before. It's like he knew something was wrong.  I sat on the floor with him and bawled my head off for about an hour.  

I'm pretty sure the cat had worms because his butt always looked raw and irritated.  Everyone I talked to said strays/ferals always have worms and that it wouldn't hurt to give him worm medicine.  I've put small amounts of peroxide on him every now and then to stop the bleeding when it was really bad. I bought some OTC wormer and gave him two doses of that so far.  The first time he took it, I could tell a huge difference the very next day.  He just looked better.  He's due for the 3rd dose this Sunday.

The big problem is he's losing a lot of hair on his butt and up towards his tail, so now I'm wondering if he's got mange or something too.  If he does, I don't know what to do about it.  He trusts me a lot more now, but I don't think I'd ever be able to get him in a carrier to go to the vet.

Bad pics attached.  My first post and I've got pics of a cat butt.  Sorry!

I have no idea how old this cat is either.  His name is Black Kitty.  Haha

Any advice would be appreciated. 

                

First, thank you for taking care of this cat, and for being patient. That is the key to socializing feral cats: patience. And love.
That butt area looks really sore, and he must feel miserable. I would take him to the vets.
You indicated that he will climb in your lap, is that still the case? If I were you, I'd take that opportunity to pick him up from your lap, put him in a cat carrier and take him to the vets. If you can pick him when you're standing, that's okay too.
While at the vets you should get him tested for FIV/FeLK, vaccinated for rabies (often required by law), neutered and his butt checked out. Male cats have a tendency to get into fights when they are looking for loving in all the wrong places, causing more injuries.
Keep us updated.

First I would like to say thank you for caring for Black Kitty.  He depends on you and you have made his life easier. 

As @Ritz just mentioned he needs to get to the vet.  His rear end looks very raw and sore.  I also see that he is an intact male and he needs to be neutered.  By neutering him, it will stop him from getting into fights.  It really is a necessity.  At the vet, they can worm him, vaccinate and test him.  Since you can pick him up, I do think you could get him into a carrier.  You also could place some food in a carrier to get him in that way. 

BTW, yes, he won't like you for putting him in the carrier. But he'll love you in the morning after, when he's feeling better and doesn't have all those hormones running through his body.
As soon as he is in the cat carrier, cover the carrier with a towel; it calms them down.
Give your vet a heads up that you're bringing in a sick cat. I would necessarily tell the vet he was/is feral (and, at this time, with your love and patience, he's not), but that he is a stray and you don't know when the last time he's been to a vet.

Thanks for the advice.  I know he needs to go to the vet, but it's going to be very hard to get him there.  I don't have a cat carrier, so last night I put him under a rectangular plastic laundry basket to see how he'd react.  It didn't go well.  Even though I sat beside him and petted him through it and talked to him, he cried like I was skinning him alive.  I got up for a second to get a towel to put over it, and he tried to escape by sticking his head through the handle of the basket.  He only managed to get stuck, and he freaked out.   He finally threw the basket off and freed himself, and luckily he clawed me on only one finger.  The ordeal literally scared the crap out of him.  I made sure he was calmed down again before I let him back out.  We won't try that again anytime soon!

You do need to get a carrier. They are not terribly expensive, although maybe you could borrow one? If you borrow, make sure you wash it with bleach to get rid of the previous occupant's smell. If you leave it open, with perhaps a soft blanket inside, he may check it out. Other wise you could feed him in it and close the door when he goes in. He will react as he did with the basket but he does need to go to the vet, no doubt about it.

Hi @Alphagrrl  , this little cat is very lucky that you have started to care for him.  He looks like he needs to see a vet very quickly.  He must be in a lot of pain so letting you touch him at all is very trusting of him.  

The first thing I want to say though is please to stop using peroxide on the wound.  While peroxide can help with some skin conditions, if the skin is broken it stops the area from healing. If you want to clean the wound some then use boiled water with salt which is then allowed to cool to room temperature, or a bought saline solution like you can get from chemists for things like eye bathing is best.  

If you can borrow a carrier, or are able to buy one make sure to get one that opens completely at the top as this will help you be able to get your boy in to the carrier more safely, and also help the vets see him and offer treatment more safely.  Maybe a local cat rescue place would let you borrow one?   But yes, make sure to thoroughly clean down with bleach solution, it not only gets rid of other cat smells it will ensure he does not pick up any diseases from them too.

I find it helps to have the carrier all ready and open several hours or the day before, then when you need to get him in be sure to be dressed for staying in, busy doing things that suggest you are staying in like boiling a kettle or sitting down with a drink and then calmly lift him up and straight to the carrier....   They pick up on cues that you are going out or stressed about something and that gets them wise to what is about to happen.

I agree no more peroxide .Clean the wounds with warm water and apply some antibiotic ointment. But a vet visit as soon as you can. All cats at least most of them hate being in a cat carrier and howl the whole trip to the vets. Mine do all 6..

Do you have a dog cage you could use?  I used a small dog cage once and just carried him right into the vet.  You could also call the vet and explain your situation.  They might even have a carrier you could borrow.  The cat really needs to get to the vet.

His frequent battle wounds are because he is not neutered.

His wide jowls also indicate he is likely a good 3 years old or more, so he is long overdue for neutering, and has made many unwanted babies as well as been in many fights.

My guess for his butt issue would be he has poop issues so it's burning the fur and skin around the area.

So until this is corrected it will continue and be very sore for him needlessly.

He is a handsome devil, I love black cats! Poor guy with his butt like that, unloved out there. He is not a true feral but likely a once owned kitten who got left behind and uncared for, abandoned.

Often times people will think how cute a kitten is, but as they get bigger they lose the cuteness interest and also by his not being fixed, they were very irresponsible pet owners.

Anyway, given time spent unowned and lacking interactions with humans, he retreated to more of a scared feralish state. 

They get over this quickly when they gain trust in someone like yourself.

Thanks for caring for him, you are his hero!

A suggestion for hard to get cat into a carrier if you can't buy or borrow one, is to take him to the vet in a pillowcase. Just open it up and either when he is turned his back to you, is calm, sleeping, or coaxing him onto an opened up pillowcase, scoop up and tie the top of it in a knot.

I can't believe it's been this long since I posted about Black Kitty.  He has become very affectionate and has gotten pretty comfortable around me, to the point where he's actually slept in my room a few times (for a few hours anyway, but not all night).  I bought him a kitty bed, but he'd rather stay by the back door.  I woke up about 4:00 this morning and found him fast asleep on the couch.

Due to various family and money problems,  I hadn't taken him to the vet yet.  The raw butt issue had finally gone away, and he seemed to be doing pretty good until about a week ago.  He got a bad case of goopy eye, and I caught him sneezing sometimes.  My friends who own cats said he probably had an upper respiratory infection.  I called the vet, and they said I needed to take care of the URI first and then worry about getting him neutered.

I bought him a cheap plastic crate and worked on getting him used to it.  He doesn't like it at all, which is not surprising, but at least he doesn't go berzerk when I put him in it.  I got him loaded in the car this morning, and he yowled a few times but then settled down.  I fully expected him to go crazy at the vet's, but he was SO good!  I'm sure he was mostly just scared to death, but he didn't go nuts and attack anybody like I imagined he would.

The vet said he doesn't know how old he is actually.  He weighs 9 pounds.  He's gained a few pounds just in the past month.  I'm probably overfeeding him.  He is really very handsome, and his winter coat  coming in is just gorgeous.

I was not surprised when they said he had hookworms and conjunctivitis.  He got a dewormer, some Revolution, some eyedrops, and an antibiotic shot.  I hope he won't put up a fight when I try to give him the eyedrops for the next week or so.  The vet said I should see a big improvement by about Wednesday.

I was expecting those kinds of problems, but I was not expecting the vet to tell me the cat was positive for feline leukemia (Is it called FL? I don't know.)  He explained a little bit to me about it, but it seems like I only have two options:  Make the cat an indoors cat, or put him to sleep.  I've only researched FL for a few minutes, so I have no idea what to do. 

I am absolutely heartbroken about this.  I'm still hurting over losing my dog at the the end of June, and finding out this cat is really sick just makes me want to cry.  He finally decided to trust me and let me help him, and now I can't.  

Bad pics attached.  He's so much prettier than this.

FeLV is certainly not a death sentence. But, yes, he will need to be indoor only for both his protection (his immune system is not normal) and other cats (FeLV is very contagious to other felines.)

There are several members on here who have FeLV+ kitties. We currently have a 3 1/2 yr old in our rescue whom we've had since she was 6 wks old. She is asymptomatic and doing really well.

The most important things with FeLV cats is that they are fed the best diet you can afford, are kept indoors and you seek medical attention at the first sign of any illness. Really, it's not that much different than any other cat.

Aw, @Alphagrrl   Black Kitty looks well and very handsome other than his eye infection.  Black cats are so hard to get good photos of but you have captured his coat very well in that second shot.

I am sorry your vet has told you he has been infected with FeLV, but please don't feel too down hearted.  Like @CatPack  has said, you can do a lot for your guy by giving him the best nutrition you can,  an indoor, active lifestyle, and prompt vet care for any infections or health issues that become aparent.  He will not be able to fight off infections as well as other cats but if you do these things he has every chance of a good life with you, and far better than he could ever have hoped for had he remained stray and outdoors.   Your adopting Black Kitty is the best thing that could have happened for him so thank you for taking him in and caring for him.   

What an absolutely gorgeous cat!  He is so very, very lucky to have found you.

Well, Black Kitty showed major improvement over the past week.  The deworming certainly helped, and his eyes looked 100% better up until this morning.  It's gotten really cold in the past few days, so I'm sure that's not helping him.  He has stayed inside with me as much as possible.  We're working on it being full time.

He's scheduled for neutering on Nov. 28.

Yesterday I bought him a toy with a bell and several long feathers on it.  Apparently he figured it must be a new kind of bird, because he yanked out the feathers and tried to eat them.  He batted the remains of it around for about 5 seconds and then tried to eat it too.  I spent $4.00 on that stupid thing. LOL

He had absolutely no idea what to do with a litter box.  I've tried to get him used to it all week, but he was not interested at all.  Last night I got him in about 6:00pm, and I made him stay in with me all night.  About 3:00am he was meowing like crazy, wanting to go out, but I wouldn't let him.  About 4:30am, I woke to the sound of cat paws scratching around in the litter box!  I think he scratched around in it for about 10 minutes after he finished his business.  I waited about 10 more minutes, and then I got up and hugged him and praised him and gave him a treat.  I felt like I just found $100 in an old purse.  Haha!

This morning I had to go out on some errands, and I left him shut up in my bedroom.  When I came back about 3 hours later, it took me a minute to find him.  He was fast asleep underneath the back of a nightstand.  I can't tell that he used the litter box again though.

He's been VERY affectionate today.  I was watching TV with my feet up on the coffee table, and he jumped up, walked up and down on me for a few minutes, gave me a few nudges on my face, and then settled in my lap for more napping.  I guess that's what cats do.

So happy your guy is doing well and fit to be scheduled in for his op' on the 28th.  What an amazing difference you have made to his life already with all this health care.   What a reward - that he jumped up and walked over you.  A young Mouse with a somewhat battered feather bird toy....

Aww!  What a great story so far.  This guy is so lucky to have found you.    Thanks for caring for him!

Well, I took Black Kitty to the vet yesterday for his neutering.   I left him there at 8:00am, and they called me about 20 minutes later and said they were already done.  They wanted to keep him for awhile, so I picked him up about 2:00pm.  I also let them go ahead and give him a rabies shot and a distemper shot.  So now I guess I have to buy him a collar to put his rabies tag on.  They said his surgery went well, and I got some medicine to give him for 3 days.  Other than that, they just told me to keep him inside and make sure he doesn't lick the area too excessively.  I didn't feed him a whole lot at supper time.  He pretty much just laid around the house all day giving me the evil eye.  He did allow me to sit on the couch with him and pet him for awhile before bedtime.

I have no idea what normal neuter incisions are supposed to look like, but about 8:00pm last night I realized something just didn't look right.  At one of the incisions he had something like a skin tag sticking out.  It wasn't bleeding, but I didn't think it was right, and I was scared he had opened up the incision.

I took him back to the vet when they opened at 8:30 this morning.  The vet said that it was basically just a piece of fat sticking out through the incision hole.  He told me they don't really close the incision completely, and sometimes this just happens when cats groom themselves.  So I'm glad he confirmed that I let my imagination run away with me.  He said sometimes they'll just leave it as is, but he decided to poke the piece back in, and he covered it with some more skin glue.  I asked if it might happen again, and he said Nope, nothing's coming outta there now.  At least they didn't charge me for the visit this morning.

So Black Kitty is settled back in now, and I'm not planning on taking him anywhere else for a long time.  He's found a hiding place in my son's closet, but if I have to leave the house, I'll shut him in my bedroom since he's more familiar with it.  I haven't let him roam the house yet when he's here alone.

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone.  I hope my Christmas holiday isn't quite so stressful!

Black Kitty sounds like he's pretty much forgiven you already if he was letting you pet him before bed time last night.      Good for you going straight down to check with the vet about that little skin tag thing, I would have done exactly the same thing - and I bet you didn't sleep well...     Hopefully tonight will be much more relaxed and comfortable for both you and Black Kitty.  It sounds like he has decided home with you is a good place to be and appreciates how much his life and health have changed since he walked in to your home ready to let you love him.

I hope that now his health is settling and he has got through his operation you can now focus on him getting used to your home and begining to have a little more freedom there.  I look forward to lots more happy posts about Black Kitty as he takes over your home.