My stray cats are sick. What can I do to help?

To me it looked like the right ear is torn a bit?  I only brought up FIV as for me my chronic discharge cat was positive and improved GREATLY on l lysine but forget a day and he would go right back to being kinda beat.  It worked great for a few years but this past summer he just could not get ok again.  He could NOT come in do to being a fighter at heart with my inside cats who far as I know are neg on FELV and FIV.

The longer a cat stays unneutered the bigger the risk-even after they are done if they are still being territorial the risk is great for FIV.  That is what happened with my guy.  He was 2 years post neuter and fought an intact male I was TNRing.  I had the stray tested days later when he went in for neuter and he was obviously FIV + for a while as had many mouth issues and breathing issues I noted while hodling him in a cage pending neuter.  My cat had to go to vet 2 times for the bites he got.  

Some have said they had cats sensitive to lysine but personally I have never had that be the case and give it to all mine when they get wet. They share large trays of food so dosing is iffy of who is really getting what dose.  Do not have much a choice of feeding them seperatley and it seems to work out well.  

Do the bumps change in location and size like bug bites or are they the same all the time?

catsallaround said:

To me it looked like the right ear is torn a bit?  I only brought up FIV as for me my chronic discharge cat was positive and improved GREATLY on l lysine but forget a day and he would go right back to being kinda beat.  It worked great for a few years but this past summer he just could not get ok again.  He could NOT come in do to being a fighter at heart with my inside cats who far as I know are neg on FELV and FIV.

The longer a cat stays unneutered the bigger the risk-even after they are done if they are still being territorial the risk is great for FIV.  That is what happened with my guy.  He was 2 years post neuter and fought an intact male I was TNRing.  I had the stray tested days later when he went in for neuter and he was obviously FIV + for a while as had many mouth issues and breathing issues I noted while hodling him in a cage pending neuter.  My cat had to go to vet 2 times for the bites he got.  


Some have said they had cats sensitive to lysine but personally I have never had that be the case and give it to all mine when they get wet. They share large trays of food so dosing is iffy of who is really getting what dose.  Do not have much a choice of feeding them seperatley and it seems to work out well.  

Do the bumps change in location and size like bug bites or are they the same all the time?

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I didnt get a chance to look closely today but i will tomorrow. I checked her bumps yesterday morning and they looked the same as they did when i first noted them, in size and shape. I wonder what it is. She has them on both ears.

Regarding Tuxie, i never really noted anything on the right ear but you may be right. He is about 6 and has lived on the street a long time. I know his left ear is tipped because he's neutered. When i first met him, i thought he had had a fight w someone and part of his ear got torn. I was feeling so sad for him, but then my sister educated me abt the tipping of the ear in stray cats. He's so shy and non-aggressive, which is one of the reasons why i want to find him a home, a good home. He really deserves a chance, and so does the female cat. They're both adoptable.

Ive used lysine in the past and i think it's great. I only have two cats that i take care of so i like feeding them in their separate bowls. This way i know who is eating how much. The female eats a bit more. I just add 1/4 teaspoon lysine to their meals once a day. Right now im giving Tuxie amoxicillin twice a day so in between i supplement his food with lysine. I really hope he makes an improvement. If not im gona have to trap him he might not like me after that Today i saw a man on the street offering him food and then trying to pet him. He got scratched. Tuxie allows me to touch him so i take pride in that and i dnt want to lose his trust. But i know i have to do what's important and better for him. Please keep him and my other female cat in yr good thoughts and prayers.

I had a small black male show up last year, skin & bones, about six months old and maybe 5 pounds,  I fed him for a week borrowed a trap and gradually moved the food closer to the trap, then I wired the trap open for another week and fed him inside the trap moving the food dish in further everyday.  One morning I put the food in right at the end and he went right in and of course it closed on him.  He was pretty upset, bit he went right off to the vet for neutering, vaccinating, tattooing etc.  He came home the same night, I kept him inside for one day and when he wanted out I was taking him downstairs (apartment) and he ran into the neighbours suite.  I was calling him Lonesome, his new name is Shadow and he weighs in at about 18 pounds - he is the most beautiful sleek muscular handsome male cat!  He adopted the neighbour (who had no intention of owning a cat) and he refuses to go outside at all.  So, borrow the traps and get the medical issues dealt with first, he might not trust you for a while but you have never hurt him/her so they get over it pretty quickly as you have been the main supplier of food and affection.  He/she may very well not want to go back out into the big bad world either. Good luck, it turned out so much better than I expected for Shadow I am sure that you will be successful! 

p.s.  Shadow forgave me very quickly and always comes to see me when he hears me in the hallway.

catdancing1 said:

I had a small black male show up last year, skin & bones, about six months old and maybe 5 pounds,  I fed him for a week borrowed a trap and gradually moved the food closer to the trap, then I wired the trap open for another week and fed him inside the trap moving the food dish in further everyday.  One morning I put the food in right at the end and he went right in and of course it closed on him.  He was pretty upset, bit he went right off to the vet for neutering, vaccinating, tattooing etc.  He came home the same night, I kept him inside for one day and when he wanted out I was taking him downstairs (apartment) and he ran into the neighbours suite.  I was calling him Lonesome, his new name is Shadow and he weighs in at about 18 pounds - he is the most beautiful sleek muscular handsome male cat!  He adopted the neighbour (who had no intention of owning a cat) and he refuses to go outside at all.  So, borrow the traps and get the medical issues dealt with first, he might not trust you for a while but you have never hurt him/her so they get over it pretty quickly as you have been the main supplier of food and affection.  He/she may very well not want to go back out into the big bad world either. Good luck, it turned out so much better than I expected for Shadow I am sure that you will be successful! 

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What a sweet story! Thanks for sharing. I feel encouraged ive become friends with a woman who finds kittens around the neighborhood, socializes them, and gets them adopted. Im confident she will help me with these adult cats. We're trying to trap the last kitten of the female cat i care for. Two have been adopted. Once we get him, then ill take the female to be fixed. Shes really friendly and i wont have trouble getting her into a carrier. I know it's better to take them off the street but it's so sad watching the mother. She has been looking for one of the kittens we scooped up two days ago. She cried all night and well into the day. It was so sad hearing her. Taking her kittens away and leaving her out all alone on the street saddens me but i know it's the right thing to find them homes. Ive been trying to make it up to her by giving her treats and extra food-she loves eating, poor thing.

Perhaps when you catch the last kitten, you could bring the mother along with it.  Last year someone trapped a mama cat and in the morning the last kitten was right next to the cage/trap and they scooped it up as well.  It was spayed and adopted out later.

Red Top Rescue said:

Perhaps when you catch the last kitten, you could bring the mother along with it.  Last year someone trapped a mama cat and in the morning the last kitten was right next to the cage/trap and they scooped it up as well.  It was spayed and adopted out later.

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That's a good idea. The woman who's helping me also suggested that. We'll give it a try. She's coming back later at night to set up the trap.

Do you know of any trusted oral flea medication i can give these cats. The last kitten who got adopted had fleas. I had no idea. The family called me two days later to inform me. The mother likely has them too. I was wondering if theres smthng i can add to their food?

Thanks.

QueenOf3 said:

That's a good idea. The woman who's helping me also suggested that. We'll give it a try. She's coming back later at night to set up the trap.

Do you know of any trusted oral flea medication i can give these cats. The last kitten who got adopted had fleas. I had no idea. The family called me two days later to inform me. The mother likely has them too. I was wondering if theres smthng i can add to their food?

Thanks.

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The oral meds only kill fleas not eggs, you need the drops behind shoulders like frontline plus for eggs too! The oral stuff is is capstar

Hi, I just came across your post and I was wondering did that female "stray/owners put her out" get spayed?

If not, perhaps we collect some money to help you pay for the operation if you can take her in? I noticed your posts are from Ohio and well I am in Ontario so I cant be of much physical help but over here I helped trap/feed cats between work and school.

Anna

Is your fish mox working? I'm so sorry that you have all this stress but it's so awesome that you have a heart of gold. I myself am working on taming and bringing in 2 black feral cats. I have never heard of fish mox til this string of messages and am eternally grateful for all of you educating me. I had a vet who would occasionally give me meds for them but he has said that he won't do it anymore. Same for the vets of my indoor kitties. It's hard to know what the right thing to do for these sweet ferals and strays but something is definitely better than nothing. Thank you for being their hero and mine.

You can use Advantage II on the cat and kittens.  The dose is 0.23 ml for a kitten and 0.4 ml for a cat up to 9 lbs.  Advantage II is the same for dogs and cats, no different, so if a friend has any dog size and you can measure the right dose for your cats with a 1 ml. syringe, that will work fine. (You can usually get such a syringe free at your drugstore, just say you need it to measure out cat medication.) Cat dose is same as the small dog dose (up to 10 lbs.).  There are flea meds you can add to food but they aren't as safe as this AND our vet says the only flea med you can use SAFELY before anesthesia for spay surgery is either Advantage (or Advantage II) or Frontline and Frontline Plus.  If you have used anything else, they wont do a spay until the 28 days have passed since you put it on.

You are doing the right thing.  Spaying/neutering even if the cats stay outside is the best thing for everyone.  I am sure that you will be able to "home" all your strays given a little time.  I had some financial assistance from a cat organization and reduced vet costs so Shadow got everything he needed right away and I was able to donate some cash later in the year.  He was the third black cat to arrive at my front door, I seem to average one a year and all have been adopted and are doing well. 

Red Top Rescue said:

You can use Advantage II on the cat and kittens.  The dose is 0.23 ml for a kitten and 0.4 ml for a cat up to 9 lbs.  Advantage II is the same for dogs and cats, no different, so if a friend has any dog size and you can measure the right dose for your cats with a 1 ml. syringe, that will work fine. (You can usually get such a syringe free at your drugstore, just say you need it to measure out cat medication.) Cat dose is same as the small dog dose (up to 10 lbs.).  There are flea meds you can add to food but they aren't as safe as this AND our vet says the only flea med you can use SAFELY before anesthesia for spay surgery is either Advantage (or Advantage II) or Frontline and Frontline Plus.  If you have used anything else, they wont do a spay until the 28 days have passed since you put it on.

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I have a supply of frontline. I can treat them tomorrow morning/afternoon. The female will be easy to handle. She doesn't mind being touched. I'm not so sure Tuxie will stay still while I do it. He likes me so he just might. I'm going to try it anyway.
Thanks for that useful info. It'll come in handy, I'm sure.

msred said:

Hi, I just came across your post and I was wondering did that female "stray/owners put her out" get spayed?
If not, perhaps we collect some money to help you pay for the operation if you can take her in? I noticed your posts are from Ohio and well I am in Ontario so I cant be of much physical help but over here I helped trap/feed cats between work and school.


Anna

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That is so kind of you. I do the same..between work and school. I want to thank you for reaching out to me. You have no idea how much that means to me. Right now I'm ok, financially. My mother helps me out because she loves cats too.

Last night we trapped the female cat's last kitten and I can't describe how heartbreaking it was. This was my first time trapping kittens and watching the mother crying and looking for her babies made me cry. I felt so guilty but it's no life living on the street. He will go into a good home and so will she, eventually. I have been giving her some extra TLC, I don't know if she knows but I love her and I want the best for her. She's a very good girl and so sweet. Now that her kittens have been adopted, I'm going to get her fixed and start looking for homes for her and Tuxie. I wish I could take the both of them in but I have four cats of my own and two of them were rescued kittens right from my neighborhood (their mother abandoned them; i feed her sometimes and I know her).

Again, thank you so much for yr kindness. Thank you for doing what you do, and extending yourself to the quiet and mostly ignored members of our society.
Btw, I'm from NY

catdancing1 said:

You are doing the right thing.  Spaying/neutering even if the cats stay outside is the best thing for everyone.  I am sure that you will be able to "home" all your strays given a little time.  I had some financial assistance from a cat organization and reduced vet costs so Shadow got everything he needed right away and I was able to donate some cash later in the year.  He was the third black cat to arrive at my front door, I seem to average one a year and all have been adopted and are doing well. 

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You're so lucky to have them all adopted! I'm going to get her fixed at my earliest convenience. The woman who helped me trap the kittens does adoptions all the time. I'm going yo ask her to help me, and also post an ad on the website rescueMe.org She told me it's hard getting adults adopted but I've read accounts of ppl who have had adult cats successfully placed into good homes.

Once i trap her i was thinking of taking her to the humane society hospital. That's the cheapest place I can find. She can get tested for FIV/Felv, maybe get some vaccines, and then I can take her back for the spay. I'll find a place for her to recover in. Do you know how long it takes for the females to recover?

Lynnew1 said:

Is your fish mox working? I'm so sorry that you have all this stress but it's so awesome that you have a heart of gold. I myself am working on taming and bringing in 2 black feral cats. I have never heard of fish mox til this string of messages and am eternally grateful for all of you educating me. I had a vet who would occasionally give me meds for them but he has said that he won't do it anymore. Same for the vets of my indoor kitties. It's hard to know what the right thing to do for these sweet ferals and strays but something is definitely better than nothing. Thank you for being their hero and mine.

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You're definitely in the right place. There are so many helpful ppl on this site who are wise, give sound advice, and willing to share what they know. I have never been disappointed!

I think the fish-mox is working. Tuxie's discharge is looking much better. I will have a closer look tomorrow and see what's really going on. I don't know any vet who would be willing to give me any meds for my feral/strays. They all say to bring them in. If the problem gets out of hand, I will find a way to get him and I will take him. It's difficult, at least for me, to try to trap them for vet visits so for now I'm working with what I have. Let's see how it goes and I'll take it from there.

Thanks for helping the cats around you and making a difference in their lives

So I noticed 2 days ago that my kitty started licking his rear and end of his tail a lot. Like you I think I may be in for a vet visit. Everything I can find says fleas (I just put Frontline on 2 nights ago but it rained that night) or an infected anal gland. Does fish mox work as a general antibiotic? I'm scared to catch him now as I need to seriously catch him in a month but thinking if he doesn't get some medical attention now he might not be around in a month. It's not easy being parents of ferals/strays but it's definitely rewarding. Hoping for the best for Tuxie.

Today I got a closer look at Tuxie's eye. I didn't see much discharge but the upper eyelid looks pretty swollen. Is there a different antibiotic that I need to consider? It's swollen so it's likely pus. Am I wrong to think that? It's just one eye. His appetite is normal. He has no sneezing or coughing. At least i don't see it while he's around me. I'm still giving him the amoxicillin twice a day. Any advice?

Lynnew1 said:

So I noticed 2 days ago that my kitty started licking his rear and end of his tail a lot. Like you I think I may be in for a vet visit. Everything I can find says fleas (I just put Frontline on 2 nights ago but it rained that night) or an infected anal gland. Does fish mox work as a general antibiotic? I'm scared to catch him now as I need to seriously catch him in a month but thinking if he doesn't get some medical attention now he might not be around in a month. It's not easy being parents of ferals/strays but it's definitely rewarding. Hoping for the best for Tuxie.

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Maybe yr cat has fleas. Does he have other symptoms? I don't usually implement the use of antibiotics unless I've confirmed that it's an infection of some sort by talking to ppl on this site or asking a vet some general questions. I'm scared to give any kind of medication to my cats. Sometimes they have other underlying medical issues and the use of a particular medication may actually make matters worse. So see if you can contact a vet. Even if they don't recommend a medication, you could tell them yr cat's symptoms and ask what the vet thinks is the problem? Mostly I've not been successful in extracting any kind of information from the vets I know Observe yr cat and try to gather as much information abt his/her problem as possible so you have a better direction.

I'm really sorry. I understand exactly how you feel and it's frustrating to be in such predicaments.

In a easily handable cat I would use terramycin eye ointment.  Ebay has it.  Cat will NOT be happy about that though and when not in the house hard to get them for treatment even if they are very easy most other times.

Lynnew1-is this a short haired cat? I have only had one cat get infected and in a short hair it was quite gross looking!