- Joined
- Jan 6, 2015
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I'm running a private cat rescue operation for some of the ferals in the neighborhood. Both my actual house cats are either formerly feral or stray. My mother started off feeding one of the feral mothers before giving birth to kittens. Around six to eight months ago four female cats gave birth to four litters of kittens. Two mothers had five or six kittens, one had four kittens and the other we presume only had one kitten based on evidence. Over the months some kittens came up missing, whether the neighbors took them or they passed is uncertain to us. Of course what started as feeding one feral quickly escalated into several more cats/kittens, other ferals/strays started coming around and the mothers brought their kittens. Me and my mother took turns with feeding them but eventually had to say enough as it was getting to be too much at the time. So the cats/kittens went back to hunting rodents, birds and getting into neighbors garbage.
As Winter started to approach I started having the ferals trying to attach themselves to me. The cats/kittens started following us when we went out and went to check the mail. Thankfully the roads are not that busy here although I had to chase some out of the road or stand in the road when a vehicle speedily approached to avoid them being hit. One night two ferals followed me back home and decided to run inside. I of course chased them back outside or picked them up and put them outside if I could catch them. As they became aware of the food I put out for my cats it became a battle of dealing with them running in and having to put them outside. I decided I was tired of doing that all the time so I finally let them stay in and care for them. Fast forward a bit and those two kittens became six more because after they started coming in the other kittens we were previously feeding showed up and wanted inside. It was insane and it was a pita dealing with all these kittens and putting them back outside no matter how much I love cats it was too much for me to handle, it was insane.
The landlady didn't want to deal with the issue anymore. Over the years tenants get cats but throw them out and don't want to take care of them. Those cats go to the bathroom in other tenants yards, spray on homes, vehicles and because they are not fixed those cats become more kittens/cats. We pleaded with the SPCA, animal control, disease control, health department and some local rescue groups but no one could help us. The SPCA said we could bring them in for TNR and that's all they could help with.
I've now made the decision on the side of the park I live that I'd care after the feral kittens, attempt to socialize and find homes for them. I've made effort and progress towards socializing them, I've managed to litter train all kittens except one. I have appointments set up for two now formerly feral kittens to take them to the SPCA to be neutered and receive shots. I have vet appointments set up to get two sick kittens in for a checkup and treatment.
Two kittens are fully socialized or near completely socialized now. The one kitten has been coming in my bedroom and making himself at home at my feet while sleeping. He gets happy to see me and will roll over, trill and want me to scratch his belly. The other one isn't as affectionate but he lets me pet him, is accepting of my attention and purrs. The other ferals are becoming more comfortable but it's taking longer to socialize them if they can be socialized. Once all is said and done I will try to find homes for them elsewhere. Then scrubbing everything down to get rid of the cat smell. As it is I'm mostly cleaning just to keep up and keep the place looking and smelling halfway decent.
For cleanliness I placed the following explanation of symptoms in a quote..
I'm just worried and hope it's nothing serious, I don't want to have to prepare myself for any bad news. I'm hoping someone here had a similar experience and a cat with similar symptoms as it would relieve me to know it may not be that serious and he can make a full recovery. Thank you and I apologize for the length of this thread/post. Perhaps in another thread I can post some pictures of my kitty clan.
As Winter started to approach I started having the ferals trying to attach themselves to me. The cats/kittens started following us when we went out and went to check the mail. Thankfully the roads are not that busy here although I had to chase some out of the road or stand in the road when a vehicle speedily approached to avoid them being hit. One night two ferals followed me back home and decided to run inside. I of course chased them back outside or picked them up and put them outside if I could catch them. As they became aware of the food I put out for my cats it became a battle of dealing with them running in and having to put them outside. I decided I was tired of doing that all the time so I finally let them stay in and care for them. Fast forward a bit and those two kittens became six more because after they started coming in the other kittens we were previously feeding showed up and wanted inside. It was insane and it was a pita dealing with all these kittens and putting them back outside no matter how much I love cats it was too much for me to handle, it was insane.
The landlady didn't want to deal with the issue anymore. Over the years tenants get cats but throw them out and don't want to take care of them. Those cats go to the bathroom in other tenants yards, spray on homes, vehicles and because they are not fixed those cats become more kittens/cats. We pleaded with the SPCA, animal control, disease control, health department and some local rescue groups but no one could help us. The SPCA said we could bring them in for TNR and that's all they could help with.
I've now made the decision on the side of the park I live that I'd care after the feral kittens, attempt to socialize and find homes for them. I've made effort and progress towards socializing them, I've managed to litter train all kittens except one. I have appointments set up for two now formerly feral kittens to take them to the SPCA to be neutered and receive shots. I have vet appointments set up to get two sick kittens in for a checkup and treatment.
Two kittens are fully socialized or near completely socialized now. The one kitten has been coming in my bedroom and making himself at home at my feet while sleeping. He gets happy to see me and will roll over, trill and want me to scratch his belly. The other one isn't as affectionate but he lets me pet him, is accepting of my attention and purrs. The other ferals are becoming more comfortable but it's taking longer to socialize them if they can be socialized. Once all is said and done I will try to find homes for them elsewhere. Then scrubbing everything down to get rid of the cat smell. As it is I'm mostly cleaning just to keep up and keep the place looking and smelling halfway decent.
For cleanliness I placed the following explanation of symptoms in a quote..
Rabies was only a concern because the cats/kittens haven't been vaccinated yet. At first it seemed he was dying and with sudden sudden symptoms some suggestive of rabies or poisoning we assumed the worst. It's hard when you have some form of attachment to them you don't want to face the worst.One of the kittens managed to get outside and tried to get it back in but it ran. I kept going to the door to try calling him in since it was cold that night. He finally came back in the morning and started developing cold like symptoms. I noticed he was holding his mouth open to breath, he had discharge from his nose, his breathing was loud and sounded like fluid was in his chest or he was wheezing. He had watery eyes and kept having what seemed like coughing/sneezing fits. I couldn't get him in for a vet visit right away so I cared after him. I went through and cleaned anything in my place that was dirty, sterilized the place a bit to help him breathe better. I ran a de-humidifier, wiped his nose and around his eyes with a damp luke warm cloth. After a vet consult small doses of antibiotics were administered 24 hours apart according to his age and weight. He is doing much better now, is running around and playing although he still occasionally starts coughing/sneezing and his nose is still a bit runny. When I take the other kitten to the vet on Thursday I plan on asking him if I bring this one in as well since he is still exhibiting some symptoms or if continued treatment is possible without a visit.
The other kitten was fine and healthy, the next day it shows up sickly. We were afraid it could be poisoning or rabies at first but all the symptoms aren't there and other inconsistencies suggesting something else was going on. He is still alive after a week and seems to be improving, his health hasn't deteriorated any more. As usual a vet consult recommended small doses of antibiotics reminiscent of his symptoms and if he got worse to immediately bring him in. When he showed up I noticed something was amiss, he was lying down on my fridge when I noticed he seemed lethargic. He had his eyes shut and mouth open, he kept letting out this low cry when other cats or I went near him. He kept licking the inside of his mouth and was drooling a bit.
We were afraid he was dying at first. However he pulled through and is slowly improving. I remember the night before he showed up sick there was a cat fight I went out and broke up. One of the cats looked black and white but this kitten is grey and white, since it was dark out I might have thought the cat was black and white but it was him involved in the fight. When he finally opened his eyes a bit, one eye looks very red and is watering. Around that one eye it looks like he got scratched or bit. When he walked it looked like he may have been in a bit of pain. He is also moving his legs a sometimes while lying down and flopping his tail lightly, it seems he gets a bit agitated when he is resting with other cats around.
Since I've been trying to nurse him to health, making sure he's eating and drinking, small doses of antibiotics and wiping around his eyes, nose with a damp luke warm cloth until I could get him to the vet his condition has improved but still is a bit weak/tired. He is eating, drinking, urinating/defecating properly and is a bit more active walking and even running a bit as well as grooming himself.
I'm just worried and hope it's nothing serious, I don't want to have to prepare myself for any bad news. I'm hoping someone here had a similar experience and a cat with similar symptoms as it would relieve me to know it may not be that serious and he can make a full recovery. Thank you and I apologize for the length of this thread/post. Perhaps in another thread I can post some pictures of my kitty clan.