Assistance with an old stray

Hi there, i have recently started feeding a stray cat at the hotel, for the 3 years ive worked at the hotel. He never allowed anyone near him. They all run away, regardless i alway chat to them in passing. He one day came to me and rolled on the floor, so i started feeding him, that was about 6-9 months ago. He would disappear for weeks at a time, then pop up and want food. I tried to relocate him to my garden at home, he stayed for 2 days, but i was working long hours at that time and he disappeared. Almost a month later he reappeared at the hotel. i feed him, but his eye didnt look good. I managed to take him to the Vet (christmas eve) and he was diagnosed with a bad bacteria, i took cream to put in his eyes and some pills to help with his skin condition. I tried to take him to my place again, however after staying in the car for over 2 hours, i decided to drive to the hotel and he got out straight after i opened the door. He disappeared for a few weeks, and came back last week, i realised that he is partially blind as he didnt jump up the wall where i give him food, and he walked down the stairs really carefully like a blind person - pawing his way. I managed to put him in my car and take him home. Hes been at my place for almost 2 weeks. He was a little agressive, he would be rubbing against my leg and then suddenly he would swot me and bit me. He only has his 2 k9s in the front and a few teeth at the back, so when he bites (hes drawn blood 3 times from my arm and bruised my leg another time) his K9s are doing the damage. Its not because hes blind as he did it before he went blind, he has settled down now and has stopped attacking me. Ive started introducing him to my indoors cat, she isnt impressed about the situation. But they aren't aggressive, possibly as her scent would be on me and he associates it with me. He does want to investigate her, as she has a bell on her collar. She sniffs him, but then runs away and hides under the couch. Im sure that she is tolerant of him more now, as she can sense that he is "injured". As when i first brought him home before his eye problem, she hissed and got very excited (like she usually does when she encounters ANY other animals). 

He stays outside, and i let him in when im home, mostly because im worried they will fight when im not there. Or that he will fall down the stairs and hurt himself else where in the flat. I would like to let him sleep inside, but i know that my cat needs to have her "safe" place, a place that is hers. Which is my bedroom, she sleeps on the bed with me. i tried to let him in last night but closed the bedroom door, but he eventually found his way upstairs and was calling at the door. My cat shot down stairs and he came and lay in the doorway. Any one have an idea on how to get him to understand that upstairs is for girls and he needs to stay downstairs?  This is Tigger my stray when he was still at the hotel, he had just eaten some crumbles i had mixed with warm milk and water so it was softer for him.

Oh, God bless you!  He's really in need of your help.  It sounds like he may have been a pet at some point - perhaps he was dumped because he got old or sick.  I would definitely keep him inside now - especially sinc ehe's blind and has dental issues.

If you can afford to give him his own space - even a bathroom would work, that would be ideal.  I suspect he is looking for human love, the same as your resident cat, which is why he cries at the door.

You can intergrate them into the same household but it will take time.  Until that time, is there a room downstairs he can be confined to at night?  I would spend as much time as you can with him, as he sounds like he needs love as well as attention.

I know you took him to the vet once but he may need his shots as well.  Another visit wouldn't hurt, especially if he's got bad teeth.  That pain can make anyone cranky.

Hi Candice,

Poor old boy, he looks like he's had a tough life. I agree with Ondine, he needs another trip to the vet. Older cats often have gum disease which is really painful for them. This could be why he is biting you. Once he gets his teeth seen to he'll be happier.

I think it would be a good idea to keep him indoors all the time. If he is blind or partially sighted he'll be vulnerable outside. If you can't keep him in a small room a crate or a pet cage would be OK for while you're out at work. Cats mainly sleep all day anyway. He'll be fine as long as he has time to wander around the house when you get home.

You could fit a gate across the bottom of the stairs, like a baby-gate or a child safety gate to stop him trying to climb up at night. They sell pet gates at places like Walmart and Petco.

He does seem like he needs a lot of TLC, I'm glad he found you.

Thank you, i am planing on taking to the vet again, the last trip to the vet was traumatic for all. He freaked out when the vet put him in the cat carrier - obviously- even managed to get out of it. I think he needs to have rabies shots, i have dewormed him as he had some white "eggs" in his toilet(took a huge stinky dump in my cats toilet - she wasnt very impressed lol. he eats well, dry crumbles as well as wet pouch. but hes starting to get fussy now, what would be the best food for him? i was giving him egg and milk with water as well as crumbles an pouches. He really liked the egg and milk, but someone told me that they get runny tummies from it? 

My cat has accepted that he is inside, she is curious and wants to sniff but gets scared and then hides. Neither are aggressive to eat other. He talks to her - i think - but she doesnt talk to him and she can talk lol. 

I will definitely keep him in my spare room when im at work from now on.  Thank you so much for your advice. 

Glad things are going smoothly with your resident cat.  I would definitely completely clean out her box and get new litter in there.  Get him his own box.  You don't need her to catch his worms!

As to feeding - any good wet food is best.  Eggs are OK but don't have all the nutrients cats need.  Many cats are lactose intolerant, so that would give them tummy troubles.

You may need to buy a variety of cans and see what he prefers.  Even very hungry cats will snub some foods.  I am amazed at how picky they can be.  But really, wet food will help him fatten up some and help him fight his infection (I wouldn't be surprised if his teeth are also infected).  Dry food can be bad for a cat with dental issues.  My vet said it is like brushing their teeth with a pretzel.  Contrary to popular opinion, it usually does not scrape their teeth clean.

The spare room will seem like heaven to him!

candice1981 said:

 
 i was giving him egg and milk with water as well as crumbles an pouches. He really liked the egg and milk, but someone told me that they get runny tummies from it? 

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If you can get goat milk, try this.  More pricey than cow milk, but cats have none whatsover problems with it, easlily digested (important for thim with his bad teeths), and high in nourishment.

If you dont afford, low lactose milk, or plain unsweetened youghurt are safer than cow milk - as mentioned, quite a few cats dont manage the modern processed cow milk.

Some cheese is also OK.

egg yolk is good, raw egg white has some drawbacks, but the yolk balances it out.  Still, the optimal is raw yolk and boiled white...

Other food tips you had already got.

Re the rabies vaccine you wrote he needs.   I dont think so, really.  As he will now be inside cat, the dangers of him getting rabies becomes dimunitive. Unless the law enforces mandatory rabies shots to all, of course.  Or you are in a country with very high rabies pressure  (no kidding, in USA getting rabies from animals is rare, and from cats - totally unique. But in more southern countries, there are in total thousands cases a year of people getting rabies from animals, and thus, surely some few from cats too.    I did read somewhere).

But rabies vaccine is of course wise for a cat living mainly outside, of course.  Law or not.

The so called core vaccine is most important, agains distemper, cat flu, and cat calici virus.  As all these are high contagious and quite common.

Although he being survivor of so many years on his own, and still alive, does has surely some natural  immunity against these diseases and viruses. - Otherwise he wouldnt be with us.

All and all, discuss with the vet, and take your decision from there.  

Im writing this, because I suppose economy is also a factor.

Feed back: Well, its been almost 2 weeks since i have moved Tigger( the ginger stray) inside with my other cat. All seems to be well, they had one or 2 little slapping sessions and 1 hissing but fortunately no claws or teeth were involved. However, i am seeing that my cat is feeling a little left out. so i will be spending more time with her, she plays, but he doesn't. She is very independent and doesn't like to be "told" what to do LOL. I found this morning she might be a bit of a bully to tigger as he cant see so well, and she likes to race around the room like a crazy cat on a high dose of cat nip. Im sure she ran into him this morning. He tried to follow her down the stairs but she is a lot quicker then he. But we will see, its so amazing to watch them learn to live together. I took him to the vet again last week, and she said he has a high allergy to Fleas and he has a bad infection in his eyes and ears. So hes on medication, and a real trooper with the pills. I can see the difference already. Hes starting moving his tail a little, which i don't recall him ever doing before. his eyes are open more now, although he still is partially blind i think. 

I just want to thank everyone for their kind words and advice. i did at one stage wonder if i was going to cope with this poor sick cat, and wondered if it would be better for him to be put down. But im now glad i hung on. 

Thank you again!

I'm glad it's going so well. He seems to be taking everything in his stride. Female cats do tease and bully the boys when they think they can get away with it, but that's better than her being intimidated by him.

Hope he's feeling better soon.

candice1981 said:

All seems to be well, they had one or 2 little slapping sessions and 1 hissing but fortunately no claws or teeth were involved. However, i am seeing that my cat is feeling a little left out. so i will be spending more time with her,

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Some slapping isnt bad, its essentially in itself a sign they had accepted each other.  Slapping with soft paw they do to educate their friends.  It it is hostlie they slap with claws out.

I do agree with you its wise to give the resident some extra care, so she doenst feel left out.  Knows she is still the resident.   AND dont get jealous!

The newbe knows he is newbe, so he is grateful for every scrap of kindness he gets, he understands well the residents gets more.

Good luck!

What a great story. This cat will be your friend for life! Did the vet think that maybe the antibiotics could improve the vision in his eyes?

I bet that within a year, these two cats will be buddies. It's been my observation that cats are better at learning to get along with each other than many people are at getting along with each other, lol. I have 5 very different cats living together inside my house, and despite some occasional play wars between the two young males, they have all learned to co-exist. We humans could learn a few things from them!