Possible injured orange feral cat

missyenberg

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I've maintained a colony of 11 cat for the past 7 years. All socialized and practically living indoors. Except for one who would never allow to be trapped. He is orange, male and only comes at night for a meal (good shape nice coat and large). Extremely skiddish During the last 2 weeks he did not show up (two others ferals did though) Last week I found him sleeping in my garage in one of the cat beds. Unusual. He looked skinny and ragged and had brown scabs under his eyes. He has not left the garage in a week. Walks uneasy and seems distressed. My vet thought he might have been traumatized or been in an accident. I have since closed him up so he can't leave so I can observe him. Is this making him stredded. Need your thoughts on this. Sorry so long. ME
 

di and bob

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He sounds like he was injured for sure,  most likely in a fight with another tom who bested him. If he has made it for two weeks, he should be on a slow mend.  Watch for signs of an abscess, swelling anywhere, unable to bear weight on a leg. etc. those can take weeks to show up. If you walk out and there is bloody discharge any where, that means the abscess burst.  The garage is the best place for him, just make sure he has a place to hide from you. In cases like this I call my vet and ask for an over the counter antibiotic in liquid form, then you can give it by squirting it on his food. It sounds like he should be started on it. Of course the ideal thing would be to take him to a vet, but he would most likely have to be sedated for an exam. If he is anything like my feral, there is no way I could bring him in, he would have a heart attack.  Good luck and all the best!
 

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Since he has never been trapped I assume is not neutered.  Since you have him in the garage, now is the time to catch him.  Start feeding him a trap or carrier.  He may need vet care as well.  This is the perfect time to catch him.  A drop trap might work really well too.
 

ondine

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Oh, wow.  This is the perfect time to get him the help he needs.  It sounds like he was hurt, which may have come from fighting.  I would make sure he gets a vet's attention.

Thank you for taking care of him!
 

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All of us have experiences with ferals, can you tell?! :)

Yep, totally agree, highly likely scenario is he got in to it with another unneutered male, who beat the poop out of him.

He definitely needs to be neutered.

Ask your vet to give you an acepromazine pill for him. The day before his appt hold out on food so he gets good and hungry, then offer him canned pate but maybe 1/4 can, and stash the pill in it two hours before he goes.

You will be able to pick him up and put him in the carrier easily.

I do this will all of my rowdy ferals :) Works beautifully.
 
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missyenberg

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I reread your reply and I thank you for your advice. I went to the vet today and got 3 pills (acepromazine). I have an appt on Friday to get him neutered. When should I give him the pill? How long does it take to work? Yikes, how would I get him if he goes under the car?. Most importantly, how long should he be out of it? And how quickly does the medication work.? So many questions. I feel like this is my last chance to get him. Will he bite me when I move him into the crate?  

He's doing so much better now. Eating lots of food/water and using a litter box. Poor little guy. I'm more nervous than he is I bet. I appreciate all your advice on this. I'm really hoping he becomes part of the gang, Thanks ME
 

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I've only ever used this once, so I'll just tell you what I noticed with the one cat I had to move. I'm sure other with more experience will chime in.

It takes 45 ~ 60 minutes to work. It didn't knock the cat out completely but it made her drowsy enough to be picked up. It wore off after about 6 hours.

You have until Friday so go into the garage now and block off any places he might go and hide where you won't be able to reach him. Do you have a bed for him? If you have a cat carrier that you can start using as a bed you might be really lucky and get him to go in there by himself when he starts to feel drowsy. Another way to pick him up safely is to use a laundry net or a pillow case, scoop him up from behind and put him in the carrier. When I've done this in the past I've stood the carrier up on it's end so I just have to lower the cat into the carrier from above. If there is someone who could help you by holding the carrier and shutting the door once he's in there ask them to help. If not make sure the carrier is propped up so it can't fall over.

Wear gloves and long sleeves in case he tries to scratch you.

Good luck!

 
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missyenberg

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I have a pretty big carrier. I will use that as his bed. If he goes in I will lower top part and secure tightly. Great idea. He has three beds in the garage now. Only place he can go is under my car. That would be worst case scenario. What time should I give him the pill. (Vet appt. is Friday 8-11am) Im thinking 5am ?
 

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Great that you have the acepromazine.

It is nothing to use lightly, and he will be completely dependent on you to keep him safe, so yes, def. block any spots that he can go to and hide, or fall from, etc.

You have to be able to get to him.

It takes about an hour, but vet wants me to give it 2 full hours prior to the appt for the full effect.
 

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Remember what I said about letting him get very hungry so he is sure to scarf down a small amt of canned pate food easily without picking out the pill.

Once that is eaten up completely then you know he got the pill.

I would not feed him more until he comes back home, then pate canned only until the following morning or he risks vomiting due to the anesthesia.

My vet tells me not to feed until the next day but I do give canned, always have with no probs.
 
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missyenberg

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Ok good. He's been in the garage for 3 days. Feels pretty safe. Heater running and its so cozy and clean(big snow storm expected tonite) Gonna put big carrier in the spot he choose to sleep. I will not feed him tomorrow after 2pm. So the next morning he will be hungry. Hopefully I can close the cage door after he goes in. Wish me luck and thanks for all your help with this. Very much appreciate your time and guidance. ME
 

catwoman707

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If the carrier has ever been used for another, you will need to clean that smell from it so he will use it. Otherwise he may not. I would see if he uses it tonight so you know.

If he gets in after he eats that pill, you won't have any probs closing the door! (once it hits him that is)
 
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missyenberg

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Okay this is my last post till I hopefully have good news about trapping the orange cat. I gave him no food today after 12pm. I will give him the pill tomorrow around 4am. About how long till he's kinda out of it?

Will he know I am handling him? I'm nervous it own;t work. Final thoughts?
 

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Wait an hour to make sure he's feeling the full effects of the pill. You'll be able to tell, he'll start nodding and blinking , then close his eyes and curl up to sleep. (Hopefully in the carrier.) 


He'll be aware that he is being picked up but he won't struggle much. If you don't have a laundry net or a pillow case handy you could put a big towel over him and pick him up in that. Just scoop him up and put him in the carrier before he has chance to react.

If you've never done this before practice on a soft toy or one of your more tolerant indoor cats. 

Take deep calming breaths, if you're calm he will be too.

You can do it!
 
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missyenberg

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Okay will do. Everything is in place. I like the towel idea. I will be very calm. Many thanks.TTYL
 

catwoman707

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No worries, he will act like a very drugged cat.

Here's an example of the last time I used this med.

Sammy, a very feral feral (haha) I had trapped, he had mange really bad, bloody scabs all over, it was awful.

Luckily he loves canned food like crazy, slipped the pill into 1/4 can, he scarfed it all up, 2 hours later took him to the vet, he didn't even climb out of his bed so I picked the entire bed up and stuck it in carrier.

He got his exam easily, very drunk acting, anyway scooped him up and took him back, but decided yo take advantage of his state and give him a good scrubbing bath!

TOO easy, just like a very drunk, disoriented person would be, very accepting of what I was doing as he knew there was no choice, he was putty in my hands!

Lasts 6-8 hours.
 
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missyenberg

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OMG, All went great. Unfortunately, the sedative did not work. Cat probably didn't ingest enough. He was a bit sluggish and I chased him around car and opened my mudroom door and he went inside and hid in the small bathroom. I closed him up and set a trap. (It's a pocket door) I put a piece of insulation above trap and my husband held it while I went into bathroom and scared him out. Into the trap he went. I was soooo happy.

Vet thought he looked very good. Got neutered, shots and he's recuperating back in the mudroom in a big carrier. What a week. I'm exhausted. Gonna take his picture cause I'm not sure if he will ever come back. Fingers crossed. He's such a pretty guy. THANK YOU ALL for your support in this endeavor. I am a total cat fanatic and would do anything to help out the feral community. And I Have 11 to prove it.  XOX, ME
 
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