Injured feral in our colony-help!

One of our TNR colony -Blackie-who was fine last night when she came for food & water, has somehow become injured & I'm not sure how to deal with it

This evening I saw her in her "normal" sleeping spot-under our neighbor's deck next to the hot tub motor (we've placed a box with insulation & straw there -since she seems to prefer that to the heated cat shelters we offer)---& she just looked odd. We TNRd Blackie last summer, and over the past year she's gotten a tad (very slight!) less fearful of us (she'll now let us toss treats to her from10 feet away). I tossed treats & she normally runs right out - this time it took about 10 minutes, & then I saw why. She can't put any weight on one of her front legs-she holds it up, doesn't even "toe touch." She did make her way slowly to the treats & eat them,which is good. I worried she wouldn't be able to make it to our yard to get to the feeding station & heated water bowl. So I risked scaring her & took a bowl of water & bowl of food over to the neighbors deck & placed them at the opening (next to the warm motor) where she sleeps. She retreated underneath, but after I went inside & watched from our window -I saw she ate the whole bowl of food & quickly drank the water. So I'm guessing she hadn't been out to drink since we'd seen her do so last night. We refilled the water (we did pull the food bowl till morning as I don't want to draw raccoons or other cats since she's obviously vulnerable. I did get a fairly good look with the binoculars & her paw/leg doesn't show any visible injury/blood/gash/etc. Obviously I'm most worried it's a break -or perhaps a bite I can't see.

I'm wondering what's the best thing to do. Obviously I'll keep a close eye on her-but I'm wondering how long before I call a vet (i think one that's helped us with ferals before will hopefully help Us).i don't want to traumatized her by trying to trap her if I don't have to (since we already TNR'd her last summer -not sure she'll fall for it again -although last summer every time we put out the trap to trap a new arrival, Blackie fell for it & was trapped -upwards of 5 times!!!!). Obviously there's no easy resolution -if it's a break she'll need recovery time -& that won't be easy. I'm guessing even an abcess we'd need to keep her in for a bit. So hopefully it's a sprain.

So bottom line -we do know this happened sometime in the last 20 hours ---how long do we let it go (we'll obviously continue to provide food & water right where she is for now!) as it is? If it's a sprain, how long should it be before we see her try to put weight on it? And how quickly do we call vet & start the trapping process?

Poor Blackie thanks to anyone for input --/these feral guys sure make us worry don't they?

Hi kittychick, I SO know what you are going through!

In fact I just got back home a few minutes ago from my cat route in town, where I have TNR'd several colonies and I continue to care for.

Okay so a few things. One is that it always amazes me how fast cat's limbs heal, if they can that is.

You will see a dramatic change in just 2-3 days after seeing an injury like this.

Give it 3 days, 3 full days. If you don't see ANY improvement or toes touching the ground, the limp isn't nearly as bad, etc then I would be thinking it's something worse.

It could be a break yes, but it seems to me that anytime I have seen a break on a feral, you can usually tell how the leg dangles, or looks out of whack in some way.

It may be a bite from an unneutered male cat, which is what I suspect it is, so it's VERY sore right now, and will swell up into a large lump, burst and drain. 

With abcesses, vets will recommend putting the cat on antibiotics, however I have myself found when this happens to one of my ferals that the antibiotics are mostly as a precaution, and I believe that nearly all abcesses will heal themselves. The infection fluid builds and is painful, until it finally breaks a hole in the skin and then drains, taking the pressure and pain away almost instantly. The cat will continuously lick and clean it, keeping it from scabbing over until all the fluid is gone, and that's that.

Cats do get sprains, but not usually, as they are so agile and coordinated.

So I would continue to feed and watch/observe, and think you will likely see an improvement pretty fast.

Thanks @catwoman707-your support & advice is very appreciated! Last night my husband & I talked about it - we'd been thinking we knew for sure it had happened in past 24 hours since my husband saw her in feeding station yesterday morning, but he realized last night he didn't see her walk in or out of the station (& although the plastic of it is "clear" it's a tad frosted so he didn't not if Blackie held up her paw. and prior to that we were on vacation since Thursday afternoon. I did toss her cooked chicken before we left & definitely no limp then, but that was Thursday am, so now we realize this injury could be as much as 5 days old.

I done more digging -really wonder if it's a bite, since she's totally holding it off ground so obviously very painful but she's holding it up & curled under, the paw/leg don't appear to be at any type of an odd angle. Which I know would be more likely if it were broken. So leaning toward bad bite.

Given that (altho obviously it's still a guess) am I better off trying to get a vet to prescribe an antibiotic I can put in her food (or even calling the cat shelter I volunteer at a lot to do same)? She's the only cat out of colony who seeks shelter under neighbors deck, so no one else eats out of the any bowl I place there for her-so I'll basically know if she does/doesn't eat & therefore get medication.

Thoughts? I worry about trying to trap her again -particularly since I'm sure it'll truly make her trap shy AND could take ages ---- & if I can treat this another way, wonder if it's worth trying that.

Not exactly a great shot of Blackie -but I always like when I can visualize what a poster is talking about. So here's a pic from a few weeks ago (hard to believe all the snow is now gone!). In the pic you can see Blackie -a few weeks ago-trotting out to grab a treat I threw onto the "trail" - she sleeps under the deck, just to the left of the deck steps near the hot tub motor (which is always on) in the little insulated box my husband made. (It's tiny -but there's very little height under there -& there are so many support beams he couldn't go very wide either-but it's something!). Luckily our neighbor -not even a "cat person"-doesn't mind us doing things for Blackie. Last night after I told her about Blackie's undetermined injury - she volunteered not to use her hot tub as planned so as not to scare her!

And in the bottom left of the photo -you can see Flick's head with her little tipped left ear -Flick's the feral we brought in last summer, and Blackie's her cousin....and favorite thing to watch!

If we go with the idea that it's a bite rather than a break how about trying to get the antibiotics into some of the treats she likes? Either some of those Greenies pill pockets or smothered in butter and put inside a ball of soft cheese.

Even if it is a break the antibiotics won't do it any harm. The last time I took a cat with a broken bone to the vet he said the best thing to do was feed her plenty of protein and let her hide some where quiet so she could heal. If she isn't holding her paw at an odd angle it might not need resetting, even if it is broken.

How about trying to get her to take the antibiotics in her treats for a few days, giving her some extra liver or egg for protein and seeing if she improves? 

Thanks norachan! I think that makes sense to try -now I'm wrestling with how to get antibiotics w/o taking her in. Our vet generally won't prescribe w/o examining...I'll try begging (he knows we TNR). I also put a call into the shelter I do so much work for. Hate to take advantage of that relationship but they've helped in the past on rare occasions I've asked. Cross your fingers.

My husband took more food/water over to her early this am ---- she did eventually come out & eat & drink a bit. Not a ton -definitely wish it'd been more (esp since he loaded it up with soft food which she usually goes crazy over - but at least it was something). I know not eating at all would be a very bad sign.

Hopefully I can find an antibiotic source & get that going---& I'll get the extra protein going too!!!

I wouldn't worry about it too terribly  if she is barely eating. This just indicates some amt of pain but doesn't mean disaster.

Cat's just won't starve themselves, unless of course there is a deadly internal issue.

Also, despite how easily she trapped last June, repeatedly even (what's up with that, males are the ones who can be retrapped, not the smarter females!) she may not go into a trap, as I would def. consider she is trap smart now.

It would likely take a drop trap.

Shelter is more likely to give antibiotics for her than the vet without seeing her, unless you have a great relationship with him.

If you do decide to get her the med, you would want to use her food as your way to get her to take it, slowing up on dry food, then offering her a small amt of baby food or canned she will gobble up without noticing much.

Cats get pill smart easily, it's bitter tasting and awful when chewed. Once or twice chewing a pill is enough to stop eating it, or eating around the pill.

All cat bites are bad when they break the skin, as they all seem to abcess. It's a painful process just the same, but work themselves out quite well.

 Oh my dear cat people.   I wish I could think of a way to say it, but if youth is wasted on the young, then it's even more true that worry about taking advantage is wasted on the most generous of human spirits.  

I hope the shelter and the vet can see their way to rewarding your initiative and I hope the kitty gets some relief.  Is she completely feral?

I'm so sorry your going through this as I know all to well worrying about an injured feral cat. I hope it's nothing real serious and she recovers soon.

None of the vets around here will give anything without seeing the cat so hopefully you have better luck then I do.

Well...it's been up & down here with Blackie. Yesterday (weds) evening we were shocked & thrilled to see Blackie come out from under the neighbors deck, stretch, yawn, walk over to the "extra" food bowl we'd put next to the deck, eat the whole bowl, and go up the deck & sun herself on the hot tub cover...all with barely a noticeable limp!!!! My husband & I kept looking at each other & saying "did we imagine that whole not being able to put weight on it thing?" We even decided not to worry about putting the "special food bowl" out this morning by the deck since she could obviously make it over to our yard & the feeding station.

Then this morning- I was surprised & saddened to see her come out from under the deck & she was holding the paw even higher, again unable to put weight on it, obviously miserable. Poor thing hobbled over to the fence between our yards, obviously wanting to come over for food & water, but unable to even try to squeeze through the slats cause of the pain. Broke our hearts. We did put food back tonight next to the deck, & the good news is although she looked miserable, she downed the entire bowl of food (full can plus hard plus egg for added protein -Thx @Norachan for thinking of that!)

So we're back to square one....with all the worry & uncertainty. The shelter did offer to let me pick up 2 full rounds of antibiotics (Clavamox) in the morning- & they're going to also give me a few pain pills. Wouldn't it seem it's got to be either a sprain,ligament tear or bite/abcess vs a break - because it seems as though maybe she felt a lot better but then maybe overdid it/jumped funny on it/something? Doesn't seem like a break would feel good enough to put 90% weight on it one day & back to miserable the next? I realize antibiotics won't help a sprain/ligament tear/etc - but I'm thinking we do go ahead & try that & a bit of pain meds (along w/pushing proteins) vs stress of trying to trap??

I have to say -worried too that she'll never get the antibiotic in. I know all to well how smart cats are about eating around the bitterness of a pill...and Clavamox isn't teeny (about size of baby aspirin). Let alone a feral who's very wary. I've never had to try to medicate a feral like this (other than give antibiotic shots thru traps when I used to work with at a shelter). Is it really possible she'll actually get any of this pill down on a semi-regular basis if I cut it into a few smaller pieces & put it in soft food? Baby food better? Or soft cheese per @Norachan? Best experiences? I've never used the Greenies even with non-ferals...but will happily try those if that's best option (I realize we may need to try multiple things).

And then think we give it another 3 days/5 days/7 on antibiotic (They're giving me 12 days worth) & if no improvement, try to trap & get her to vet?

Thanks all for the help & comfort...this site saves my sanity often

Oh gosh, I so feel for you and blackie!

Can you crush the pills?  I do that and sprinkle everything with Fortiflora and they gobble it up.

I wish there wasn't such a risk with trapping her, or more to the point, not trapping her and then she would lose the feeling of safety/comfort she gets from being under the deck.  At least she's fed and she doesn't have to travel far for food and water.

I'm so sorry that Blackie  is still having problems.

I once had to give Clavamonx to one of my feral cats, I crushed it up like powder and put it in a fish flavored canned food and she gobbled it right up. Glad they also gave you some pain meds.

In 2010 I had to trap one of mine that was limping, nothing was broke but the vet thought it was just sprained. The vet wanted her to stay off of it so my friend down the road let me keep her in her garage for a week. She was given a antibiotic shot and then I had to give her pain meds. I ended up releasing her before the 7 days were up because Snickers was so stressed out being caged up. She ended up being fine and walking with only a little limp when I released her. She made a complete recovery.

I hope Blackie makes a full recovery.

I have good luck with the Greenies and put them in with a small amount of wet food. I also pour any liquid antibiotic in with tuna, they can't smell it then. It sounds to me like an abscess, my ferals have gone through a lot of them. Watch for hair loss and any blood when it bursts, it may have already. Sometimes I only see the 'splatter' where one of them burst, then I KNOW it was an abscess. All the luck, I know how worrisome these injuries can be, and we feel so helpless.

The Blackie worry/stress/uncertainty continues....I swear if I didn't know better I'd think my husband was telling me things to make me feel better (he wouldn't) bc once again he said he saw Blackie putting a decent amount of weight on the leg Fri night, but when we saw her Saturday, back to no weight, holding foot inches off the ground?!?! Really confounds us?!?! He said he even watched her not only go up steps to deck, but go to other side of deck, jump off, & trot down the next-door-downs yard??! But, as I said, back to no weight all day Saturday. Plus I know she's not feeling good at all, since this is a feral who, despite always having food & water available, would spend most of the day making neighborhood "rounds" but since the injury spends most of her time lying in the insulated box lined with straw that our neighbor let us put under her deck.

Luckily, the neighbor (a "dog person" who's being very patient with us and Blackie!) is staying off her deck/hot tub for time being, & still letting us put food & water bowl right there for her. And Blackie is completely cleaning out the bowls of soft food with the antibiotics & pain meds in it (we can see her do it from our window) so we know she's getting full doses (thanks for "hiding" suggestions-she's yet to seem to notice the pills! I'm topping everything off with mackerel, since it's so smelly & flavorful that I figured it might further help hide the pills/cheese & pills/greenies).

My husband keeps reassuring me we're doing all we can, short of trying to trap & take her in. And he reminded me today how much she freaked in the recovery cage we use in our basement...in all our TNRing she's been our only total freak-out...even somehow Houdini-ed her way out of a locked crate! So, as he gently reminded me, trying to confine her if it is a break would be really hard on her mentally & physically, & the risk of her injuring herself during that might be really high. So we're hoping extra hard that time/what we're doing helps since the alternative isn't great

thanks so much to @Di and Bob, @snugglecat, @ Reba etc for continued advice & support!!! Hopefully we're making the right decision (for now at least) in doing what we're doing & not trapping.

Maybe the times you see her putting weight on her foot is when she's had her pain meds and the times she's limping are when she hasn't? Any correlation between eating the food with the pain killers in and being able to walk?

It's now been about 4 1/2 days since I first replied, it sounds as it's been up and down with the limping.

At this point if she is still clearly limping just as much, and no marked improvements then I would be thinking about trapping her and getting her seen.

As for the recovery crate, it greatly helps if the entire crate except for the front is covered with a sheet. It gives them that same secure feeling as a box does, and we all know how cats love boxes

I wouldn't call it urgent/life or death situation, but tend to think it is more than a simple injury that heals quickly as they so often do. She should be showing improvement by now.

@Norachan  we couldn't seem to make a correlation between when she gets the pain meds and when she seems to be walking better. That was definitely our initial thought, but once she was better after completely ignoring the food with the meds…so I think the two don't go together quite as much as I'd thought?!?!

But - best news yet (and this is where I swear cats psychically hear what we're thinking) my husband and I started last night having serious talks ( as @catwoman707  suggested) we should talk about where we'd try to put her crate if we do have to try to trap/hold for a long period….and woohoo - - - this morning she appeared for her morning pill combo with food/mackeral by walking across the lawn versus being holed up under the deck! And, although she definitely was tender on the foot/leg - - there was definitely light weight put on it for an extended period. She even sat in the sun after eating and bathed herself, which involved putting weight on the front leg! (Previously, she'd bathed herself during this by sitting up like a squirrel to avoid weight on that foot). This was definitely the longest we've seen her walk & put weight on it AND the most we've seen her walk through the yards.

So I'm praying this isn't a weird anomaly - - but definitely headed in the right direction! 

This is great news!

Funny how cats have a way of doing this............keeping us on on toes? Seems to me!          

I'm praying this continues….since she (and all of our furry feline conundrums!) do indeed seem to have a way of keeping us guessing! But for now - - I'm absolutely thrilled! Now if she can make it this way 2 or 3 meals in a row (since that's when we can really check out the walking) we'll REALLY celebrate!!!

Thanks again - everyone's input keeps me sane

I swear I'm ready to scream or cry or both We were so excited that for the first time Blackie was out and about all morning, didn't even wait for food to appear. She didn't reappear for her soft food/mackeral we hide the antibiotics/pain meds in until 12:30 so we thought she must be continuing the trend of feeling better and putting weight on her foot/leg. Yesterday she looked so good! Then we just saw her come in to eat/rest….and she's back to no weight on it. None. Checked her out with the binoculars (know it's not the same as getting an up close exam) and if it's an abcess it's tiny - and still can't believe a break would have healed enough for her to put weight on at all yet ever, even with pain meds (it's tramadol - nothing stronger - so it wouldn't totally override major pain from a break by any means). The only thing I can come up with is that she feels a little better, overdoes it by tromping around the neighborhood, and then it hurts more again. It's surely a sprain….it's just freakier for us since we can't easily confine/do anything else easily to help. Does that make sense or am I kidding myself?

I'm so reticent to try to trap her again- she's eating well, looks great other than holding the foot up, now going out for neighborhood rounds, and plus there's the almost-every-other-day-seeming-better thing?!?!? 

Sorry to sound like a broken record. I think I'm extra sad & nervou since we just had to retrap one of our ferals (he was very badly injured for over a year - salad-plate sized chunk out of him for the entire time) and put him down. Know it was for the best absolutely no question…but broke our hearts. And (if those of you that have read my other posts know this) we're living on the edge with our almost-20-year-old cat Phoebe, who we thought for sure we were going to have to euthanize 2 weeks ago.  I'm very aware that ferals, even with our help, have a risky life out there and have a shorter life span, so I need to remember that this stuff (injuries, euthanizing, disappearing….and the worry) is going to keep happening as long as they're in our lives. 

Thanks in advance for the advice and comfort everyone offers…..tell me I can't go crazy over this