catching a semi feral cat/bring indoors

Hello; thank you; first, his eye; it's only his right eye; it is not weepy, runny or anything like that; he is not rubbing it and does not appear to have any kind of distress; it's just 1/2 to 3/4 closed much of the time; when he eats it's open somewhat wider; it does not look infected, but something must be going on with it.....my vet advised to give It another day or so; if it still seems odd, I guess I would have to TRY to get him back into the carrier somehow and back to the vet.   This would be terrible - very difficult.  I realize the best course of action would be meds directly in the eye, but the vet would only be able to do this once.  He says an oral antibiotic that I could put in his food wouldn't help.  I'm not sure I agree with this - it would have to have some effect.  Any thoughts?

Also, I will try to put a finger on Henry's back from behind.  I did try very carefully approaching him with a sock on a wand; he sniffed it, and I moved it back and forth by him while he was in the tub; when it got a little too close, he just moved back slightly, so I will keep working on this.  I have been VERY surprised that he seems content to just lay on blankets in the tub, floor, or under the sink vanity; not trying to get out the door, escape, and no crying etc.  He does meow most of the time when I go in.......I am mainly concerned about his eye.  If he was just outside as he's been, I imagine it would just clear up on it's own, but it worries me.  Any thoughts or ideas on his eye are welcome; again, no swelling, no discharge, no rubbing it, etc.

Thanks!!!!!

You are not going to be able to give him eye drops. That's the #1 problem. Not sure if your vet was recommending that. Is there the slightest chance that your vet would make a home visit?

Some cats who have had a hard life outside will NEVER make any attempt to go outside again. Well, duh! In fact, sometimes they are terrified that you may put them outside again so they become very self-effacing - almost like they don't want you to notice they are there. Cats are weird in their thought processes. Henry is perfectly happy. Again, I think you are worrying too much.

Hi, you are definitely right; I would not be able to give Henry eye drops; my cat Izzy is also not able to be medicated; if she gets a cat cold, she has to go in for a shot; it takes two people to give her meds, and I'm alone; I can't give Izzy eye drops either, she goes crazy!

It seems to me that an oral antibiotic, crushed up in Henry's food would have some effect; internet says oral anitbiotics are often used for eye infections, but I'm not sure if there is any infection, as it's not runny, etc.  eye is just halfway closed; I imagine he could have scratched it somehow, but doesn't seem likely.

I'm sure I AM worry too much; I tend to do that; the fact that he's not trying to get out tells me he's not too unhappy.  I will only have to try to get Henry back into the carrier and back to the vet if the eye looks/gets worse.  We do have mobile vets here in Phoenix, but they want a FORTUNE to come out, and one advised I'd have to get Henry into his carrier anyway so they could knock him out to look at him; if I have to get him back in the carrier, I can just see my regular vet for $55.00.  Lets hope it looks better/clears up so this is not necessary.

My semi feral foster (6 month old)  had an eye  that he kept partially closed.    My vet thought it had some injury (scratch) rather than an infection.   Maybe that's why your vet thinks an oral med won't work.   It did heal and his eye is fine now.

Thank you; I don't feel its any kind of emergency, as there''s no apparent distress, no rubbing it, not watery, runny, etc. and he seems to feel fine; appetite very good, etc.  I guess it wouldn't hurt to just watch if for a few days.  I prefer to see my regular vet if need be; he's only in to see patients Wed, Thur, and Friday, no weekends, and he does all his surgeries on Mon; not in on Tues, so if it needs to be seen I would like to try to aim for Friday, but maybe by then it will be looking better.  I don't see how he could have scratched his eye, but I guess it's possible.  He's only been doing this for a couple of days.

Today I worked a little with touching Henry; I touched his back with one finger, while his back was to me....he hissed at me, but didn't try to scratch or bite; later in the day I "played" a little with the sock on a wand; he is very leery of it.....he hissed and swiped at it, so I have to take this slow.  His eye is looking somewhat better; not open 100% yet, but it's about 50% better or so, so appears to be on the mend; my feeling is he may have gotten a small abrasion, maybe from the kitty litter?  There's really nothing else in the room for him to come into contact with. 

I'm thinking the wand itself must be rather alarming though I do think it's ingenious. Persevere with one finger I would say. I wonder if the eye thing was something he came inside with, but wasn't noticeable before. Never heard of litter causing that.

I do have a question; what strength of light do you think is best for Henry?  I've had a  25 watt bulb in a small lamp on the sink; at night I change this to a 15 watt; I've also used a 25 watt amber colored bulb in the light fixture over the sink......from what I've read, it seems subdued lighting is best..(room does not have a window)......what do you think?  Also, tonight he was crying just a little bit......I THINK he just wanted more food, but if he does start crying what do you suggest?  He stops meowing when I go in with him, not sure if he's lonesome.....any other suggestions for soothing him?

Thanks!!!!

lhoncharik said:

 
I do have a question; what strength of light do you think is best for Henry?  I've had a  25 watt bulb in a small lamp on the sink; at night I change this to a 15 watt; I've also used a 25 watt amber colored bulb in the light fixture over the sink......from what I've read, it seems subdued lighting is best..(room does not have a window)......what do you think?  Also, tonight he was crying just a little bit......I THINK he just wanted more food, but if he does start crying what do you suggest?  He stops meowing when I go in with him, not sure if he's lonesome.....any other suggestions for soothing him?

Thanks!!!!

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I think that for during the day the 25 watt is fine.  At night with my latest I used a 7 watt for a few weeks and now just use a night light.  For night time you don't want a lot of light as you want him to adjust to day and night.  So leaving just a night light on during the night would be fine.  

It sounds as though the crying is just seeking your attention.  He might be lonesome.  To get him used to voices, you might try using a radio turned to a station that plays music as well as talk.  I know some people use NPR.  The radio is probably not necessary at night unless he is crying during the night.

Thanks!  I will try what you suggest, and at night only use a night light bulb.  He seems to like the classical station I'm using; there is a fair amount of talk as well as music.  He has not been crying again, only several good meows when I first come in and sit with him.......taking a small amount of tuna, just a teaspoon or so, when I go in....he loves this......think its better to feed him frequent small amounts than to leave him with a lot of wet food.  He always has the dry food at his disposal.

lhoncharik said:

Thanks!  I will try what you suggest, and at night only use a night light bulb.  He seems to like the classical station I'm using; there is a fair amount of talk as well as music.  He has not been crying again, only several good meows when I first come in and sit with him.......taking a small amount of tuna, just a teaspoon or so, when I go in....he loves this......think its better to feed him frequent small amounts than to leave him with a lot of wet food.  He always has the dry food at his disposal.

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All sounds good. Just keep in mind that if you tend to Henry every time he cries - then he will always cry to get your attention. This might not be good, for example, when you are sleeping at night. A lot of posters here have problems with cats disturbing their sleep. My cats do not sleep with us & they know better than to cry after a certain hour.

lhoncharik said:

 
Thanks!  I will try what you suggest, and at night only use a night light bulb.  He seems to like the classical station I'm using; there is a fair amount of talk as well as music.  He has not been crying again, only several good meows when I first come in and sit with him.......taking a small amount of tuna, just a teaspoon or so, when I go in....he loves this......think its better to feed him frequent small amounts than to leave him with a lot of wet food.  He always has the dry food at his disposal.

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I would begin to feed him on a schedule.  I would feed him wet food 2x a day ( morning and night).  I feed my cat around 1/4 of a 5 oz can 2x a day.  I feed very little dry.  I then would gradually start to phase out the free feeding of the dry and only give it with the wet.  When he is out of the bathroom, with 2 cats you don't want to leave feed out all of the time.  It is then really hard to tell who is eating and how much they are eating.  To prevent the cats from getting overweight, it is best not to free feed.  

Well that's really nice u are rescuing this cat. I have 2 ferral cats in my neighborhood too but they don't seem to b to hip on ppl. I think the lady that lives 2 doors down is feeding them. They look pregnant but idk I can't tell if I can I too am going to try and catch them. If they r pregnant I know u can rescue and save the kitties cuz I did it with my gray cat. I hope u have luck.

Thanks!  I am still very surprised that Henry has only really "cried" a couple of times; after I come in and sit with him, he seems perfectly content.  I actually think that he has cried/meowed a little more than usual on these couple of occasions when I have startled him a little bit, as when he's moving from under the bathroom vanity to his blanket.  I have put my finger on his back a couple of times; I have to wait to try this when his head is facing away from me, as I don't want to startle him too much as maybe get a bite (however, I don't think his bite could be any worse than Izzy; she is a TERRIBLE biter, and nothing we have tried, i.e. medications, behavior modification techniques have made any difference).   Henry has not been aggressive in any way, and I have been putting my hand on the floor getting just a smidge closer each time.  He keeps his eyes on me, but has not attempted to bite or swipe me with his claws.  He did hiss and swipe at the sock on a wand, but so far I've only tried touching him with this once.  Will try this again this week.  He often curls up to sleep with me pretty close to him while I speak to him in a low voice, or sing to him.  I want to work toward letting him into the bedroom at some point, before I ever let him into the rest of the place.  Have to slowly work toward an intro to Izzy as she spends a lot of time in the bedroom, couldn't keep her out.  I plan to put up the screen door in the bathroom doorway first, not ready yet of course, but with that aim in mind.  I would put Izzy in her large carrier, and let her and Henry see each other first, then move the carrier closer to the screen door over several meetings, working toward letting them sniff each other, etc. through the screen door.  Don't feel there's any hurry to do this, it's only been 12 days.  So glad Henry is safe; he seems to realize this; I tell him he's safe every time I sit with him, and it must be nice for him to be able to sleep without being on constant alert for any danger. 

Good idea; Henry weighed 8.24 lbs at the vet's office, which might be just a little on the small size; my female Izzy is about 9 1/2 lbs.  Of course right now Henry is not getting any of his usual exercise, so you're probably right.  I had already decided I was giving him too much food, so I had already cut back a little bit, although he has always had a very big appetite. When I took food to him outside before he started coming onto my patio, he could easily eat about 3/4 of a 5.5 oz can of Friskies at one time, and he would eat this much more than once a day, plus some dry food.   Now I've been feeding him a 1.3 oz single serving of Sheba, or 1/2 of a 2.75 oz of some other brand, such as Rachael Ray's Nutrish or a Fancy Feast.  He nibbles the dry food, but only seems to eat one or two bites at any one time, maybe 1/4 cup a day total. 

Only thing I still need to have him checked for are any internal parasites, and am taking a poop sample into my vet as soon as he gets back from vacation next week, although he has had no diarrhea, etc. but better to be safe than sorry.  The cat I lost to cancer three years ago, Nipper, had giardia when we adopted her from the humane society (hard to believe they hadn't noticed she had bloody diarrhea). 

The feeding schedule sounds like a good idea as Henry will come to expect food at these times, building the trust issue.  I've had cats all my life but I find that with each new one there is still a lot to learn, and of course I've never had or worked with one like Henry before. 

Hi again, ShadowsRescue:

Well, about 3:00 AM this morning, Henry started crying a lot.  I went in and sat with him for awhile, but when I came out, he started again.  Izzy got all excited, and ran into the bedroom and started sniffing the bathroom door, with her tail all puffed up, hissing a little bit.   I guess I'm surprised, because this is the first time Henry has been crying by the door.  I guess it was just a matter of time until he wanted out.  Since this is all new to me, I'm not sure what to expect.  I guess you would suggest that I just let him cry and not go in with him?  For the moment, I've moved Izzy's litter box out of the bedroom, and into the hallway, keeping the bedroom door shut.  Do you think this is best, or should I let Izzy into the bedroom to explore smell/listen to Henry?  I'm not sure what the best thing to do is......if Henry is aware of Izzy outside the door, will he become more upset?  I hate keeping Izzy out of the bedroom, as we have such limited space, but I'm not sure how much Henry upsets her, since she can't see him yet........is he ready for me to put up a screen door?    I admit I'm out of my element here........don't want to do the wrong thing!!!!    What is your advice?

THANK YOU!!!

Looks like I need all the advice I can get!  Tonight about 3:00 AM Henry started really crying, sitting by the bathroom door; I sat with him for awhile; he finally settled down; I'm not sure why I wasn't prepared for him to start crying/wanting out.  Izzy ran into the bedroom with a bristly tail, sniffing under the bathroom door, hissing slightly.  Not sure the best way to handle; should Izzy be kept totally out of the bedroom, or is it best to let her in, to be able to sniff and hear Henry?  I moved her litter box out  of the bedroom into the hall.  I'm don't think I'm ready to let Henry into the bedroom, or even to put up the screen door for initial introductions with Izzy.  Too soon for everybody.    I don't want to do the wrong thing here.........should I just let Henry cry and not worry too much about it?  If Izzy goes into the bedroom and sniffs around the bathroom door, do you think Henry will become more upset or agitated?  I hate to keep her out, but maybe in the short term it's best for both of them?  Thank you for your advice!!!!

P.S.  Henry is also scratching at the door; there is just enough space for him to fit tip of his paw under the door; I'm just very nervous, I guess, and he'll give up after a while, for the time being.  I guess this was all to be expected, but I'm kind of freaking out. 

I would let Izzy into the bedroom to sniff around, it's too soon for direct contact, but they each know the other is there so why not? A screen door is what I used too, my cats got to know each other through the patio door and did fine, but it took months. Try to feed them close together, like on each side of the door to give them good feelings, and definitely let them sniff each others bedding. Sooner or later they have to get each other in sight to get used to that. It's really early in the AM here so maybe an expert will come on a little later for more advise. All I know is it takes time, and a lot of it to get cats used to each other. All the luck!

When I go in, Henry calms down, and I sprayed some more of the cat calming spray; do you think he'll cry and scratch the door in spurts?  Again, we're starting his 13th day here, and this is the first time he's started crying and scratching the door, etc.  Sorry its freaking me out so much! I guess I'm just not sure what to expect!