Feral with serious infection- what to do?

Hello,

I feed about 3-4 feral cats from my back porch. My house backs up to the county so I think they spend the day in the woods or fields, or down by the creek, or exploring the abandoned barns and sheds. But anyway, they know I feed them when I feed my own three cats (two indoor, one indoor outdoor formally feral we adopted) so they show up around 5 pm each day.

Well, one of them is older, from talking to the neighbors its been around "a long time" as in like 6 to 10 years or more. I think he's the father of the feral we adopted and gets along well with our other three cats. He spends a few hours sitting on our deck steps then lays about in the back garden and eventually wanders off again. I'm usually able to get about two feet away, yesteday I got close enough he smelled my hand.

This is my dilemma, the inside of one of his ears was pretty swollen and the outside of his ears where covered in scabs from where he'd been scratching them. I'm also pretty sure he doesnt see very well and the whites of his eyes seemed a bit swollen and pink. He also seems to have bad teeth or a sore mouth so we give him can food everyday (but he does eat the dry, just seems to have a bit more trouble doing so than the others). He's also pretty thin, but all the ferals I feed are (which is why I feed them.)

What should I do?

It comes down to, do I do nothing but continue to feed him canned for everyday and hope for the best. (I had a cat die at age 22 which had an uncureable ear infection for at least 12 of those.)

Do I trap him and take him to the vet? Aside from the logistics of this, I'm sure he'd be traumatized. How do you medicate a frightened feral cat? Then what do we do long term since I'm sure he needs meds? And my husband would flip out adding a fourth cat, since he already complains about three (and five ferrets.) The no-kill shelter does provide medical care, but he might be a case deemed medically necessary to euthanize.

Is there a vet that would provide antibiotics to add to the canned food I give him daily? I know vets most likely can't diagnose without seeing the cat. And from my experience with my senior cat, it might take ear / eye drops also. As well as never be cured. With the senior cat we tried everything except surgury, which they said may not even cure it.

I really want to help this cat. What should I do?

Hi Trinity- I have a small feral colony, (all spayed/neutered, so they've all experienced traps) and there have been times that I've had to get them medical help.

As you can imagine, re-trapping is a pretty tough proposition, especially when time is of the essence. In that case, there's not much left except the "grab & drop". The last time I had to take one of my feral kids in to the vet, I propped an oversize carrier (so it had a large doorway) on its end, open door facing up, and grabbed the cat while he was eating so he was distracted. It wasn't gentle, but as quickly as I could, I dropped him into the carrier (where I had several thick towels so at least he landed on something soft). Sometimes, if a cat is ill enough, you can get away with this. I've used this method twice; fortunately, with success. Wear sturdy gloves if possible to do this, but make sure you have good dexterity with them - you only get one chance to grab the kitty. (Personally I couldn't do it with gloves on).

Your decision as to what you should do comes down to what you can live with. Are you going to be able to look at this cat each day who has an obvious health problem and not do anything about it?

If he's 6-10 years old, he potentially still has many good years left, especially if you've provided him with a shelter. My oldest feral boy is about 16 now (he also experienced the "grab & drop" method) and is going strong despite 2 bouts of FLUTD, several facial abscesses, and a fight with a raccoon.

You're right - most vets will not provide meds unless they exam the cat, which is perfectly reasonable. Still, you could appeal to your vet - but it's unlikely he/she will be willing to prescribe simply on the basis of described symptoms. If you decide to take this kitty to the vet, remember to ask the vet *before* you grab the cat if the vet is comfortable handling feral cats.

Whatever is going on with this poor little guy may possibly be remedied by antibiotics. If that's the case, you could administer them in his food - I've had to do this and it works if you give the meds in a very small amount of food so you're sure he gets them. You can then feed the rest of the meal once the meds have been eaten.

From what you're describing, I'd be less concerned about any temporary trauma he might experience from being taken to the vet, than letting him continue to go untreated. Both my ferals were mighty unhappy about their vet visits - but they quickly got over it, and it sure beats suffering in pain or worse.

If you take this boy to the vet, and I hope you do, the vet can give him a light sedative (if necessary) so he can be examined. This was done for one of my ferals. The other guy surprised us and was completely docile allowing himself to be examined without a peep.

Try not to get too far ahead of yourself imagining what treatment/meds he *might* need. Take it one step at a time - start with getting him to the vet and find out what's going on first.

I'm very glad this little guy has you to care about him.

PS- Sorry for such a lengthy post!

KTLynn said everything, I think. Don't worry so much about the trauma, because your feral has probably been around, and a vet visit that could majorly help him is worth a scare. Since he hasn't been captured before, try a standard trapping cage? Some nonprofits will let you borrow one. Ask around, if a nonprofit can't give you one, they may be able to give you someone who will.

Good luck.

I've done my share of trapping, and difficult as it can be, they do recover quickly. It's my opinion that sick cats seem to realize that they are being helped when you take them to the vet and will often accept a lot more medical treatment than I ever expected. Just like us they like to feel good!

Not an answer to the previous post, but an extended question. We're also unable to medicate/catch a sick cat. Is there a known sedative to put in food for a cat who can be found during the period it's sedated?

Also, as a last option for an obvious terminal illness/injury, is there a known home euthanasia that's fast and painless, preferably a food additive? I wonder about sleeping pills. A vet's injection is an "overdose of barbituate", typically unavailable. Under necessary conditions, it would be a comfort to have something to end suffering with.

circe

Originally Posted by circe

Not an answer to the previous post, but an extended question. We're also unable to medicate/catch a sick cat. Is there a known sedative to put in food for a cat who can be found during the period it's sedated?

Also, as a last option for an obvious terminal illness/injury, is there a known home euthanasia that's fast and painless, preferably a food additive? I wonder about sleeping pills. A vet's injection is an "overdose of barbituate", typically unavailable. Under necessary conditions, it would be a comfort to have something to end suffering with.

circe

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I don't believe there is a sedative that you can put into food. As far as euthanasia...I do not know of a "food additive" that is fast and painless. Best thing is to invite a vet over to administer the shot.

Katie

I took care of a huge, powerful feral male for several years. I took him to the vet to treat a bad abscess on one occasion, and then finally for euthanasia when he was clearly dying painfully from kidney disease and I could see that he was urinating every few minutes and his urine was full of blood.

Both times, I got a tranquilizer pill from the vet, broke it into quarters, and encased each quarter-pill in a small ball of chicken breast that I shaped and dipped in chicken fat. I first fed him a couple of balls with no pill, then a ball with a quarter, then another quarter, then a no-pill ball, and finally, the last two balls with quarters. After an hour, these had made him very sleepy and slow, and I was able to stuff him into a carrier, which would otherwise have been impossible due to his size and strength.

To do this, you have to make sure you feed the cat in a garage or other confined place so that he does not leave before he gets sleepy, or he could be hit by a car, attacked by another animal, or come to some other tragic end from being medicated while loose.

However, if you can trap a cat in any fashion, an experienced vet can give the cat a tranquilizer shot in any large muscle (shoulder or haunches) by turning the carrier or trap at an angle so that the cat has to lie down on the door or wire framing, giving the vet access to the cat's side. The shot will knock him out just like a tranquilizer dart would, and then he can be treated.