For the last couple of nights, my husband and I have been trying to catch a feral-but-maybe-skittish-stray we have been calling Ezra now that we can take it to get spayed or neutered. When it first started coming around, I noticed it has rather short legs and walks with a sort of waddle. My husband calls it Stubz.
Since it is always dark when we see it, we assumed it was a dwarf. Yesterday afternoon, my neighbor told me that the "short" cat was under my porch, so I went out with a can of wet food for it and put it in our feral house on the porch. When it waddled up, I noticed that its front legs are rather bent and bowed. They are still short looking, but they are definitely bowed. Its back legs look just a little shorter than a normal cat. If it is not feral, we will see if it is chipped and keep it if it is not. I am worried that if it is an actual feral that it will not be able to live outside because it struggles to get around. It seems wrong to euthanize it, so I am trying to come up with ideas as to what I might be able to do to keep it safe if it is a feral.
We have a big yard with a few feral houses on the property; however, with its difficulty getting around, I am worried about coyotes and cars. We have few loose dogs around, so that is less of an issue, but still an issue.
If anyone has some ideas as to how to make Ezra safer if it is a feral, I would appreciate it.
Since it is always dark when we see it, we assumed it was a dwarf. Yesterday afternoon, my neighbor told me that the "short" cat was under my porch, so I went out with a can of wet food for it and put it in our feral house on the porch. When it waddled up, I noticed that its front legs are rather bent and bowed. They are still short looking, but they are definitely bowed. Its back legs look just a little shorter than a normal cat. If it is not feral, we will see if it is chipped and keep it if it is not. I am worried that if it is an actual feral that it will not be able to live outside because it struggles to get around. It seems wrong to euthanize it, so I am trying to come up with ideas as to what I might be able to do to keep it safe if it is a feral.
We have a big yard with a few feral houses on the property; however, with its difficulty getting around, I am worried about coyotes and cars. We have few loose dogs around, so that is less of an issue, but still an issue.
If anyone has some ideas as to how to make Ezra safer if it is a feral, I would appreciate it.