Feral Not Eating - Bad Teeth

[spac]

I've got a feral who stopped eating dry food around May, I think. I went for long periods without seeing him, when he returned he had put on some weight. Recently, though, he has stopped eating canned/wet food. He does the thing where he takes a bite, yelps, then runs away - a classic sign of tooth pain.

I cannot afford to pay for him to have a dental. I have my own rescued strays I need to worry about. I doubt there are rescue agencies around here who would pay for him either. He doesn't appear to be losing weight, but I never see him eat. I can see that he's lost several teeth.

Prior to him developing dental problems, he was fairly approachable. I was able to pet him on the top of his head a few times. Now he hisses at me when he sees me at the door. If he sees me in the yard, he might meow and indicate he's hungry.

I don't know if anyone around is caring for him. I can't ask any of the neighbors as I've suspected some of them of harming cats. I'm not sure who is trustworthy and I don't want someone to purposely hurt or trap this cat.

If I call the animal shelter, they will just euthanize the cat. That doesn't seem right, but I don't want him to suffer either. Any suggestions?

 

[msaimee]

Please trap him and take him to the Humane Society. He is in pain. They will only euthanize him if he tests positive for Feline AIDS (FIV) or leukemia. One of the symptoms of FIV is tooth infections, it's a very painful way to die, the cat slowly starves to death. Also, if he has one of these diseases, he can infect many other cats. If you can't afford to take him to a vet, do the kind thing and take him to the Humane Society. If he's only suffering from a tooth abscess and nothing more serious, they will treat him, and either put him on a foster home if he needs socialization or put him up for adoption in the shelter. If he's a true feral they can do a TNR and return him to your neighborhood.