HELP - approx 3 year ol feral cat

[ldg]

Oh Victoria, I am so so so so so so sorry!

I know it's really hard on you, especially as you were already grieving, but you gave Freddie the most selfless gift there is to give, the gift of love, a name, a home, food, comfort, care, and peace.

With his leukemia so advanced, and apparently tumors on top of it all, there was no other choice to make.

As you say, he died with dignity, and he did not suffer. His suffering ends as yours begins.

I'm so sorry.

Rest in peace, Freddie.

 

[jtbo]

Oh poor Freddie, feral life can be so cruel to them

I wish you strength to these dark times Victoria, it must be really hard to have so many sad news, hopefully there will be much better to come as misfortunes can't be going on forever.

 

[feralvr]

I just read your post. I am filled with sadness right now for you. I just want you to please, please know how much you did for Freddie of late. He had so much love from you during this whole ordeal and was put to rest peacefully and with diginity. You got him to the vet in time to save him from a very long painful death. Please tell yourself what a wonderful gift you gave Freddie. He left this earth knowing you loved him. My heart aches for you.....

 

[krz]

I am so sorry for your loss of Freddie, in time you will realize how much you did for him, in the last three years and also the last few weeks. You loved him and cared for him. And you ended any suffering he would have had to endure.

 

[just mike]

Originally Posted by forestcat24

Hi,

Haven´t introduced myself yet, but I have a problem. For approx 3 years I have fed a stray cat morning and evening. I amanged to trap and neuter him about 2 years ago, but as we had 5 cats at the time my husband wanted to release him, and also he was very hissy and angry (the cat, not hubby!).

We had a good routine going, I would whistle at the right times, wait a while and Freddie would come rotting down some steps, maiowing back to me. I would wait whilst he ate, talking to him, and then he would finish eating, we would have a discussion and off he went. I could never get to pat him, but finally got to two steps away from him, sitting quietly.

Nearly two weeks ago I noticed he was walking stiffyl and hold his tail ramrod straight. Bald patch towards bottom of tail, I thought cat fight. Anyway, saw him on and off for the next week, then on Sunday he was waiting for his breakfast. Dear me, what a sad little state. Left eye closed, oozing gunk, difficulty walking, generally poorly. Managed to trap him (with the help of God and some luck). Phoned my vet and took him in as an emegency. Bite to his tail, healing nicely, but the eye, he is going to lose it. The vet thinks major fight, and the claw of the other cat has penetrated/perforated his cornea, and the fluid at the back of the eye is seeping through the hole and causing the edema. Antibiotic shot and anti-inflammatory. I forgot to mention, two sedative jabs and finally some anaesthetic to get near him. He is now here with us (we have 3 other cats now - not happy right now of course). Freddie is in our plant room, a nice size room, we use it for storage and it also houses the water storage tank and electric water heater. We have to wait another week for the surgery to make sure no infection, and then the eye will be removed. He could have microscopic surgery but that entails a plastic collar afterwards and eye drops four times a day -- uh no, would love to do it for him but can´t see the eye drops happening or the collar staying on. He will be welcome to stay with us, but not sure he will. I am concerned about his welfare. He eats (during the night), during the day he is up behind the pipes. He has the radio on morning till bedtime, a soft rock salt crystal table lamp (off at bedtime). Fresh water, dry food, wet food,litter box, cat box with fleece in it, a fleece on cardboard (tiled floor, cold). He has stopped hissing, we go down regularly to see him and talk to him, check his eye (the edema getting bigger). All a bit of a worry. I suppose I am worried about letting him out after his recovery because I know if he gets ill I don´t think he will be daft enough to go in the trap again. Has anyone tamed a feral cat aged 3 or more? Is it possible? I mean, he can stay in the plant room as long as it takes, but also not sure how he and my three tabbies will get on. They can smell him, and maybe next week when he goes for surgery I will let them in there to sniff around and get his full scent, and also means he will get their scent when he comes around.

Am I doing right, should I just leave him to run off, if he wants to, or become an outdoor garden cat with a nice little hut, if he wants to? So many questions. Maybe it all boils down to what he wants to do. Bear in mind he will be here with us for, in total, a minimum of 4 to 5 weeks, can´t risk his going out and getting an infection. Apart from feeding Freddie I have had nothing to do with feral cats. My five were street cats, all dumped and unwanted, but had obviously been pets at some stage. Poor little Freddie, his is tabby with a white (rather scratched right now) nose and a white bib, rather a handsome fellow. He has never struck me as a fighter, but of course if he gets set upon he is going to retalliate poor little guy.

So, any suggestions, ideas, advice, anything at all, very welcome right now. I don´t want to let him out too soon if there is a chance of him being part of our family, but not fair to keep him in if that is not what he wants. But how will I know what he wants? If he wants to go I would not stop him, although I will be very sad.

I am sorry, I am all over the place here, I am just so concerned for the little chap, he is an unhappy bunny right now, but it is only day 4. Also concerned about his safety from other feral cats with only the one eye. Will wait to check for worms and fleas etc when he goes for the surgery, don´t want to stress him unnecessarily.

Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give me - I just want to do the best I can for him.

I agree with Ritz. Just stick with your original plan and focus on the 5 weeks. You can decide what to do otherwise later. I have a feral living in my garage. It's been 5 years now and she is getting a little more tame. I have 4 indoor cats and 3 dogs in addition to the feral. I found out that she belonged to a neighbor that moved. The neighbor did not abandon the cat; she thought the cat had just disappeared or died because she had not seen it in months. I found out from the former owner that "Bart" was a barn cat raised on a farm until she was about 8 months old. To make this short, my garage is heated and Bart has her own corner with water, food and bed. She does use a litter box which is kept in a separate area. She only uses it when it it bitter cold outside and she doesn't want to brave it. I did try to acclimate her as an indoor cat. It just did not work. She wants to live outside but likes having a place of her "own". Am I doing the right thing? I just don't know. What I do know is that she is healthy and seems quite content. Getting her to the vet is a real pain but it gets easier as time passes. The day she allows me to pet her will be a total joy

 

[just mike]

I am so sorry! I did not realize he had passed away when I made this post. So, so sorry.

Originally Posted by NutroMike

I agree with Ritz. Just stick with your original plan and focus on the 5 weeks. You can decide what to do otherwise later. I have a feral living in my garage. It's been 5 years now and she is getting a little more tame. I have 4 indoor cats and 3 dogs in addition to the feral. I found out that she belonged to a neighbor that moved. The neighbor did not abandon the cat; she thought the cat had just disappeared or died because she had not seen it in months. I found out from the former owner that "Bart" was a barn cat raised on a farm until she was about 8 months old. To make this short, my garage is heated and Bart has her own corner with water, food and bed. She does use a litter box which is kept in a separate area. She only uses it when it it bitter cold outside and she doesn't want to brave it. I did try to acclimate her as an indoor cat. It just did not work. She wants to live outside but likes having a place of her "own". Am I doing the right thing? I just don't know. What I do know is that she is healthy and seems quite content. Getting her to the vet is a real pain but it gets easier as time passes. The day she allows me to pet her will be a total joy