Injured feral in our colony-help!

[catwoman707]

Aw, pretty girl with her little ear tip, I adore black kitties!!

Attaching a video symbol is right next to attaching a picture symbols, if that helps.

 

[kittychick]

I try, but all that comes I is the words "video video video" over & over. My husband also tried to (he's also a designer with some web experience & had same result). Any place on this site I'm missing that lays out what type format it needs to be?

 

[kittychick]

Found the FAQ section on video -will try in am.

 

[kittychick]

Blackie's definitely back -and walking so well that she jumped up,no trouble balancing (barely a detectable limp as she walked away-yeah for antibiotics) onto the fence to stare in through the screen at her cousin Flick, who now lives inside with us. A very happy ending !!!!!

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• kittychick
• Apr 8, 2015

 

[catwoman707]

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

  

  

 

[Norachan]

Oh, good for Blackie!

And Happy Trapping for you, now you just have to TNR The Blackie Imposter.

 

[supermax1943]

I just finished reading the saga of Blackie. So glad the results were so good. 

Had a feeling things were going to turn out okay, and giving thumbs up for all of the great replies and advice you got!

I have had the same "injured foot, paw" happen in my colony. And after 16 years of doing this, I can finally take an attitude of  "I will watch and see what happens." (Not easy to get to that place...lots and lots of therapy for me to be able to do it!!)

The only thing I would have added to the replies you got, is that just like humans, some of the cats have less tolerance to the pain than others.

I have seen some get a foot abscess that I am sure is the worst ever and that they will surely die from the injury, and within three days they are running around as if nothing happened.

I don't even worry about trying to give antibiotics anymore, since they all do heal so nicely, and it seems re-trapping them is much harder on their little psyches than trying to get antibiotics down them.

And when I first started caring for the feral cats I felt it was very important to get antibiotics into them as fast as possible. I don't feel as nervous about that anymore since over time I have seen how well they heal on their own. Obviously though, I keep watch over anyone who has been injured, just in case.

Antibiotic help: don't know if it has been mentioned on this site, but you can get fish antibiotics without a prescription at any pet food store that carries fish products. I can't remember the name, but you could ask at the pet supply place. It isn't cheap, but it works for cats as well. I get my antibiotics for my colony from a man who goes to Mexico to get Viagra for his male friends. He is able to pick up Amoxicillin for me easily, so I always have it on hand. Thank heaven for men and their love of Viagra.

Giving Amoxicillin from a capsule can be done by pouring the needed amount of pill powder from the capsule into chicken, fish or liver freeze dried cat or dog treats. Just crumble the freeze dried treats into a powder, mix in the meds. and voila! they eat it easily. I get the freeze-dried treats from Amazon, and use it for bribery in traps as well. Highly recommend keeping it on hand.

And, for drop traps, which I cannot live without, the best price and place is www.Tomahawk.com. I use all of their equipment.

Glad all turned out so well for your Blackie! I think Black cats are the very best, the majority of my colony are blacks. (Which helps the neighbors who live near the colony to remain confused since they can't tell them apart!)

Good luck with all of your new trapping.

 

[supermax1943]

And one more thing.....this time of year is always crazy for TNR people and their feral colonies. 

It is when new cats show up after being run off  from their territory, by a Tom Cat or a female in heat, or a female who has just had babies and doesn't want anyone near her babies.

And then the Toms are fighting each other, and some cats are falling in love.......

It is just nuts. And is always the time for injured paws or an abscess on any body part. 

I always take a deep breath in February knowing my relaxation time is over.

Where I live, in California, we also start now with Foxtails, which always mean one or two of the Feral cats will get one in their eye.

And then there are always the fleas and ticks!!

Makes you wonder why on earth we all do this, doesn't it?

But, just one minute of their heavenly love makes all of the difficulty fade away.........we are so blessed by them.

 

[missdeon]

I hope Blackie is doing better. I agree with others that, if she is eating and drinking, she is probably going to be ok. I had a feral cat at my house that was limping and holding his paw up for a couple of weeks. About that time I was able to trap him to get him neutered. I had the doctor look at his foot while he was out and it was not broken, just sprained. He must have landed wrong on it somehow. He continued to improve and eventually the limp was gone. He has since been "tamed". I say that but I just think he finally decided I, as a human, was ok and will now let me touch, hold, and pet him. He also turned out to be FIV positive so now I am committed to caring for him for the rest of his life and he is not allowed to roam freely any more.

But, maybe this is a moot point and Blackie has turned out to just have a temporary problem, since your last post was 6 days ago. Here's hoping all is well.

 

[supermax1943]

Miss Deon,

Hi, I just read your reply about Blackie which included the information about your feral that if FIV positive.

Just yesterday I had a feral neutered at the SPCA. I always have them test for FIP and FiV,

Turns out one of the males I took in was Positive for FIV. They called just as I arrived home and had him sedated. They said their recommendation was to put him down. The only alternative would be to keep him inside forever as he could infect the rest of the colony.

Unfortunately, I live right next door to where the colony is, and many of the feral cats come in and out of my house during the day. I also have about 10 from the colony that have adopted me and my house, so the only way I could keep the Tom from them would be to close him in one room. But, what a terrible life, I think, for a cat who has lived his entire life free to do as he pleases, and only knows a life of living outdoors.

I told the SPCA to go ahead and put him down, but it has broken my heart to do so. (It always does to lose even one.)

The cat was a great big bear of a guy. I could touch him and pet him occasionally. He had this huge voice that you could hear all over the neighborhood, so I always knew when he was close by. I just loved the guy. His last night before surgery, I had taken all of the food away (so he would be ready for surgery), and about 10 minutes later he started crying with his huge voice. I knew he hadn't eaten much. Against my better judgement I took him some dry food which he just gobbled up and looks so appreciative to have gotten. After eating he went back to sleep in his 'cat hammock' which he had just learned to use that afternoon and loved.

So, aside from the transfer to a trap cage the next morning (which went beautifully) my last memory is of him asleep in his hammock. But, I wish he could still be using it.

I hope your guy is doing well. How wonderful of you to keep him. I will always feel guilt about not being able to do the same. The heartache for these special cats is really hard sometimes.

 

[supermax1943]

Dear Catwoman 707

I read your heartbreaking story about the cat you worked so hard to trap.

I felt so much for you and  your hurting soul because of the trapping not working.

How anyone could have worked any harder to make it happen, I don't know.

Like you, I am haunted for years after about some in the colony that things have gone badly for.

One of mine must have been grabbed by a dog, or some big animal. It came to me very injured, I tried to get him, but missed (net, trap, glove) and a neighbor found him dead in her back yard a day or so later.

To this day I cannot forget each moment of that event.

It must be so hard for you to have to see the cat each day and be reminded continually of what you worked so hard to do.

Please accept my sympathy and understanding.

I will keep you in my prayers (along with the ones I say for myself about the cats I tried to help but couldn't).

I hope you will find some peace about  it, and know how much my heart hurts for you.

 

[kittychick]

Thanks SO MUCH to all for the happy posts (and comfort along the way) about Blackie and her recovery!!! We're thrilled that she not only came back after her disappearance (I'm sure bc of the new "gang" we saw-2 of which we need to TNR ASAP) -but came back healthy! Several of the gang seems to have moved on -so Blackie must feel more comfortable coming back-plus her foot/leg seems almost 100% healed!!! Yeah!!!!! (Now on to trapping the little Blackie impostor & the non-ear-tipped grey-----who are now making themselves scarce of course!).

And @supermax1943 I'm so sorry to hear you had to put down your FIV boy...Try to remember him happy in his hammock. You obviously saved him from a difficult time health-wise eventually....plus he obviously knew he was very safe and loved. What more could a feral kitty ask for ? A warm comfy hammock, a loving caretaker, plenty of Kitty friends, a full belly, and the chance to play in the sun every day and a safe place to come home to every night? You did right by him

 

[missdeon]

I actually have three cats from the neighborhood that have tested positive for FIV.  I have a different situation than you do so I choose to keep all three. One is very friendly and so I do let him mingle with some senior and shy cats I have in the back part of my house. The other two will live their lives in a catio I built on my back porch unless I move to a larger property some day. I have dreams of doing so one day so that they can have more space. The younger one hates it but I just could not put him down.

I am sorry you had to make the decision you did. I understand that your circumstances are different. I would have been very irresponsible to let him continue to wander the neighborhood. Even if he was fixed, he would have probably still fought and continued to spread the virus. But, be aware that if he had it, others in your colony probably also have it. So, if someone gets sick and just cannot seem to beat it with conventional treatments, you will probably encounter the same decision again.

Do you know a lot about FIV? I find that many vets do not and will, more likely than not, recommend euthanization.

These cats are worth a chance so I am giving it to them. I can always put them down later, if they get too sick. But, once they are gone, I cannot bring them back.

Again, I am sorry for your loss. But, he went peacefully and did not suffer with sickness like he might have if you had not stepped in.

 

[kittychick]

And @missdeon -glad to hear you were able to bring your FIV guy in.....if only we could do that for all of our "sick ones".

And of course @catwoman707 you've kept me strong. Thank you -thought you'd enjoy such a happy, "sure footed" picture! Oh to know what she & Flick were saying through that screen!

 

[catwoman707]

And @missdeon -glad to hear you were able to bring your FIV guy in.....if only we could do that for all of our "sick ones".

And of course @catwoman707 you've kept me strong. Thank you -thought you'd enjoy such a happy, "sure footed" picture! Oh to know what she & Flick were saying through that screen!

You are so welcome! Yes, I LOVED seeing the pic, and your happy words, I could feel your relief. 

Very glad to have helped and appreciate your saying so!

 
Dear Catwoman 707

I read your heartbreaking story about the cat you worked so hard to trap.

I felt so much for you and  your hurting soul because of the trapping not working.

How anyone could have worked any harder to make it happen, I don't know.

Like you, I am haunted for years after about some in the colony that things have gone badly for.

One of mine must have been grabbed by a dog, or some big animal. It came to me very injured, I tried to get him, but missed (net, trap, glove) and a neighbor found him dead in her back yard a day or so later.

To this day I cannot forget each moment of that event.

It must be so hard for you to have to see the cat each day and be reminded continually of what you worked so hard to do.

Please accept my sympathy and understanding.

I will keep you in my prayers (along with the ones I say for myself about the cats I tried to help but couldn't).

I hope you will find some peace about  it, and know how much my heart hurts for you.

Thank you as well, There's something about us rescuers of ferals that we all seem to share, just so much of ourselves and our hearts go in to what we do, and I'm pretty sure that unless someone has walked in these shoes, they will never be able to come close to imagining what it does to us or how it affects our lives. 

The loss of sleep, the dreaming and wake up sobbing for a cat who you couldn't save or help, this guy is one of those for me, and there are certainly more.

We beat ourselves up terribly, with the "I should have" or "why did I wait", etc.

I live with one of those every day, and always will, my worst story ever in all my years was Buddy. How wrong that was, and all my fault, I was just overwhelmed and put off trapping this young guy who, just a few months earlier was a spunky playful, mischievous kitten bouncing behind his mama swatting her tail, pouncing bugs, and I knew I had to get his butt fixed soon, he was going to be that age in a short time, but I didn't. Then I saw he had gotten in to a brawl of some kind as one night I saw he had a couple battle wounds, which is a red flag to me, and while it said get him done right away, it slipped past me, too busy with all the others, then he was gone, maybe a week, until one night when I pulled in to the pkng lot, there he was out in the middle, crying like mad at the sound of my car, but he couldn't see me.

He had been torn up so badly, his eyes either bitten up or scratched out, all infected, just horrifying, the pain he felt is beyond my worst imagination. I got him, as he was literally starving, skin and bones and so fast too, and he had this baby cry I can still hear to this day it haunts me, he was so afraid yet so much pain, I raced him to the vet and she immediately swooped him to the back and hit him with morphine, telling me after his exam he is completely blinded and eyes are infected.

I even discussed the possibility of removing his eyes and keeping him, but in the end she convinced me it was so bad and after lots of major surgeries to get rid of the infections, he may have to keep coming back over and over, it was that bad.

So this little orange and white tabby boy was put out of his suffering.

I wanted nothing more than to save him, and now I live with that always.

I have shared Buddy's story in hopes that he didn't suffer in vain, that if it saves even one cat from going through what he did, then it's worth reliving that nightmare. Male cats fight and are vicious, there must have been a male unneutered cat around somewhere who felt Buddy was a threat as he was not fixed yet. Not in that colony either, they are all fixed otherwise.

It's still so hard to recall that little kitty and what happened. 

So many things over the years, so much good, I have saved SO many, countless, and also made countless lives better. But wow........the few bad stories, somehow they outweight all of the good done. It's tough, no doubt about it.

As for your FIV cat, I'm sorry he was put down. I personally don't put FIV pos cats down, unless they are aggressive and I'm pretty confident that even though neutered he will continue to fight. That makes it unfair to the others. But I feel you on that. Hurts so darn much.

 

[supermax1943]

Catwoman 707,

Thanks for your reply. I agree we Feral Cat people share something that no one else can possibly understand. 

I hesitated on having him put down. I really wanted to do some research...talk to you all.

But, thinking about it from this perspective, I think it was the best decision for the time. However, I am going to rethink the whole issue and do lots of research before I am ever faced with the prospect again. 

I would love to hear what you think about it, and what you have learned. I wish to heaven I had more information at hand when faced with the decision yesterday.

Sometimes that is the worst...the second guessing of decisions we have made that, at the time, seemed right and intuitively correct.

And then, just last week I had to have a female in the colony put down because of an extremely fast growing and obviously painful tumor that had overtaken her entire ear in about two months. She was impossible to catch, which I think was due to her feeling vulnerable about her ear. My vet and I had already discussed the surgery possibilities, and chance of her getting cancer again, as well as the almost $3000.00 surgery cost, and concluded putting her down would be best. But on the day I captured her, my vet was out of the office and I got one of her partners that made it clear to me I was doing the wrong thing, and that short of surgery which I could not afford (while taking care of my colony of 50) the best thing would be to return her to the colony until she got worse!!!!!! Can you imagine? It was awful. So then after having spent a great deal of  time and energy  making the decision to put her down, and getting vet expertise, I was left feeling like the worst person in the world while he was begrudgingly putting her down!!.

I met with my own vet yesterday, just after I had dropped the males at the SPCA to be neutered, and before I got the call about the FIV......and told her what had happened with the cat with the cancer. She was horrified!! And couldn't stop saying over and over to me "you did the right thing". She was really upset about what her partner had done. SO WAS I.

So, our life goes on, a mystery to everyone else, as we love and care for these most precious gifts to the world.

 

[supermax1943]

Hi Miss Deon,

Thanks so much for your message.

I don't know that much about FIV. I was hesitant making a decision yesterday, because I loved the guy so much, and felt I didn't really know that much about  the disease. 

Strange, we think we have learned so much over the years of dealing with these guys, but then we are faced with something new and it almost seems impossible not to have been faced with it before.

I immediately thought the same thing  you pointed out, that since he had it, probably others in the colony will too.

The male who was neutered with him yesterday was clear of the virus, and I know those two had fought before. I am thinking I will need to watch him since I suppose he could test positive at any time.

And, the one who had FIV I know impregnated a little female I just wasn't able to catch before she had her litter. (Had her in a net, but she got out, and that kept her from trusting anything again, including the drop trap). I know I will have to keep a close eye on her and her babies, as well as everyone else in the colony.

Please feel free to tell me all you can or want, if you have time, about the FIV.  I will be doing my own studying, but no information is better than first hand from those who have actually dealt with it.

Thanks again.

 

[Norachan]

@Supermax1943  @MissDeon

I'm so sorry to hear about your FIV cats. I used to care for an ex-feral that had FIV. He'd been so badly torn up when he first showed up that I though he must have been mauled by a dog. It took me more than two weeks to trap him, during which time his injuries scabbed over, opened up again, seemed to be getting infected. When we eventually got him to the vet he needed to be stitched from the middle of his back all the way down to his tail. The vet said it looked like cat bites, the poor guy must have lost every fight he'd even been in. Sadly he'd got FIV from the bites but we took the risk of bringing him in with the others. He was such a gentle little soul and he'd been through so much, I really wanted him to know a bit of comfort and security.

He had a very happy 12 months with us, being spoilt and petted and fed what ever he wanted. Eventually other health problems and complications from FIV meant we had to put him down. It was heartbreaking to lose him, but I don't regret the decisions I made. I'm glad he got the chance to enjoy life, even if it was for such a short time.

@catwoman707

Buddy's story really moved me. I know exactly how you must feel. I've made similar mistakes, thought I could wait to move or neuter a cat until I was better able to cope with it and then cursed myself for not acting when I should have. Of course I can understand why you blame yourself, but you've helped alleviate so much suffering as well. We're only human. We do what we can when we can.

"If only" must be the saddest words in the world. Don't hold on to them so tightly, breathe deeply and let them go.

"Syou ga nai" 

It can't be helped.

 

[supermax1943]

Kittychick,

I am so embarrassed that I didn't notice you were a feral colony person with much experience...I was giving you advice I would have given someone who was just coming to the site.  So sorry. I didn't look to see your status, just jumped in. This is the second time I have done this to someone. I promise to look more carefully next time. Hope you will excuse my error, so sorry.

 

[kittychick]

@supermax1943 No worries!!! I too have "typed before thinking" many a time! Yes-I've been caring for a feral colony (& consequently got up to speed quickly on TNR!!!) started by a neighbor for some time now --although my greater experience lies as a shelter manager/worker/volunteer/Foster parent. And all you did was offer good advice -so even if I didn't need that particular advice, perhaps someone reading this thread did, so in the end it was worth it! And as evidenced by the fact I had to start this thread (which happily had a great ending!!!!)...I'm still learning as most of us are! Plus I did learn something new -the fish antibiotics -I'll look into that!

And to @catwoman707 ...(& by extension, all others who shared similar stories above)...thank you for sharing Buddy's story....I know it must have been beyond gutwrenching, and reliving it to tell us must have been horrible too. But I think you know that it's the telling of stories like those....of the tough decisions,....helps us all realize we're not alone, in our situations, our reactions, or our pain. And that feeling of not being alone helps us heal. It's when we feel alone in those decisions that we truly feel the worst. I told a bit earlier in this thread about Harry -one of our ferals who went for an entire year with a 5in x 7in wide, probably 1/2 in or deeper wound. Best we & eventually vet -could figure was that he'd been hit by a car tire & it ripped a big chunk out of him (it was an almost perfect rectangular wound). The first time we saw him -last spring - we were furious to find out that the people who started & perpetuate the colony had seen him injured over a month previously and not even attempted to trap him!!!! We started trying to trap him, but he was trap savvy, and we then honestly figured the winter would surely do him in. But we continued to see him all winter -our poor mangled Harry (my husband actually named him Harry after that awful Saturday Night Live skit "Headwound Harry" with the guy with the giant headwound that doesn't heal, yet he continues to go to parties ---icky --but it fit!) kept coming around. He took up residence in one of our shelters (interestingly, the smallest, only unheated one) for the winter, and come spring we started talking of trapping him again. Our neighbor the nurse got a look at him and said he'd never heal -that the wound was so deep it was down to the muscle , but the only good thing was that likely all nerve sensation was also gone, so at least it was slightly less painful than it looked. And don't judge me - we actually started having second thoughts about trapping him, knowing that doing so meant the end of his life. And to watch him around the neighborhood - if you were watching him from the side without the injury, he seemed totally normal & perfectly happy. Obviously, we knew better, knowing cats mask an enormous amount of pain. But still , I hate to say, we hesitated. We almost felt guilty when we trapped him on the first try once we started again (after first catching Blackie several times!). When we got him to the vet, he walked into the room -and even though the trap was totally covered & he had no idea what was in the trap-he said "boy do I smell horrible infection!" He looked him over & said even if he were our house pet, he'd have trouble advising saving him as the surgeries would be numerous, painful & costly to close the huge gap. So we obviously had him euthanized. Despite having euthanized many as a shelter worker -and every one is emotionally awful-having Harry euthanized was so tough. We still think about him often.

And to go on just a bit longer ---the one that still haunts me is Vince. He was the first feral to show up in our yard. He was a huge white tom,so battle scarred for awhile we though he couldn't see. One ear was shredded, the other so gnarled we thought it was gone -which is why we named him after Vincent Van Gogh. He huddled on our neighbors deck day in and day out (now "Blackie's deck")....coming out way only to eat, which we rarely saw. He was extremely intimidating looking ---and as skittish as a feral could be. We started working on trapping him....which was a very very slow process to even get him near the trap. I to this day have no idea what made me do this -but one day I walked out with a can of mackerel for the trap, and sat down with it. Unbelievably, Harry walked slowly up to me! After months of avoiding my every glance! Even more stunning, he slowly approached me....and let me stroke him. It was then I realized he had a ring of missing fur around his neck where a collar had been--he'd obviously been someone's beloved pet at some point! The cat we were so sure was feral began rubbing my hand, purring. I ended up gently leading him into a carrier, and driving him to the vet. He'd already had our respect, now he had our hearts 100%. We decided on the car ride over that we'd bring him in, despite feeling we were "at our indoor limit." Vince was too special, to in need of love, to let go again. But the vet dashed all that -Harry had every disease possible -FIV and FIP among others. Plus all of his teeth needed to be removed, and the vet said it looked like his jaw was starting to decay from what was probably a cancerous tumor. So sadly, I held Vince as he was put to sleep. The cat I thought I'd never get within 10 feet of let me hold him as he slipped away. Hopefully he died knowing he was loved again. We still have a big photo of him in our family room.

So here's to all of our beloved friends...feral and beyond...living or not....and to all of those who care for and love them.