Need Some Reassurance

[Irenesed]

hi all,

Today I finally got my feral to the neighborhood cat NGO (guaranteed no kill/return to same location) to have them bring it to their known vet. This feral has had a scab on her left nostril that kept reopening to the point the left nostril was raw. As there was some mucus, and periodic heavy breathing symptoms say an upper respiratory issue. Thought it was just a scab at first but her left nostril just kept getting worse. Finally lured into my other indoor cats carrier cage! That was some hard work to finally get her to go in!!!

I just hope the vet gives her the medication and help she needs and in no time, she is returned to our backyard, so she can live freely with her colony. She is such a good cat. Is always around the patio to watch us hang out and water the plants. Always around for her daily feedings. Seeing her sleep with her colony mates. My parents in law tell me she’s been around for 10 years! Granny cat.

I wanted to see if others here had past stories of taking a feral to the vet and returning back with better health than before. Just fear for the worst that the vet calls to tell me she’s really sick and wants me to decide on euthanasia.

Also I question if I should have brought her to the vet myself and paid the costs rather then having the cat NGO/their vet take care of her. Just wondering if they would give her the same help as a paid vet. Any similar stories yall will help me greatly. Should hear something tommorow. Thanks y’all!

 

[trudy1]

Please let us know what happens. Will be praying for you as well as your baby. Sickness is never easy, especially in an older cat. Wow, ten years...that’s getting up there for a colony cat. But I have one I’m feeding now that’s at least that old. I think if they make it past 3-5 years they have that “I’m gonna beat the odds” attitude . I’m sure the no kill people have a good vet, especially based on what the organization does. Remember good medical care is not just good because you pay for it as opposed to going through someone else. I’m expecting good news tomorrow, as you should be as well.
Give her extra pets and a treat or two to reassure her when she comes home.

 

[Irenesed]

Thank you for the reply trudy1! Hopefully, I will get some news today! Will keep u advised.

 

[Irenesed]

Just got an intial response from the vet. Stage 1 nasal cancer. Poor girl! Will talk to the vet later in the day for more info. Don’t know much about this issue. If anybody has some history and can let me know the life expectancy and overall health that would help. Thanks all!

 

[surya]

I'm sorry about the bad news. I hope the vet can help the kitty.

 

[trudy1]

I’m so sorry. But everything happens for a reason so we will wait and see.

Keep the faith

 

[trudy1]

So what were the vets recommendations?

 

[Irenesed]

The vet cleaned the nostril and gave her an antibiotic. The vet stated that if the cat was going to be returned to the wild without a caregiver to give her a outside shelter, food or water, they would have likely decided to put her to sleep. But as we are there for her to provide for her, she let us decide. We thought that we can let her return to her colony and be happy for the time period she has and when she gets very bad, we can take capture once more and bring her back to the vet. The Ngo worker also stated it was the good decision, then ending her life prematurely.

She has nose cancer stage 1 and they could not estimate life expectancy bc it affects differently to all cats. We hope she hangs on as long as she can and we can help when she gets worse.

I hope we made the right decision. We put her back in our backyard and I can see that she knew where she was right away and went to her bros and sisters.

 

[surya]

It's hard to know what the right thing is to do. We just do the best we can. Thanks for helping the kitty.

 

[trudy1]

if she’s not in pain she’s where she belongs IMO. You seem to care enough about her that you’ll know when it’s time.

Just love her special while she’s here....nothing happens by accident...so maybe you were there when she needed someone.

Sorry....I’d hoped in my heart of hearts it would be a better outcome

 

[Irenesed]

Hi all,

First. Thank you for your support! Much needed.

It’s been three days since the girl is back. She is not eating much of her usual wet food, just a little. Hopefully her appetite comes back. I believe that other neighbors feed her as well as all the cats in the colony are pretty plump and healthy looking.

The girl is a bit thinner since she’s gotten back but she seems happy. Always see her walking around with and laying with the other cats in her family. She seems active. Just concerned that she’s not eating a lot of her food. But she was never a big eater.

Any advice on what I can give the cat to get her appetite going? I have tried high quality wet food, ham slices, tuna.

 

[surya]

For a treat you could giver her some Gerber Chicken baby food. Kitties love it.

 

[catsknowme]

If you can isolate her food, you could ask the vet for some pain management for her. She might have sores in her mouth as well so you could research adding some beneficial herbal preparations and maybe coconut oil or vitamin E to her food and see if that helps. Hopefully, your vet can make some recommendations or you can consult a holistic vet. Thank you for looking out for her and making her life as comfortable as possible.

 

[trudy1]

It’s been a while....what’s the news on your baby girl?

Just been thinking about her.....

 

[catsknowme]

Any updates on the kitty??