One Eyed Cat

[FigetWiget]

So in my area there is a friendly black cat. He is neutered and last time( very long back) I saw him he had 2 eyes(one was however non functional/blindness).

I saw him again and he looked worse than before. It seems that someone removed the non functional eye. He seems ill -his voice is gone and something with his teeth. Also has wounds I suppose from fighting other cats.

I plan to take him to vet to get him back to health. I wanted to ask what would be best for him? After vet visit should I release him back in the same area or try to find him a home?

It wasn't really hard to catch him. I gently pushed him inside the carrier he did not get aggressive or make a fuss. Just a bit reluctant.

When I got him home after some food and water his voice came up. He strangely sounds like a kitten even though he is an adult =). He stood by the door for a while and tried to scratch me when I moved him. Think he just needs time to adjust?

I think he used to be a pet before. Its the 2nd day and he has calmed down he even knows how to use the litter. After eating he goes to sleep. Isn't very vocal than the he was the first day.

Also IF I do put him back in same area would he survive? Cause he can see with only one eye =(. Nothing there but other cats.

Thanks for input!

 

[Sarthur2]

What a lucky cat to have you to rescue him!

Seeing the vet is important. Please keep the cat long enough to get him healthy and to put weight on him.

Although he is frightened, he does sound friendly.

I would NOT release him. He deserves a proper home. Do not turn him over to a kill shelter either.

Thank you so much for caring. Please let us know what the vet says about him and his eyes.

 

[tabbytom]

I agree! Please, if you can, keep him. It's gonna be hard for him to survive out there and it could also be hard for him to be adopted since he's left with one eye.

He'll get attached to you since you nurse him and he'll gain his trust in you.

 

[kittychick]

I'll third what Sarthur2 and tabbytom said

First all - - thank you SO much for caring so much for this poor guy!!! I'm sure many people have seen him and ignored him or hoped "someone" would help him. I think HE has decided he'd like it to be you So thank you from me - everyone on this site - but most importantly him. It doesn't sound like he'd make it much longer without human help - - -and it sounds like he's picked you.

One-eyed cats CAN and do survive outside - - but obviously they're quite handicapped when it comes to both catching prey AND being caught AS prey. They only see half of the what the rest of his feline counterparts see - putting him at a very severe disadvantage. And colonies (if he's part of one) tend to shun the ones who can't pull their weight.

And contrary to popular belief - - cats really don't "instinctively" hunt well enough to survive unless they've been taught by their mothers (which generally means feral - - never really handled by humans every) - and even then, hunting to survive is VERY hard. So no - it would be highly unlikely he'd survive long outside on his own - particularly with one cat AND the handicap of probably starting life as an indoor pet, never having been taught to hint.

I believe Sarthur2 and tabbytom would agree - -- he's not a feral kitty at all. Scared, in pain, and starved - button feral.Chances are quite high he was either a house pet - or at least an indoor/outdoor cat - that was dumped by an owner who was tired of him, moved away, had a baby....I could go on but you get the idea. Ferals very rarely make sounds (other than growling, hissing and spitting to intimidate others) as making noise draws attention - and prey - to them. So if he's that vocal with you - even if it's tiny mews --- that's another sign that he was, at some point, "someone's cat." And it seems as though he's particularly vocal with you - that's a sign that he's comfortable with you.

He sounds frightened - and in VERY desperate need of a vet visit. If his teeth are bad - that can be VERY painful and will often cause a cat to eat very little because of the mouth pain. Bad teeth can also carry bacteria that can lead to deadly heart disease. Because of issues like his mouth, he sounds like a cat that would have a very poor chance of any kind of life outside, but if he's in all that pain and STILL pleasant to you - I'm sure he would love a second chance at a loving, pain-free forever inside home!

SO please don't return him to the colony - or to the outside at all if possible. Talk to him - soothe him. If you personally can't keep him, consider fostering him and socializing him even further until someone does come through as a legitimate foster or adopters

Keep us posted on him! I'm SOOOOO glad you found him -and recognized him!!!! I personally think he crossed your path for a reason ----he knew who would save him

 

[FigetWiget]

Hi thanks everyone for the response. I took him to the vet and they gave deworming medication and antibiotic however it seems that this vet wasn't so experienced =/. I am taking him to a better vet soon. He seems to have bladder issues and pees every hour. He defiantly needs dental done. From what I saw it seems he is missing some teeth. Hope he feels better after the next vet soon as I can't see him discomfort. Poor guy just hides (probably cuz of illness) and comes to eat/drink and then goes back. He remains friendly even through that.

 

[FigetWiget]

Update on him- So took him to a better vet and he is going to have surgery regarding the bad eye. He has 2 rotten teeth that needs to be extracted. Plus having blood test done since he has bladder issue.

 

[tabbytom]

Thank you for taking him to a better vet

Sending vibes to him

Do keep us posted please

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, thank you!

He will feel so much better when his eye is treated and his rotten teeth are pulled. Poor guy.

You are a saint!

Keep us posted!

 

[kittychick]

SOOO happy you got him to a better vet! Poor guy must have been BEYOND miserable --- cats, as small "prey" animals, don't show pain until they really hurt something fierce, so he must have been hurting SO badly. I can't imagine I'd want to be petted much and love around on anyone if I had an infected eye and rotten teeth! (I think my husband would probably have to move out I'd be so cranky!). And top it off with a bladder issue? Wowza! That's alot for one cat (or person!) to go through at one time. A bladder infection alone can make them crazy with pain - - - -andI think Mentioned before ---bad teeth are really bad news! They're very painful - they don't get better - and since they can spread infection through the body - it's crazy the other vet didn't want to pull them!

To make you feel a bit better on how cats can do without some teeth - I had a cat with only TWO teeth (his top two canines). His name was KK - and he'd been a "barn cat" (back when that was more acceptable) on my grandparents' farm. They put out a tad bit of cat food, but it was mostly eat what you catch (me, not the cat). My grandparents lost the farm in a foreclosure in the 80's - -- -and while all of the livestock, etc was sold off - - -the new owner of the farm said he'd take all of the "mousers" but he didn't want "the old scraggly one." That was KK, poor thing. I drove up from college and got him. The vet immediately recommended euthanasia - - he had it all -- - horrid ear mites that were so bad he'd shaken his head so vigorously he had hematomas (look like boxer's "cauliflower" ears) in both ears, multiple types of worms, was beyond covered with fleas and very anemic. He had tics, an upper respiratory infection that the vet couldn't believe hadn't killed him yet, and his teeth were a rotten, smelly mess, he had a horrible bladder infection and he needed to be neutered. You could smell the infection in his mouth from quite a distance The vet said "He's about 12 years old - - this is going to be SO expensive, and he's never been in a house - he may never adapt to being an indoor cat." I loved KK so much I decided I couldn't not try - --- so we had it all done! The only teeth left were the top 2 canines. And dear sweet KK lived another 8 very happy, wonderful years inside being loved every second of the day. And the part that cracked me up the most? He REFUSED to eat soft food?!?! The vet said cat's palettes are hard enough that if that's what he wants, since he might only have weeks or days left - let him eat it. 8 years later he was STILL eating it!!!! So long answer to say - YES!!!! Kitties can live through all of that -and note hold it against you one bit. I honestly think he'll know you helped him. And he WILL feel alot better once his issues are taken care of!!

You're definitely a lifesaver!!!!! So keep us posted!

 

[Sarthur2]

What a lovely story about KK!

 

[kittychick]

Thought Sarthur2 and F FigetWiget - - you guys might like seeing what a beautiful cat KK (that "that scraggly old one" - per the farm purchaser) turned into. It's a bit of a cruddy/kinda fuzzy pic as it's a "picture of a picture" (all of my pics of him are in a box that's hard to get to right now) - - but I think you can see he came a long way from the extremely rough-looking barn cat he was (and I didn't mention above - he was SO skinny when we took him - as the people buying the farm stopped feeding him COMPLETELY thinking if he couldn't mouse enough to stay alive they REALLY didn't want him - -- so he was under 5 pounds when we took him in).

He ended up being the loveliest cat with one of the sweetest demeanors I'd ever seen. And side note - - my first husband and I were so poor when we took him in we couldn't afford "extras" like a leash - - so he'd let us walk him around our neighborhood.....on a bunch of shoestrings tied together! Now THAT I wish I had a picture of!

Having virtually no teeth certainly didn't hurt him at all! Keep us posted F FigetWiget how your guy makes it through everything!

 

[FigetWiget]

kittychick Bless you =), KK is adorable. Right now kitty got his teeth extracted and the bad eye stitched up. He will come next week after the stiches are removed from eye. Blood test turned out normal, nothing wrong with his bladder .

 

[tabbytom]

Great to hear this F FigetWiget

 

[kittychick]

Sounds like he's doing really well!!!!! SO good to hear! (and selfishly - doesn't it feel good to know you've made an enormous difference in a little furry guy's life?)

Keep us posted on how he's doing!

 

[FigetWiget]

Hi everyone, so vet had discharged cat on Saturday. He looked much happier and healthier =).
I found a nice lady for him to adopt him has a enclosed garden too in case he wants to spend some time outside. He needed to be an only cat since he doesn't like other cats or kittens. Also recently found a kitten from the streets. Will make a separate thread regarding that.

 

[tabbytom]