I've been reading these forums and just want to offer some encouragement to people who work with strays and feral cats. On Christmas Eve, I took in a stray cat (=Nano) who had clearly been homeless for several months. She was severely underweight, had fur problems, showed signs of losing fights with other animals and had obviously been abused by humans. All of this had made her semi-feral and she was in very bad shape by the time I took her in.
Rescuing a stray can be a lot of work and take lots of patience. For the first four days she did little more than sleep, snarf down her food and vomit. I had her quarantined in one area, and the fifth day I saw she was having a hard time balancing herself to walk. I thought very seriously that perhaps she needed to be put to sleep, but I looked her in the eyes and could see she had fight left in her. I'm glad I waited because the next day she began walking, albeit it with some difficulty, and at the seven day mark Nano could eat a full meal without getting sick.
We're approaching twelve weeks together and her physical recovery is nearly complete. Probably another 2-3 weeks and Nano's fur will be done growing back and appear to be evened out. She has gained a lot of weight and the only noticeable physical problem is that she stumbles if she tries to stand up too quick after a long nap. Nano is able to jump, has good coordination and can run with the best of them.
Her temperment is improving but there is a lot of work left. She enjoys being petted, will give me her stomach and is an affectionate companion. I am the only one who can touch her but Nano now tolerates visitors and won't try to hide. She doesn't like to be picked up or handled, but will tolerate it from me because she knows I won't hurt her. I am hoping that soon my girlfriend will be able to pet her -- Nano has begun sniffing around and is becoming more relaxed around her.
It takes a lot of work and Nano might never become as socialable as other cats. She is eccentric in an amusing way, but you can see she has used up seven or eight of her nine lives with all she has been through in life. The vet estimates her to be 6-8 years old and I am looking forward to spending the next 5+ years with Nano. I can't change what happened to her in the past but I can provide her a "forever home" where she only has to worry about normal sickness and old age.
Anyway, this is just a thanks to the other people who work with strays and also encouragement to the people who are thinking of giving it a try. It takes a lot of patience but the relationship I have with Nano is much better than what I would get going to buy a random kitten in the pet store at the shopping mall. It is sad so many stray cats die so quickly, but the ones who somehow survive usually have a very strong will to live.
Rescuing a stray can be a lot of work and take lots of patience. For the first four days she did little more than sleep, snarf down her food and vomit. I had her quarantined in one area, and the fifth day I saw she was having a hard time balancing herself to walk. I thought very seriously that perhaps she needed to be put to sleep, but I looked her in the eyes and could see she had fight left in her. I'm glad I waited because the next day she began walking, albeit it with some difficulty, and at the seven day mark Nano could eat a full meal without getting sick.
We're approaching twelve weeks together and her physical recovery is nearly complete. Probably another 2-3 weeks and Nano's fur will be done growing back and appear to be evened out. She has gained a lot of weight and the only noticeable physical problem is that she stumbles if she tries to stand up too quick after a long nap. Nano is able to jump, has good coordination and can run with the best of them.
Her temperment is improving but there is a lot of work left. She enjoys being petted, will give me her stomach and is an affectionate companion. I am the only one who can touch her but Nano now tolerates visitors and won't try to hide. She doesn't like to be picked up or handled, but will tolerate it from me because she knows I won't hurt her. I am hoping that soon my girlfriend will be able to pet her -- Nano has begun sniffing around and is becoming more relaxed around her.
It takes a lot of work and Nano might never become as socialable as other cats. She is eccentric in an amusing way, but you can see she has used up seven or eight of her nine lives with all she has been through in life. The vet estimates her to be 6-8 years old and I am looking forward to spending the next 5+ years with Nano. I can't change what happened to her in the past but I can provide her a "forever home" where she only has to worry about normal sickness and old age.
Anyway, this is just a thanks to the other people who work with strays and also encouragement to the people who are thinking of giving it a try. It takes a lot of patience but the relationship I have with Nano is much better than what I would get going to buy a random kitten in the pet store at the shopping mall. It is sad so many stray cats die so quickly, but the ones who somehow survive usually have a very strong will to live.