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- Jan 8, 2015
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My friend and neighbor takes care of 12 feral cats in her property.One of the cats got a very bad injury in her back leg. I trapped her and took her to the vet but the infection has gotten to the bone so the doctor is giving me an option of whether to amputate it or put the cat to sleep.This vet has helped me in the past with other rescues by giving me a good discount and he'll take care of everything on his end for $1000. A big amount still but I'm willing to do it to save this cat. At the time of sedation for the examination yesterday I forgot to tell the doctor to do a leukemia FIV test so the doctor will perform it tomorrow when surgery is scheduled and call me as soon as the result is available to decide whether I want to continue with the surgery or put him down. Someone told me that it won't heal if he tests positive.I want to save him but I want to make sure that he will be able to make it outside with three legs.I cannot keep him indoors as I have already too many cats and limited space. I live in New York so winters are cold but the cats have winter shelters in the backyard and are fed twice daily. The main disadvantage for this cat I feel will be traffic even though we live in a quiet area with medium flow traffic only in the mornings. Very high traffic is about 2 blocks away but the cats never venture out in that direction. For the most part they stay around the property and pretty much they all get along well with each other except for a fairly new cat in the colony that was a bully but is better adjusted now and getting along better with the others. I live in the suburbs so big predators are not an issue but there are raccoons, skunks and opossums that come out at night to look for leftovers.I could try to find a place for him to live indoors but I feel that he may not be happy inside since he was born outside, it's about 7 years old and has a mother and sibling in the colony and even sick out there for about two weeks before I was able to trap him he's been hanging out with the mother and eating together. He didn't seem to be hiding from the other cats for fear of being picked on just staying in his winter shelter because he was in so much pain.
I feel that he's capable of still living a good life outdoors with 3 legs but I would have more peace of mind if I hear from someone that has had a similar experience and success with a disable feral cat living outdoors. He survived almost two weeks outside before I learned about what was going on and was able to trap him. I feel that if he didn't give up I shouldn't either. Please, I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow but I don't know whether to go along with it or not.This is breaking my heart.
I feel that he's capable of still living a good life outdoors with 3 legs but I would have more peace of mind if I hear from someone that has had a similar experience and success with a disable feral cat living outdoors. He survived almost two weeks outside before I learned about what was going on and was able to trap him. I feel that if he didn't give up I shouldn't either. Please, I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow but I don't know whether to go along with it or not.This is breaking my heart.