Wild cat, skin issue help wanted please

[snowangel1969]

Hi, we took a wild kitten in 12 years ago. we took her to vets once, she had everything recommended. she has lived with us indoors since. she has stayed very wild. she has never been away since then. She has been very happy with us, is fine with myself and my husband and very slowly getting used to our son who is 9!! She really does not like anyone else, in fact she is petrified of everyone... and will attack... she will attack me !! but im used to it !!

Ok so here is my dilema. she has a skin condition, and its getting bad now , and im feeling like a bad neglectful mother that needs to take her to the doctor. She is old and I dont want to scare her by taking her in the car to the vets if i dont really need to.I will take her to the vets if i have to , but she is so wild i cant imagine how they would examine her, I wondered if i could have some advice here before I have to take her.

She has never had wormer or flea treatment because she was in the house. She has always been very healthy. we got a dog ! year ago , so we thought it may be fleas, so we have given her flea treatment. I went to pet store the gave me a tea tree spray....... no way will she let me put that on.

She is scratching herself everywhere and has now got sores all over, and going bald on her back from scratching.

any suggestions very welcome

thank you x

 

[Kieka]

Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where she needs to go to the vet. As much as it might scare her, without knowing what is causing her problems it is impossible to treat them. I have a little girl who hates the vet and hates being contained. Any vet appointments are followed by at least a week of her avoiding the person who got her in the carrier but it is for her own good. The good news is that a vet will know how to handle an uncooperative patient. Or you could get lucky and she just freezes up at the vets. You may be able to find a vet who will do a home visit, depending on where you are. That might help since she wouldn't have to travel, just handle an intruder in the house for a little.

 

[snowangel1969]

Thank you so much for your kind and understanding reply. what about cat sedatives something to chill her out before taking her ?

 

[LTS3]

A vet would have to prescribe a sedative and many vets won't do that for new patients ahead of a first visit.

There are homeopathic calming products you could try such as Bach's Rescue Remedy to calm the cat enough to be put into the carrier and taken to the vet but the effect is very mild and won't be enough to keep a cat from being being a huge terror to a vet and staff.

 

[Kieka]

Thank you so much for your kind and understanding reply. what about cat sedatives something to chill her out before taking her ?

Ditto on the most safe sedatives have to be prescribed and the vet has to see them to prescribe.

But try not to borrow trouble, until you go its all worries and concerns. Once you do go you'll know what to expect for the future and can ask the vet for some sedatives if it us needed. My girl doesn't get sedatives because she is one who freezes up at the vet. My vet calls her an armpit cat because she tries to hide in my armpit during her exam. My Moms cat is super chill at home and an absolute terror at the vet. But he is a manageable terror without sedatives. My boy is a mixed bag, he is easy to handle at home and easy at the vet as long as I am nearby or if he has his regular vet. But if they take him in a back room without me or a new vet pushes him further then he likes? Be prepared to get bit and hard. There really isn't a solid rule regarding home and vet behavior correlations.

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

There are homeopathic calming products you could try such as Bach's Rescue Remedy to calm the cat enough to be put into the carrier and taken to the vet but the effect is very mild and won't be enough to keep a cat from being being a huge terror to a vet and staff.

Homeopathic remedies do not work, this has been demonstrated repeatedly ever since homeopathy's invention and should be clear anyway since for it to work various physical laws and everything we know about chemistry would be violated. In the case of Bach's, it looks like it's 80% glycerin, and then in the 20% that is water there's "essence" of 5 different flowers, each diluted further by 5x. This means they start with 1:10 dilution of flower parts in water, tap the glass to "activate the water's memory", and then repeat four more times, for an end product that is 1 part flower to 100,000 parts water.
To quote Wikipedia:

Given that homeopathy's effects in humans are due to the placebo effect and the counseling aspects of the consultation, such treatments are even less effective in animals.[286] Studies have also found that giving animals placebos can play active roles in influencing pet owners to believe in the effectiveness of the treatment when none exists.[287] This means that animals given homeopathic remedies will continue to suffer, resulting in animal welfare concerns.[288][289]

 

[snowangel1969]

thank you .... that is so interesting xx