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Junior Member
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Last Login: 10/18/2009 6:23:00 AM
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Hello Everyone,
I know this may sound strange, but I am afraid of the stray cat I rescued last night. Here is the whole story...
I've been feeding a stray cat outdoors now for about a year or so. Mostly I just put food out on the back porch when the cat wasn't out there and then he'd come and eat it and so I didn't have much contact with him.
For about the last month, however, he would wait out there for his food in the morning and in the evening when I got home from work.
I should probably mention that I have several cats (all indoors and all spayed or neutered) that I previously rescued as strays.
So, I noticed that this stray cat must have gotten into a fight about a month ago because he has scratches all over his face and his eyes have a red discharge and his third eyelids cover half his eyes.
He looks just pitiful.
I live in a very cold part of the country and so I started feeling sorry for him. So, Thursday night I called and made an appointment for him at the vet's office for next Saturday, Oct 24th, 2009.
Then last night when I got home from work I baited my live animal trap and put it on the porch and the cat was in it within 5 minutes.
I had his room all ready. Because I already have several other cats I am keeping him in his own room. I put box tape across the bottom of the door to his room on both sides to prevent him from breathing on my cats under the door. His room is right off the back porch so I only enter his room from the outside so that he can't accidentally get into the house and infect my existing cats with anything he might have.
Now that I have him in the house I see that he is really rough looking. He has multiple fight wounds and I've started to worry about the possibility he might have rabies. He is eating like a pig, but he acts very depressed and everytime I go into his room he cries.
I just went into his room to take him some more canned food and to scoop out his litter box and he hissed at me.
Now, I realize that he is probably just scared and not used to being indoors, but I don't even know that I'll be able to get him into his pet carrier next Saturday for his vet appointment. I don't want this cat biting me or anything because I have NO IDEA what he has been fighting with.
I've begun to worry about it so much that I almost just opened the back door to let him back outside. He seemed much happier out there and I certainly don't want to do anything to jeopardize myself or my existing cats.
I guess I'm just worried because of all of his fight wounds.
Also, he is a male (not yet neutered) and he has sprayed the whole back room.
I don't want to put him out because I'd really like to help him, but I'm sort of scared of him.
I've been keeping cats for about 30 years (and rescuing strays) and this is the first time I've been like this.
What do you think? Do you think I'm overreacting to the potential rabies threat with this cat? He isn't foaming at the mouth or anything. And he is eating. I think it is because he looks so terrible. His eyes look downright scary. Mostly, it worries me because I have other cats in the house, but I am keeping them separate from him and will continue to do so for some time (even if he gets a clean bill of health (which is very doubtful) from the vet next Saturday.
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: Today @ 8:14:46 AM
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| Definitely you want to keep this poor kitty away from your cats until after he's been seen by a vet! But what you describe doesn't sound to me like rabies, more like a terrified, injured cat who is going to need some careful handling. I would put a carrier in the room with him and leave it open, maybe put some food in it, and just leave it there. He might go into it on his own. Otherwise, can you wear a thick sweatshirt and maybe some oven gloves to handle him? That would help protect you. Today's the 17th. The 24th is a long time to wait for a cat who's obviously got some medical issues - bloody discharge from his eyes, third eyelid covering one eye. Can you call your vet and see if there is any way you can get him there sooner, or is there another vet you could see? Bless you for caring about this poor kitty. It sounds like you are doing all the right things for him. Please come back & let us know how he is! Take care of yourself too.
Cats_Dolls  
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Forum Guru
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Last Login: 1/18/2010 7:24:47 AM
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He may have FIV or feline LUK
Given his wild state and the kind outcome and risk he may pose to your other cats if he has either one of these diseases it may be best to euthanize him.
If he is clear then by all means fix him and keep him.
cats as pets
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Supreme Being
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| First off, you're on the right track. #1: You are correct to fear him. A scared cat can hurt you. What you need to do is spend time with him ... set the food down, move away, then sit and speak to him while he eats. Move slow and talk calmly. If he places himself between you and the door, sit down; it's possible he want you to stay with him longer. Leave some clothes you've worn in the room for him to smell. Chances are, by Monday you will be able to pet him some. #2: He needs to see a vet ASAP. Get him in a carrier Monday, (top entry is much less traumatic), then go camp out at the vet's office. He needs to go now- not next week. You have an emergency. #3: As awful as his wounds look, chances are there's nothing wrong a good stiff shot of amoxycillin won't cure. #4: Make it damn clear that this is a feral cat, is hurt, and that you must help handle him. In other words, don't let them talk you nto dropping him off. You're the only person he has the slightest trust in now. Please keep us posted; feel free to e-mail me if you have other questions.
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Supreme Being
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| PantherPride - you're on the right track, but cats can live long, healthy lives with either FIV or FeLV. It's not necessarily a case for euthanasia. However, I'd be cautious about putting a known FIV+ or FeLV+ cat in with cats who are not positive for either of these diseases. Isolation for now is definitely the best policy!
Cats_Dolls
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Supreme Being
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| The cat is sick, hurt, and scared. He's already in a frenzy caused by fighting for territory. Now is NOT the time to introduce him to your other cats. That's what he was telling you when he sprayed the room: Other cats, keep out! Keep them apart until he has healed, and grown to trust you. Then, talk to us again before you begin introductions.
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 10/18/2009 6:23:00 AM
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Thanks for all of your responses.
Putting the carrier in his room was a good idea. I had it in there last night, but he didn't go in it.
But when I just looked through his window at first I couldn't find him and that was because he was inside the carrier. It would be great if he decided that was a good hiding spot.
I just looked again and he is sleeping in the carrier.
I think there is a good possibility that he'll have feline leukemia or FIV.
If he has either of these then I'm not going to be able to keep him because I already have a house full of healthy cats.
In the past, I did have a feline leukemia positive cat living with us and I just got all of my cats vaccinated against it.
None of the cats got feline leukemia from him, but now I have a cat with a vaccine induced sarcoma caused by the feline leukemia vaccination.
If this cat tests negative for both feline leukemia and FIV then I'm going to try to keep him, but I'll still keep him separate from the other cats for quite some time - just in case.
I know that next Saturday seems like a long time away from now (and believe me, I'm counting down the days until then), but this cat was outdoors in really bad shape like that for almost a month. My guess is that he'll be all right for another 6 days.
I can't take off work to take him in. I may call and ask the vet about dropping him off though, but then I couldn't pick him up until the following day.
In general, I don't think my vet enjoys seeing wild strays.
When I called her a month ago asking about his eyes she said that I may as well not bring him in because there wasn't going to be any way for me to get medication in his eyes anyway (which might be true).
That is why I didn't try to take him in as soon as I noticed his problem.
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Supreme Being
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| Good - progress is being made. What I'd had in mind was that by leaving the carrier in there with no attempt to force him into it, he'd check it out on his own and would become comfortable with it. I can understand not being able to take off from work to take him sooner, although that would be ideal. But if you get the feeling that your vet doesn't like to treat cats like this one, perhaps another vet would be better? Please do keep us posted, we're hoping for the best for this little scrapper!
Cats_Dolls
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Supreme Being
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| The more you say about this vet, the less comfortable I am. Put something in his eyes? I'm sorry, buy discharge from the eyes is often a sigh of a respiratory infection, and has nothing to do with treating the eyes. IMO, it was irresponsible for this person to be so flippant. I think it's time for another vet. If the cat is also battling an infection, an abscess in one of his bite or scratch wounds, waiting another week could very well be fatal. If I were in this situation, there might be things I would try on my own .... but I am not a vet, I have not seen your cat, so I'm not about to give treatment advice. I will say that my vet has given my cats amoxycillin. I might also suggest that amoxycillin is frequently available at aquarium stores. I'm glad he's getting comfortable with the carrier. In the meantime, spend as much time as you can near him, letting him get accustomed to you.
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It's very kind of you to try to help that poor cat, but I agree with the others that it sounds like he needs medical attention as quickly as possible. The fact that he has lived with illness for at least a month doesn't mean that he can live with it for another week without reaching the point of no return.
If you absolutely can not get him to the vet before Saturday, I strongly urge you to ask your vet for some amoxi-drops that you can pick up tomorrow and start mixing into his food immediately. It sounds like he needs antibiotics at the very least, and if he'll eat amoxi mixed into a tsp of canned food, at least he can get started on that treatment right away. Don't let your vet talk you into any other type of liquid antibiotic, though. In my experience, amoxi is the ONLY liquid antibiotic that cats will even consider eating mixed with food. The other liquid antibiotics are way too foul tasting. If your vet refuses to dispense antibiotic before seeing the cat, or if he won't eat food with amoxi, then your only other antibiotic option will be a long lasting antibiotic injection (Convenia) administered by the vet.
It would also be a good idea to mix 500 mg of L-lysine into his canned food daily to boost his immune system.
I do hope you can get him in to your vet in the next day or two. He sounds like he's in very rough shape, poor guy.
Thank you for doing what you can for him.
Laurie
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http://lfrazer.com
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