Beautiful Feral Needs New Home...Advice?

[mowsluver]

Question...or two!

Pompom seems to have his eyes closed most of the time. He does have some dark colored discharge. Even if it's not totally sunny, he will sit there with them shut.

I talk to him the whole time I stand out there and tonight he meowed a lot. He opens his eyes and looks at me then closes them again.

Pain from eye infection (or something else)? It is driving me crazy to see him in the log pile. There are so many bugs crawling and flying there!! It get itchy just standing near it!

 

[ondine]

It sounds like he needs to see the vet. You may need to trap him. The discharge is worrying. He has an infection of some sort and you don't want him to lose his eyes. Please see if you can either get him in a carrier or borrow a humane trap to trap him.

 

[msaimee]

It's not normal for a cat to have his eyes closed. If you cannot trap him and get him to a vet then you will need to share pictures of his eyes with your vet. Use the zoom feature on your camera and get pictures of the eye and discharge. If his eyes are infected, see if your vet will prescribe liquid Orbax for him. It's a scentless, tasteless broad spectrum antibiotic you put in his food once daily. It costs forty dollars. My feral had an eye infection once and Orbax saved his eye and his life. The best thing would be to get him to a vet if at all possible.

 

[msaimee]

I should have mentioned that there are cheaper antibiotics you can use and put in a smelly food like tuna, and chances are he'd eat it. It's also possible to get free antibiotics from certain supermarket and pharmacy chains that offer free antibiotics, like The Giant Eagle. A vet can call in the script in liquid form for the cat for you. At any rate, if you're unable to trap him or can't afford to get him treatment at a clinic, then try to get a vet to prescribe the antibiotics. Many will do this if they know you already, and if you can show them pictures of the cat. If it's an eye infection, it will clear up with antibiotics. If the eyes don't clear up, then at least you will have tried your best to help him. I know how expensive vet costs are these days when one is on a limited income and I hope I didn't scare you away with my last post!

 

[mowsluver]

No, you didn't scare me away! It's just so hard emotionally to not be able to just scoop him up and take him to a vet! I don't work and have VERY limited income. The vet my daughter uses is not a fan of ferals. I don't know why but he won't see them or (after we explained) order meds.

I have placed many calls to different rescues within 50 miles and it seems like I get voicemail and no return calls. I have repeated some calls to places I think would be best for advice/help and I'm sure they are tired of my messages...

The eye problem is an issue but what drives ME crazy is the thought of all the bugs in the log pile.I know there are ticks out there, and probably fleas as well. There are lots of little things flying around, too. I know he has to have bugs on him somewhere! I itch just at the thought of it!

I am going to try to make some more calls today. If I can't get any results in finding a vet who will work with a feral and possibly give me a discounted price on treatment, my birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I will just ask that my kids (who will give me something anyway) just give me a few bucks to get him to the vet.

 

[matilda1993]

Hi,

I'm reading with interest this thread.  On July 6th I trapped a stray that had been visiting my front porch since January and had him neutered and vaccinated. I am trying to find a home for him now.  I wish you luck in helping your little guy. 

 

[msaimee]

Oh, I know exactly how frustrating it is to not be able to scoop your feral cat up and take him to the vet! I've been taking care of mine for 3 years and once he had a bad upper respiratory infection with infected eye, and another time he had a serious ear wound that became infected. He'd been trapped before and won't go into a trap again. I've tried to scoop him up and even pick him up while he was inside his pet house to get him to a vet, and none of that worked. I'm very fortunate in that I have a vet who works with ferals and has helped me out with antibiotics when I've needed them for him, but not everyone is that fortunate to have a vet nearby who is willing to work with ferals. I hope your family will give you money to take the little guy to the vet! As far as fleas and ticks are concerned, I wouldn't worry too much. My experience has been that when a tick gets on my cat, it gorges itself and then fall off after a few days.  If your cat is eating and otherwise healthy, they should pose no serious risk to him. Also, outdoor cats are used to bugs and even fleas--it doesn't bother them as much as bugs crawling on us would bother us! I'm more concerned about his eyes. Is there an Animal Friends or Humane Society near you that could help?