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I try to stay on top of my 21 semiferal cats as much as I can while I work so I can provide for them, but every now and then I am reminded by health scares to pay more attention.
So my female 3 year old cat, Celsa, has had this habit of going outside to our backyard and shack during the day, just for me to bring her in when I can. I always make sure she stays inside throughout the night. But on some days she doesn't go outside at all. I took this as typical behavior. She eats normal and was playful on occasions with my 2 other indoor cats, and just yesterday she was giving me kisses (licking my nose) while sleeping on my bed, which from that I know for sure she's doing good.
But suddenly today I come home at 11pm to bring my indoor semiferals inside and I struggle to find her for over an hour (which NEVER happens), calling for her, checking every area I feel she could be at. Finally, I see that she's in our messy shack laying down, ignoring my calls. She was laying down and when I tried to pick her up, she growls at me; telling me to leave her alone. I leave to give her time and to see if she moves, but she doesn't. When she did move, I noticed that she had some sort of wound/hole on her rear right side. I feed my outdoor semiferals (ALMOST ALL OF THEM had ZERO health issues this year) and then go to her and give her wet food. This time she goes into an even more tight spot under a furniture. I give her canned wet food, and she eats just the surface, licking it for over a minute or two. I move a nearby piece of string to see if she is interested in playing. She moves her eyes to follow it and slowly puts her paw out. Along with that, Celsa's breathing was moderately fast. It's 2:52am CST and I couldn't bring her in, and I reluctantly wait for the morning to see if I can bring her inside then.
I'm not a cat health expert, so I am not entirely sure on how to feel about that wound I saw. I do not know what it is, but it looked like a hole from the brief moment I saw it. It could be ringworm or that botfly larva thing I heard about. I'm just trying to seek advice for this situation my Celsa is in. I called a 24/7 emergency hospital just to prepare but it seems that they're always backed up, and they're 30 minutes away. I apologize for all this text, but I'm trying to provide as much detail so I remember everything in the future.
Summary or TL;DR: Celsa, my 3y/o female semiferal cat that's-mostly-indoor-but-sometimes-outdoor-during-the-day, was suddenly hiding in our shack tonight, ate a little, briefly seemed like she was interested in playing with a string, had normal looking eyes, and ears weren't cold to the touch (but also weren't warm). BUT she was breathing moderately fast, was moving slowly and did not want to be picked up; softly growled at me. Had a 1/2 inch wound on her right rear side. Could have been a parasite or something else. I wasn't able to bring her inside and will wait till the morning. Just yesterday she appeared normal. I am not a cat health expert but I do not think she was in critical condition when I saw her, but I am really hoping that her health doesn't go south overnight.
Does this appear like a serious health issue, or does it seem like a wound that she's recovering from and just needs rest?
As always, I will be so truly grateful for any comments/feedback
I try to stay on top of my 21 semiferal cats as much as I can while I work so I can provide for them, but every now and then I am reminded by health scares to pay more attention.
So my female 3 year old cat, Celsa, has had this habit of going outside to our backyard and shack during the day, just for me to bring her in when I can. I always make sure she stays inside throughout the night. But on some days she doesn't go outside at all. I took this as typical behavior. She eats normal and was playful on occasions with my 2 other indoor cats, and just yesterday she was giving me kisses (licking my nose) while sleeping on my bed, which from that I know for sure she's doing good.
But suddenly today I come home at 11pm to bring my indoor semiferals inside and I struggle to find her for over an hour (which NEVER happens), calling for her, checking every area I feel she could be at. Finally, I see that she's in our messy shack laying down, ignoring my calls. She was laying down and when I tried to pick her up, she growls at me; telling me to leave her alone. I leave to give her time and to see if she moves, but she doesn't. When she did move, I noticed that she had some sort of wound/hole on her rear right side. I feed my outdoor semiferals (ALMOST ALL OF THEM had ZERO health issues this year) and then go to her and give her wet food. This time she goes into an even more tight spot under a furniture. I give her canned wet food, and she eats just the surface, licking it for over a minute or two. I move a nearby piece of string to see if she is interested in playing. She moves her eyes to follow it and slowly puts her paw out. Along with that, Celsa's breathing was moderately fast. It's 2:52am CST and I couldn't bring her in, and I reluctantly wait for the morning to see if I can bring her inside then.
I'm not a cat health expert, so I am not entirely sure on how to feel about that wound I saw. I do not know what it is, but it looked like a hole from the brief moment I saw it. It could be ringworm or that botfly larva thing I heard about. I'm just trying to seek advice for this situation my Celsa is in. I called a 24/7 emergency hospital just to prepare but it seems that they're always backed up, and they're 30 minutes away. I apologize for all this text, but I'm trying to provide as much detail so I remember everything in the future.
Summary or TL;DR: Celsa, my 3y/o female semiferal cat that's-mostly-indoor-but-sometimes-outdoor-during-the-day, was suddenly hiding in our shack tonight, ate a little, briefly seemed like she was interested in playing with a string, had normal looking eyes, and ears weren't cold to the touch (but also weren't warm). BUT she was breathing moderately fast, was moving slowly and did not want to be picked up; softly growled at me. Had a 1/2 inch wound on her right rear side. Could have been a parasite or something else. I wasn't able to bring her inside and will wait till the morning. Just yesterday she appeared normal. I am not a cat health expert but I do not think she was in critical condition when I saw her, but I am really hoping that her health doesn't go south overnight.
Does this appear like a serious health issue, or does it seem like a wound that she's recovering from and just needs rest?
As always, I will be so truly grateful for any comments/feedback