Desperately Need Advice To Treat A Sick Feral Colony.

[Christalk]

I'll try to keep this short, but please forgive me if I run on.

My elderly mother lives in a remote farm in Pennsylvania in an area where people have been dumping cats for decades. When my father was alive, they kept the colony manageable by trapping them and using the TNR program at the SPCA and a vet who donated his services one day a week. My Dad passed away a few years ago and Mom is nearly 80 years old now and in poor health. She can barely get around on her own, and since the SPCA changed the rules limiting how many cats can be spayed/neutered and limited their hours, she has been unable to trap any cats for about three years. She now has an enormous feral colony (near 30) outside, as well as 15 that she had to bring in the house due to injuries or being abandoned by the mother soon after they were born.

Several cats of the in-house group have developed a problem with vomiting. She managed to get one to a local vet. He said the cat had Heliobacter (something) and gave him a couple of shots of antibiotics. He said the shots would have to be repeated for as long as a month, and even then it could come back. He also said it was a common problem in shelters and feral colonies. Mom can't afford the cost of a long term treatment for one cat, much less over a dozen.

I tried to reach out to rescue groups to see if they can help, but the best advice they could give us is to dose the cat food with a combination of antibiotics and bismuth. We can get ampicillin and Pepto Bismal, but the lady wasn't sure of the dosage for a group and we have no idea of how to dose them. Mom keeps dry food down all the time and supplements that with canned food twice a day. Does anyone have any ideas on what dosage she should use or is there is another solution?

 

[Willowy]

How severe is the vomiting? From what I can find, almost everybody has H. Pylori in their body but it rarely causes trouble. If it's not very severe vomiting I think I'd just try a different food or something easier like that. Here's the Merck Manual discussion: Helicobacter Infection in Small Animals - Digestive System - Merck Veterinary Manual

You should be able to find the proper dosage for the meds in the Merck Manual too, if you decide to go ahead with treatment. You can mix the amoxicillin with food, estimating the amount based on how many cats (a small overdose won't hurt) BUT don't give Pepto-Bismol to cats! It has a type of aspirin in it and that's toxic to cats.

 

[trudy1]

Have you tried Ally Cat Allies? They have a site you can go to, fill out a quest form and your zip. It should provide you with contacts , names and emails of feral support people in you area. I’ve use it in the past and it does work. However contact all listed as they don’t all reply.

SPCA limiting number of cats spayed/neutered from a single individual? Wow, must not be national affiliate.

Do you have any no kill shelters in your area?

 

[Christalk]

Have you tried Ally Cat Allies? They have a site you can go to, fill out a quest form and your zip. It should provide you with contacts , names and emails of feral support people in you area. I’ve use it in the past and it does work. However contact all listed as they don’t all reply.

SPCA limiting number of cats spayed/neutered from a single individual? Wow, must not be national affiliate.

Do you have any no kill shelters in your area?

 

[Christalk]

Thank you, Trudy1!

We do have two no-kill shelters: Helen Krause (she has no vacancies) and Animal Rescue, but we haven't had any luck getting callbacks from them for quite some time.

Yes, the SPCA here limits walk-ins to one cat (only in a trap) unless you have an appointment and even then they are "backup" in case they have time after they finish with appointments. Mom kept one feral in a trap for three days before she had to let it go because they couldn't get to it. They want you to schedule an appointment, but that's almost impossible to do because she only has one trap and no way to trap just one specific cat out of dozens. If you bring them in a carrier, they're considered pets and the $95 fee applies instead of the $15 SOS fee. I helped trap and pay for spaying/neutering before I moved out of the area and we had 16 cats fixed in two years between the SPCA and Animal Rescue. I was told that they had to start scheduling procedures because of the high demand and only having volunteer veterinarians. I understand the magnitude of the problem and I know they're doing the best they can.

I will try Ally Cat Allies- I don't remember talking to them and we have spent (literally) dozens and dozens of hours on the phone trying to find help. Unfortunately, all the rescues are overwhelmed and nobody wants to deal with a colony of dozens of ferals.

Mom already has nearly crippling rheumatoid arthritis and I dread what will happen to these cats when she can't take care of them anymore. I send her around $800 a month to help pay for food and litter for the cats because she lives on SS and would go hungry herself before she would let an animal starve. I know she's not the only person struggling with this situation.

I'll keep trying to get help, and I appreciate the recommendation!

 

[Christalk]

How severe is the vomiting? From what I can find, almost everybody has H. Pylori in their body but it rarely causes trouble. If it's not very severe vomiting I think I'd just try a different food or something easier like that. Here's the Merck Manual discussion: Helicobacter Infection in Small Animals - Digestive System - Merck Veterinary Manual

You should be able to find the proper dosage for the meds in the Merck Manual too, if you decide to go ahead with treatment. You can mix the amoxicillin with food, estimating the amount based on how many cats (a small overdose won't hurt) BUT don't give Pepto-Bismol to cats! It has a type of aspirin in it and that's toxic to cats.

Four of the inside cats have been vomiting for weeks and two have stopped eating altogether - she's tried tuna, boiled chicken and Nutrical but the one she took to the vet is getting worse. The shot seemed to help for a couple of days, but then he started vomiting again. The vet did recommend withholding food for 24 hours and then trying a dry food like Blue Buffalo because it has no grains. Some of the cats will eat it, but a couple of the older strays have few teeth left so she has to use the canned food too. Tigger- the sickest cat- won't eat anything and Mom's been reduced to force feeding him a couple times a day. He won't even lick the Nutrical off his paws. She won't be able to keep doing this for long because of severe arthritis in her hands.

Thank you so much for the advice and the warning - I thought Pepto Bismal was pure bismuth! Well, we can get the Ampicillin and Metronidazole in them for sure. I think Mom said the lady told her the bismuth was to slow down the acid production so the medicine could work better, so maybe we can skip it.