Deworming A Stray/feral?

[qtpidani]

So, I am thinking my stray/feral mama has worms.... she can easily eat 1.5-2 cans of food a day plus dry. She isn't fat and is quite lean. Should I try putting a dewormer in her food? If so, thoughts on OTC ones to try?

 

[Jcatbird]

Have you asked your vet about a dewormer? Mine was happy to provide something for my ferals but also gave me the name of an OTC since I was helping a lot of ferals. I got some help at the pet supply place with suggestions too. Do you have any idea what type of worms? Some meds are specific to the type and some cover multiple kinds of parasites.
Is she currently feeding babies? That might also explain her being lean and hungry although every feral I ever worked with did have some type of worms. If she is a mama, the babies will likely have the worms too. If she is nursing you need to make sure the medicine is safe for the babies.

 

[qtpidani]

I don't know if she has babies... I think she travels at least a 4-5 block radius and I can't find her "home base". The last time I tried to follow from a distance, she got spooked and darted across a super busy road, which scared the crap out of me. I don't know if she got spooked and ran across that road or if that's where she normally travels from.

I don't think my vet would be super helpful on the dewormer. They are great but I just don't see them blindly giving me dewormer even though they know I'm insane about caring for my kids and strays

 

[Jcatbird]

I can understand they won’t just hand out wormer. Prescriptions are serious stuff. I think they might tell you if an OTC is safe though. Just try call and explain. It would help if you knew a little more about her condition. The OTC that I used was made by Bauer and was a pill so...might be hard to get in her. My first choice would be at least tell the vet the issue. If they say they cannot help, try a Tractor Supply or other Pet Supply place. Ask for help when you get there and read the packaging carefully before giving the medicine. Be sure to see if it is safe for mama kitties. You could also try calling a feral or rescue group in your area. I have gotten some great tips from the local groups who care for feral kitties. There are some national groups who might be able to help too. They may even have something on their web sites. Try a google search on feral rescue and input your town, city, state. Maybe the feral cat coalition? I know it takes a little searching but you can come across great links and information by doing this if the other avenues don’t work.
Just one more thought. Maybe she has other human friends around. You can try investigating the area to see if anyone else knows about her. It would be great if you could get her spayed after determining if she has babies or not.
I think it’s great that you are helping her to survive. A feral life is a hard one. Thank you for caring!

 

[qtpidani]

I'd LOVE to trap and spay her, but I'd like to find her a home first. I think she used to be an indoor cat. I really don't want to let her back go outside but I can't keep her

From my research we locally don't have feral or a rescue group. Our county supports TNR but our local humane society has not had an on site vet in over a year, maybe longer, so they no longer do regular spay/neuters. It has become a lot more complicated to try to make happen.

I've tried following her, and walking the blocks in my neighborhood to find her "home base" with no such luck. I have also asked others and they tell me they shoo her or have seen her but that's it.

I don't see her usually at all during day hours, 99.9% of the time which makes me wonder if she has a home but she is not plump and I witness her eating one to two full cans of foos plus some dry.

 

[Jcatbird]

It’s always a dilemma when trying to help a cat without a support system. I found that myself. You may be able to get some help from the National Spay alliance. They offer discount help at participating vets. Best Friends.org could give you some links to help and the previously mentioned, Feral Cat coalition. I understand you cannot keep her. Have you tried calling all the vets in your area for help? Can you get a photo of her to post online to try and find an owner or someone to take her? Don’t give up. Sometimes we have to get creative to find help but I was able to find it after searching. Can you do a google search or your state and get back to me with the results? I’ll try to help you through this. Contact the organizations I mentioned. If you can put in some time on this, there are people who will try to help.

 

[qtpidani]

I am talking to a friend and her daughter may be interested in giving her a home, but it's nothing guaranteed. All of my friends pretty much have the cats they want. I used to be involved in a rescue organization and actually lost friends because "they couldn't handle" me posting about animals needing a home. It's sad. So many people would prefer to live in ignorance bliss.

The sad thing is I don't live in a super rural area. We are 50'ish miles between two major cities. Yet we have not had a vet at our local humane society that SWEARS they are a no kill shelter, but I know otherwise. It's a very defeating feeling. I want to help this mama, but she is so scared of me, and I don't even know how I'd really help her. I have 1 rescue organization I trust am hoping will reply favorably to me, but I can't hold my breath ;(

 

[Jcatbird]

Don’t give up. I have been on the same path. Still walking it too. I know all about no kill and all the other complicated issues. It is a sad world and I also lost acquaintances. I don’t call them friends now. They were people who passed through my life and just moved on. We benefit from knowing them but are not on the same path. I did find that a few returned when they happened to find themselves going my way a bit more. They either had a cat come into their lives or they gained some knowledge of why I do what I do.
You are not alone although sometimes it feels like we are. It really is a matter of finding the way to go. In my county TNR was illegal. The only shelter was, not only kill but had been in the news as brutal. I went to that shelter in person after the news report and asked the director, what can I do to help. It blew her away. Funding was non existent. She was being blamed for every short coming in the place. She was desperate to stop the madness and was hanging on by her fingernails. It’s been two years now. They are still a kill shelter but do everything possible to avoid that and are working to change status. Adoptions are way up, the living environment is greatly improved and she, along with some others locally have brought about great change. I have been helping with all I can. Letter writing and bringing in national groups helped. Just a few months ago I got a great phone call. We got TNR legalized here. Finally. I came to this site back when I was trying to save a whole colony. I had gotten about 30 cats spayed neutered , shots, socialized and found them homes. I was exhausted and juggling finances. I saw many here struggling as I was or worse. Together we supported each other. I began writing about the kitties as I pulled them in and then about hinting for help. I posted every time I learned something new and others came to give me more tips and information. It’s a long story but the bottom line is that we can’t give up because if we keep on, we do find a way. Just when I have felt like I could do no more, someone would find the story of the kitties helpful or someone would write with information or something would come along in a call, text or email.
I am older and have some health issues. I have vision problems and no computer. I do everything on a small phone screen. I rescued kitties from bad people and out of a swamp in the dark. My neighbors were cruel to the kitties. Even my family told me I would never be able to save the kitties. It seemed like I had the world against me some days. My heart just saw the kitties suffering so I kept trying. 77 cats have been fixed, immunized, socialized and adopted now. I didn’t do it all alone but I started all alone. One person can make a difference. Then one person finds others and joins arms with them and the movement grows. Search, save and don’t lose hope. Do what you can and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep writing here and if you can, post pictures. Tell the story of the kitty and your community as you go. Your voice counts. Every life counts.

 

[msaimee]

You can order Drontal, a commonly used dewormer, online without a prescription from a Canadian pharmacy, they don't require scripts for dewormers. Let me know if you want me to PM you a link so you can check it out. Usually only one dose is required, which you can crumble into some tasty food, or pop into their mouth with a pill gun.

 

[qtpidani]

New development... Mama is not a mama afterall and is either the Papa or Brother to my stray. I have a friend that is involved in dog rescue and in the past has mentioned she can get me dewormer so I will try that.

He (gosh.... that's gonna take a bit to get used to saying!) eats quite a bit and isn't skin and bones but also isn't plump. He gets roughly 1.5-2, cans of wet Friskies and whatever dry food he eats a day, Just at my house. I'm pretty sure he has worms, just from that alone. Poor guy.

Thanks everyone!!