Emergency! Please HELP! Injured kitty!!! Need info!

[kay]

Hello All,
I live in an area where ferral cats are a real norm. I feed three of them. (a mother and her two babies) Well, the babies are big now and I've given them nicknames. "Little One" and "Big Boy". Last night I heard the worst screams and rucous. A dog that had either gotten loose and was homeless, came into the yard and had poor big boy trapped against a corner of the fence. My dog, who usually gets along with cats, switched to animal instinct and instead of chasing off the dog, joined in (at least in trapping him) My fiance, ran outside and got the dog to cease. The dog ran off and we tried to approach Big Boy who simply seemed stuned. He let me get real close. He had blood coming from his mouth. I think it belonged to the dog though. He had other areas though where his long fur looked unusually matted and dark with blood. He didn't seem to mind me scratching behind his ear, but when I try to look at his wounds he gives me a low growl. After much convincing I tried to pick him up, but when I did I discovered a wounded area under his arms, which caused him to wince and pull away. I just don't know what to do. I make minium wage and am trying to get married without any financial help from family in about a month. Every penny I own is tied up in deposits and such, I can't get to any of it. It is killing me to see him like this. I called the places in town, that I've used before, but none of them will assist an injured cat. Only fix the wild ones. If I take him to the spca shelter, they will kill him! If I don't do anything he may suffer and die anyway. I have some antibotics that are safe for kittys. I could give him some, but if he doesn't let me see his owies, how can I clean them or know how bad. The only thing I can see is a bite mark near his rear and back leg area.

I checked on him this morning. He sombered very slowly to the food dish, but hardly ate. Very unlike him, (he's usually the piggy of the group. Thus the name) This cat is sooooo lovable and sweet. He put up such a fight against two big dogs! He just deserves better than I can give him. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I thought maybe I could ease his pain a little by giving him a little bit of a advil or tylenol. Does anyone know if this is safe?

Please reply if you can help at all. All suggestions are welcome.

Very Grateful for any help.
Kay

 

[jugen]

Please do NOT give him Tylenol or advil. they could kill him. I hop he lets you ar least clean out the wounds. Your best bet is to get him to a vet asap. the bites might become infected(if they haven't already) and he could die a slow and painful death. I know you have money problems, but honestly I think that is your only option at this point.

 

[hissy]

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE HIM ASPIRIN OR TYLENOL that will kill him. He needs to be captured and treated that would be the best scenario. But since you cannot do this, then I would take the antibiotic if it is for cats and not humans, and make up a brothy type of mixture of canned food, and medicine. No matter how bad he looks, don't overdose him on meds, and don't give him anything unless it is specifically for cats.

Your antibiotics be it either amoxy drops or clavamox may be bad, so check and be sure that the clavamox is not yellowed, or the amoxy is not streaked or off colored, or smells badly.

You want to be sure you feed a broth because while he is injured he is not going to be inclined to drink much water. If I was closer, I would come and take him from you, but I am to far away to be much help.

The only other thing I would suggest is call your vet and explain the situation and ask if you can bring him in for treatment and you will pay in small payments-


Good luck!

 

[momofmany]

Another thought. Have you tried local rescue groups in your area, such as no-kill shelters? From what you are describing, this kitty needs professional medical care (I've had too many cats ripped up by dogs in my neighborhood and know the damage they can inflict). Our rescue group has taken in a couple of cats that have had run-ins with dogs.

If you can get this boy inside, please do so. If he is injured and the dogs come back, there is no way that he will get away from them a second time.

The easiest way to find rescue groups in your area is to go to www.petfinder.com and do a search for cats and give your zip code. When the cats are displayed, you will see the rescue groups listed on the page. Click on the rescue group and it will get you to their home page. Call around, explain your situation and see if they can help you financially with this poor little guy.

Sending positive vibes to you to get thru this situation!

 

[lotsocats]

This was written by LDG. I hope it helps.


Money and Treatment of Animals in Need

For so many of us, money is often a problem. But we're animal lovers - and if you're here on TCS, you're most likely especially a cat-lover! And we're here... because a stray cat adopted us. Or a pet is having a problem that we think is behavior - but might turn out to be a health issue (like peeing problems!). Or we see ferals in our yard, or at work - or one of the many, many, many places they live. And we want to help them!!!!

Re: the strays and ferals...we start by feeding them - and we find ourselves wanting to do more. Or they turn up on our porch looking ill - or with wounds from a fight.

We usually don't want to take them to the Humane Society - too often they end up euthanized. The SPCA shelters frequently have those same policies. ...and the local no-kill animal shelters are full. Especially when we need them the most.

Don't overlook a local vet! OK - so they're not all James Herriot (author of All Things Bright and Beautiful and other books with tales of being a country vet) - but think about it a moment. Very few vets make a lot of money. To be a vet, you MUST love animals!!!

If you have a stray or a feral that needs medical attention and you can't afford it - please try calling your vet anyway! And if you don't have a pet and a regular vet, just grab your phonebook and start calling those around you. Odds on, you'll find a sympathetic vet willing to work with you.

Many vets will have a humane trap or crate that they will lend to you. They probably won't charge rent to use it - because it means you are using it to bring an animal to them!

Most vets want to help - but can't afford to practice for free. However - if we can't afford to pay for their services all at once, most vets, if discussed up front, will allow us to pay for their services over time, ESPECIALLY if we are trying to help an animal in need.

Strays and ferals MUST be seen by a vet before you allow them to interact with any pets. And the best thing anyone can do to help a feral is to get it to a vet and have it spayed or neutered and vaccinated - even if all we are going to do is release it back into the wild. This is a costly procedure, both for us and the vet!

Whether your bill is $85 for treatment for a wounded animal, or $200 for spaying and vaccinations... $85 paid over three months is just $28 a month, and $200 paid over six months is just $33 a month.

...and that goes for our pets too. So often we think one of our pets has a behavior problem... but these are often indications of health problems. And if we're in a bind financially, we may hold off taking a pet to the vet when it may be a serious or urgent problem. PLEASE consider calling a vet to discuss a payment plan. Our pets need us to take care of them properly - they can't do it on their own!

...so if you want to help or your pet really should see a vet, but you don't have the money, please give your vet or any local vet a chance before you write-off the possibility of assistance that requires payment.


Finding Assistance

Vets are the heart of animal care... and they frequently know the animal lovers of the community. If you have found an animal (or animals) in need - call your local vets to see if they know of anyone who can provide assistance. They won't provide the phone number to you - but they may be willing to contact that person on your behalf. OUR vet certainly knows who to call when someone has a cat in need! If someone doesn't have the time or ability (for whatever reason) to trap a stray or feral cat - they know who to turn to besides animal control. We've been able to help cats in distant communities - by using on-line yellow pages, calling local vets, and locating "the crazy cat lady" (or man!) of the community.

Vets are a wonderful, but often overlooked resource, and odds-on they want to figure out a way to help you help an animal in need.

As the old ads for the Yellow Pages used to say... let your fingers do the walking! It's worth a try.

 

[stormy]

Find out if any of the vets in your area will let you make weekly payments instead of paying all at once.
My vet is like that...if we can't make the full payment we pay what we can at first and then pay something towards it each week.


I really hope you find help for the kitty.
Please let us know what happens.

 

[ldg]

Kay, you are wonderful for wanting to care for this cat.

Unfortunately, cats are constructed completely differently than people, and medicine that works for us can kill them. And in VERY small amounts. And as Hissy already pointed out, Clavamox actually has a shelf life (once mixed into a liquid) of only 10 days. Our vets swear up and down that it actually stops working after that, whether it has already yellowed or not. If you have CEFA drops, those have a much longer shelf life and may do some good. The problem is dosage, and it would really be best to contact a vet - if you have any idea what Big Boy weighs. We have five cats, and they range from 6 pounds to 14 pounds. The dosages are amazingly different for each one.

I'm so glad you got some quick responses. Unfortunately, it sounds like he really needs a vet. PLEASE call either your vet or other local vets. If you can't find one willing to accept small installment payments, they may be in touch with "angels" that are willing to finance care of injured homeless animals for people who are dedicated to the animals but can't afford to help them. It's worth asking.

BTW - just an aside question. Have any of the ferals you feed been spayed or neutered? Kitten season is upon us, and fighting between the cats themselves will begin to increase dramatically if you have unneutered males around. They do injure each other, sometimes quite badly. While you're looking for a vet to help, if these cats have not been sterilized, I really think you ought to consider talking to the local no-kill shelters - and in lieu of that, ask the vets if they're familiar with any groups or people who can help.

You can also check out this link: http://www.bestfriends.org/nmhp/resourcesfrm.htm#one and get in touch with the Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Campaign network to see if there is anyone in your area who can help.

I know it sounds cruel, but I always choose to recommend to people that they not feed the homeless animals if they can't have them sterilized. Although it's wonderful to see people with such wonderful, caring hearts - all it really accomplishes is enabling the cats to live and procreate, producing even more homeless animals. It's a sad, sad cycle.

Good luck with Big Boy, and though this has been your first visit to the site, I really hope you find the time to keep us posted!

 

[tnr1]

Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley
2530 Lafayette Street
Santa Clara, CA
408-727-3383
Low cost spay/neuter, testing, and vaccinations for ferals and pets.

San Francisco SPCA
2500 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-554-3000
Low cost spay/neuter for pets and ferals.

Animal Spay and Neuter Clinic
11458 C Avenue (DeWitt Center)
Auburn, CA 95603
530-889-8800
Low cost spay/neuter for pets and ferals, including cats as young as 8 weeks. Also offers low cost testing and vaccinations.

California Feline Foundation Spay/Neuter Clinic
Fresno, CA
559-650-3122
Very low cost s/n for all feral cats and also low cost s/n for the pet cats of qualifying low income people.

Feral Cat Coalition
San Diego, CA
619-497-1599
Free spay/neuter for feral cats.

Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County
1275 Fourth Street, #366
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
707-576-7999
Low cost spay/neuter for ferals.

Petaluma Pet Pals
707-769-2199
Assistance with feral cats -- and also low cost s-n vouchers for cats and dogs of low income residents of Petaluma.

Upvalley Spay/Neuter Network
PO Box 841
Calistoga, CA 94515
707-942-9066
For pets and ferals in the upper Napa Valley area.

Best Friends Catnippers
Los Angeles, CA
818-377-9700
Free spay/neuter clinics for feral cats at various clinic locations in Los Angeles County.

Cat Crossing
PO Box 3696
Winnetka, CA 91396
818-759-6554
Gives information about Los Angeles area low cost or free spay/neuter for ferals and pets.

http://www.feralcat.com/

 

[hootiecat]

please try to get him in, I forgot who's quote I just read, but that is true, he might not get away a 2nd time, and dogs always go for the same injured spots over and over. There has just gotta be a vet who will work out pymt. arrangements! They do love animals or they wouldn't have became vets in the first place I would think, and if they act like money is the most important thing then I wouldn't trust them anyway. This little guy needs help, I'm glad he has you. Keep us posted about how he is, hootiecat

 

[2tame]

Yes you don't have money to pay for a vet. Yes, most no-kill shelters are full but, you are not looking to place him there. However, you do have something, hopefully, that would be of immense benefit to them - your time. They need people to help out inside: cleaning cages, providing people-time to animals, and a dozen other things. They also need people to drive animals around to vet appts., speuter clinics, etc. They need foster-parents to rehabilitate animals, social & medical, and often times pick up the medical care expenses of the animals.

Many shelters, the ones I know of anyway, have arrangements with local vets to obtain services at low and even no cost. Perhaps you can come to an arrangement with a shelter to donate your time in exchange for them either picking up the vet tab or allowing you to pay them what the vet charges them. They are run by caring people and it may just take getting through to the right person rather than the first person who answers the phone.

Thanks for your concern about Big Boy and hope you & he make out ok. My kitties and I will say a prayer for him.

 

[kay]

Thank you all so much for all your input and support. It has really been a world of help to us both. I am currently giving him amoxicillin drops in wet food. He is up and around looking better each day. Not to say he's out of the woods yet but he's been eating pretty good again, and he's drinking water. I'd say about 1 cup or so a day, and sleeping alot. He's been especially affectionate lately which has given me an opportunity to try and inspect his wounds. He's got really really long fur. I never realized how much of him was pur fluff before

I see matted fur & dried blood, but when I try to move the fur to the side I can't find a wound. I know there's one there somewhere, because he pulls away. I took some small scissors and was able to snip away some of the ugly spots of fur. However I can't seem to find where the teeth marks are. I know he has some because I've seen them the first night. He's not patient enough for me to get a real good look. I'd like to have the opportunity to clean any infection from his wounds. He get's a little less freaked out each day, maybe he'll let me see them better tomorrow. Meantime he is healing under my porch in an area fixed up with a soft blanket. The hole is too small for a dog to get in. He seems to like it and hasn't ventured off very far from it, and I'm sticking what little money I have to the side so that hopefully if he needs it, I'll have a little barganing money to work with.

To answer some of your previous questions, he is fixed. I've taken all the wild kitties I feed. There is a vet in my area that will fix the wild ones for free. I tried this Dr. first the next morning when Big Boy was hurt they said they only to s/n. All other services have to be paid for by the person who brings them in.

Anyway, thanks for all your suggestions. I have called more vets than I can count. I think I am going to give this kitty the weekend and then take up the fight on Monday if he isn't still improving. I also know of another lady in my area that I've heard feeds and cares for several strays, and strange enough even a wild fox. (I've seen him. very beautiful) I'm trying to reach her now so I can see if she knows of any vets with a sympathetic ear.

Kay

 

[kay]

Hello all,
Just wanted to let you know big boy has begun to walk the yard and has reclaimed his throne (a chair on my front porch where he loves to sit and look over the neighborhood.) He is looking pretty good. I still can't find the "holes" that I saw that first night. His hair is just soooo thick and long. Last night for the first time, He stretched out his arms and kind of rolled over giving me a glimps of his tummy. It looked very good, from what I could see. I tried petting him, but he quickly flipped back over. Due to the miracle of prayer, good vibes, and your support...I have a feeling he is going to be just fine. I'm still a little bit worried about these holes I can't find and possible infection. How long do you think I should continue the antibotics? It's been almost a week, not quite.

Thanks bunches!
Kay

 

[ldg]

Our prescriptions have always been for 14 days.

Glad to hear he's doing better! And just as an aside - none of our kitties like being petted on their tummies, so I'm not surprised he flipped back over, LOL!

 

[lotsocats]

I agree...a minimum of 2 weeks for the antibiotics. This is important, especially with bite wounds, because without topical medications, the bite wounds close up and seal in the germs. The germs grow in the nice sealed-up hole and turn into a nasty festering infection. So, keep him on the antibiotics for at least a week more to kill any bacteria that might still be growing in the wounds.

 

[catman7766]

when my cat swallowed a stick, we wrpped it in a blnket and took it out. if you wrap your cat in something and hold him tight, he wont escape. that would give you a chance to at least look at the wounds and figure out what to do from there.