Feral With A Badly Cut Ear

[lavishsqualor]

Below is one of my ferals. I posted a photo of him a while ago because someone threw hot grease on him. Now, though, it appears that he has somehow sliced his ear, either in a fight or by attempting to crawl under something.

I poured some hydrogen peroxide on it yesterday and he IMMEDIATELY bolted. Today it looks awful. I tried to pick him up using a blanket to take him to the vet and he totally freaked out. I have a deep scratch on my face as a souvenir.

This cat is my own personal Moby Dick (minus Captain Ahab's anger). I've tried repeatedly to trap him and absolutely nothing works. I want to get him fixed, plus he appears to have notedric mange.

Do you guys have any suggestions as to how to help him? His ear is cut so badly that you can see bone.

 

[kashmir64]

So he's your white whale? I don't think it's as bad as it looks, since there is no bone in the ear. But it does need to be treated. Can you get a humane trap from the humane society or SPCA to trap him in? Some Humane Societies will rent or loan them out.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I've tried countless times to trap this cat! I actually have several traps of my own and he's evaded every last one.

The bone that I was talking about is on his skull. The cat has somehow cut the space on top of his head where his ear connects.

When I say that I've tried 20 to 25 times to trap him, I'm not exaggerating. I'm totally at a loss.

 

[orange&white]

It does look like you're seeing his skull bone. Would it be easier to trap him or grab him in a blanket and lower him into a carrier if you put a little sedative in his food? Would he hang around long enough after eating for it to take effect?

Maybe a veterinarian could recommend a way to tranquilize him to get him in.

Animal control? I don't know if they are forced to confiscate and possibly euthanize strays/ferals, but if not, they should be the experts at trapping wild animals. I wouldn't call them unless you're guaranteed that they give you the cat to take in for neuter...and maybe a few stitches in that ear. If all else fails it wouldn't hurt to call and inquire about their policies.

Poor thing.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I have a fairly good relationship with my vet. She's de-sexed about fifty feral cats for me at a reduced price and she treats my personal cats, as well as my feral colonies. She's given me sedatives to put in his food but they don't take effect until after he's wandered away. Once he's gone I can't find him! I spoke to her earlier today and asked her about a tranquilizer gun and she laughed and said something like that was way above her pay grade. I spoke to animal control today, too, and they laughed me off saying that they weren't a trapping service. So . . . I called a trapping service . . . who met me at the property. He waited there almost three hours and we couldn't find the cat! You don't even want to know what that cost me. I just can't stop thinking about this poor cat! He's survived so much and gone through so much pain. I really want to help him but nothing seems to work.

 

[orange&white]

Sounds like you've already tried everything most people would try to suggest, but could you start putting his food in a cage that does not shut on him for several days. Get him used to going inside to eat with nothing bad happening, and then set it to trap? That ear doesn't look like it should wait very long, but later is better than not at all.

 

[lavishsqualor]

At this point he won't even go close to any of my traps. My traps are all Trucatch brand, so I was thinking that if I bought a different type of trap he might fall for it. I've searched on Amazon but all of the traps look pretty much the same to me. This is so incredibly frustrating. I so want to help this cat but nothing I do seems to work.

Thank you for your suggestions and for listening, orange&white. I appreciate it.

 

[orange&white]

Wish I had a magic solution for you.

 

[catsknowme]

I am no vet but you could ask yours about adding some coconut oil to his food, for internal support. I normally would recommend applying to the wounded area as well but after the peroxide, in all probability, he will be avoiding you. I have had great success with cold-pressed (I buy FairTrade and nonGMO) coconut oil on both a very wild tom (I added it into his food only, if he even thinks that there is a human nearby, he hides) who had either been hit by a car or attacked by a raccoon AND on a semi-feral who was attacked by a raccoon. The raccoon bites on the 2nd cat refused to heal despite 2 different kinds of antibiotic creams in addition to antibiotic injection followed by oral antibiotics; my vet was as frustrated as I was. When the cat actually begged for coconut oil (I cook with & eat it for IBD relief), I called my vet for approval and then fed it to her. Later when she was eating canned food, I snuck some onto the tears by her ear (your cat's injuries look a lot like the raccoon bites) and by morning, her wounds had healed over!
I would still continue to try trapping but meanwhile, it would be great if the cat could get immune support. Until he can be on antibiotics, it might be better that the wound is open and can drain freely. The downside, though, is the chance of contamination, either through flies or other "ickies".

 

[lavishsqualor]

I'll add some coconut oil to his food, catsknowme. My vet gave me a broad spectrum antibiotic powder to mix in his food too. The odd thing is he actually doesn't avoid me. He'll come up to me and circle my legs . . . but the minute I extend a hand to him he backs up. I'm thinking I'm going to try to throw another blanket over him before nightfall and just manhandle him into a carrier. I'm going to use a thicker blanket than the last time. I'm also going to get my vet's long leather gloves that she agreed to loan me. Wish me luck! Lord knows I'm going to need it.

 

[orange&white]

I'll add some coconut oil to his food, catsknowme. My vet gave me a broad spectrum antibiotic powder to mix in his food too. The odd thing is he actually doesn't avoid me. He'll come up to me and circle my legs . . . but the minute I extend a hand to him he backs up. I'm thinking I'm going to try to throw another blanket over him before nightfall and just manhandle him into a carrier. I'm going to use a thicker blanket than the last time. I'm also going to get my vet's long leather gloves that she agreed to loan me. Wish me luck! Lord knows I'm going to need it.

Oh that sounds good. Especially the gloves. A heavy winter coat. ...and maybe a face mask. Good luck!

 

[Willowy]

Yeah the gloves are good. I've never had success with a blanket; they just wiggle out.

I have to say that it doesn't look too horrible---I think that's cartilage or subcutaneous fat, not bone, that you're seeing. It is infected so mixing antibiotics into his food is good. But I don't think stitches are 100% necessary. Ferals are tough. Of course keep trying, but if you can't get him, don't feel too bad. The antibiotics are what he mainly needs.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I feel so bad. I just got home after unsuccessfully trying to trap my feral. I feel like I've totally failed this poor animal and he's already suffered so much in life. I had the leather gloves and a big heavy blanket, but once I threw the blanket over him and tried to grab him he managed to practically climb my body to get away. He came back to me several times but I was never successful. I finally just doused him with H2O2 again and this time it foamed like crazy. He ran away with foam trailing behind him, thoroughly unhappy with me I might add. At least I got some antibiotics in him. I'll drive back to the property tomorrow. The bummer is that it's about two hours and fifteen minutes from my home.

Willow I think you're right about it being subcutaneous tissue vs actual bone.

I appreciate everyone's concern and crossed fingers. No one else really understands why this is so important to me.

Here are a few pictures of what his wounds look like today. They are definitely animal wounds because you can see the bite radius, so now I'm worried about rabies. Also, does anyone know why his fur is so orange at the base of his body? I think that's most likely where he suffered the brunt of the hot grease being poured on him but I wondered if it could be caused by something else.

Once again, thanks for everyone's concern.

 

[orange&white]

Oh, that is a bummer. Eesh. His head looks pretty bad, but it may be the photo. You're saying that you don't think the wound is at deep as you first feared, so that is a good thing.

There was some other thread talking about why a black cat would lose the pigment in their fur and turn brown. I'll try to find it.

 

[orange&white]

Just to point out, all black cats are not the same type of black as they can have ghost stripes hiding or not and their are different intensities to the black that make some redder in sunlight. All black cats can look brown at times. They appear to "rust" is a fun way to put it.

It can be sun exposure or due to nutrition issues (just to name the most common). A cat with a deficiency in Tyrosine (an amino acid) will appear a brown color but as their diet improves their fur will go back to a black color. So if you get a brown cat that turns black with time they probably had a lot of prior sun exposure or diet issues and the turning black is more a sign of being healthy again. The rusting can also be a sign for worms because the worms are taking nutrition away. In that case they also slowly go back to black once the worms are gone. In your case the brown to black was a sign that life got better and your cat was healthy again.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Thank you for that information, Orange&White. I thought his discoloration was probably caused by malnutrition. This feral has some major illnesses going on, I feel certain. He's always been very thin despite being fed everyday. I'm going to make sure he has a large dose of dewormer in his food tomorrow. I keep all my cats on a continuous low dose per my vet's instructions but I'm going make sure he's properly wormed. He's also been on ivermectin for the scabies but it doesn't appear to be improving. Ugh, I want SO MUCH to be able to trap him so I can get him the proper care! It's so upsetting to me. I can't seem to think about anything else.

Thank you to everyone who has commented on this thread. Like I said, no one in my immediate circle really understands why an old feral tom cat is such a big deal to me.

 

[orange&white]

We get attached to them, don't we?

Isn't Ivermectin good for worms too, or am I thinking about something else?

 

[kashmir64]

Ivermectin 1.87% is a wormer. It's all I use on horses and dogs since you don't have to rotate it.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I know it's ridiculous . . . but I just feel totally defeated. This particular feral is one of my favorites and I can't seem to help him, no matter how hard I try. It's beyond upsetting.

 

[orange&white]

Ivermectin 1.87% is a wormer. It's all I use on horses and dogs since you don't have to rotate it.

I do dilute Ivermectin from Tractor Supply for my dog for heartworm treatment, and I thought I had read it was good as an intestinal wormer too, but not sure how broad spectrum or which worms it treats. I did see tapeworms in his poop once last year, so I bought an extra wormer (Fenbendazole) for that.