I care for a feral / stray cat community of about 25 cats and have for years. As we all know, cats come and go. But I always seem to have my special few who I look out for and care about. The community is about 4? miles from my house. I took one of the injured ones in 5 years ago and mostly it's gone okay I guess - although she's never seemed particularly happy.
Now about the current injured one - today he can't put much weight on one of his back legs. He does put some but is clearly uncomfortable. He's not very feral - I can occasionally pick him up for a couple minutes - but am doubtful I could get him in a carrier. It would be very difficult to trap him as the chance of trapping the wrong cat is extremely high. There are almost no resources in this area for feral cats and there are few vets. The vets that are here charge $$$$$ and are not very available. I would take him to a vet in the big city for better service and less cost - but it's not a small effort at all and money is extremely tight during Covid.
As far as I can tell the injured kitty appears uncomfortable but we know cats are specialists at hiding their pain. He ate as usual and then mostly hopped away on 3 legs. What is the best plan of action? Do I just watch and wait for a day or two to see how things go? There was recently another one of the cats that was truly feral and had an injured front paw. He seemed to recover on his own in a few days. No one at all in my personal life would be inclined to help me catch him or get him care - but I am still distressed over cats I haven't helped in the past.
What do you all suggest?
Now about the current injured one - today he can't put much weight on one of his back legs. He does put some but is clearly uncomfortable. He's not very feral - I can occasionally pick him up for a couple minutes - but am doubtful I could get him in a carrier. It would be very difficult to trap him as the chance of trapping the wrong cat is extremely high. There are almost no resources in this area for feral cats and there are few vets. The vets that are here charge $$$$$ and are not very available. I would take him to a vet in the big city for better service and less cost - but it's not a small effort at all and money is extremely tight during Covid.
As far as I can tell the injured kitty appears uncomfortable but we know cats are specialists at hiding their pain. He ate as usual and then mostly hopped away on 3 legs. What is the best plan of action? Do I just watch and wait for a day or two to see how things go? There was recently another one of the cats that was truly feral and had an injured front paw. He seemed to recover on his own in a few days. No one at all in my personal life would be inclined to help me catch him or get him care - but I am still distressed over cats I haven't helped in the past.
What do you all suggest?
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