Lethargic Limping Cat (urgent)

[r2737072]

There is this feral cat I've been taking care of since almost 3 years. I spayed her at 8 months of age, give her vaccines every year.

About 3 days ago she started limping on her left rear leg. 2 days ago she began getting lethargic and losing appetite. She continues to get more lethargic and loses more appetite with each passing day.

Problem is shes feral/semi-feral (meaning she doesn't allow physical contact). I managed to trap her about a day ago (tried before ,didn't workout) and got her to the best vet that I know of in our area.

Because shes feral the vet had to give her some kind of anesthesia in order to check her, he performed blood tests (which were fine). He also concluded that she has no infections and that her body temperature was normal. However he deduced that the cat is dehydrated based on urine test and ruled out kidney diseases (though he couldn't tell what exactly caused the dehydration).
As for the limping he checked her legs and told me that its a chronic "problem" ,meaning the muscles in one leg is stronger than the muscles of the second one.

Its worth mentioning that he gave her fluids, painkillers and antibiotics just in case.

Since in order to be checked she has to get anesthetised, taking her often is neither an option nor healthy.

As mentioned before, shes still losing appetite and getting more lethargic (despite the visit to the vet).

Did you encounter a similar situation or know someone who did? I'm open for advices.
Any help is appreciated.

 

[Furballsmom]

Can you get some Kentucky Fried Chicken? She needs to eat, as you know, and although that isn't the best, for short term it might work, plus jarred pureed baby food - ham flavored seems often to work gerber stage 2/sitter food?

Can you add some L-Lysine?

maybe there's something in here
How To Get A Cat To Gain Weight

How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again

 

[r2737072]

Can you get some Kentucky Fried Chicken? She needs to eat, as you know, and although that isn't the best, for short term it might work, plus jarred pureed baby food - ham flavored seems often to work gerber stage 2/sitter food?

Can you add some L-Lysine?

maybe there's something in here, or in the embedded link to other articles;
How To Get A Cat To Gain Weight

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a shot and will stay tuned for other members.

 

[Kflowers]

kitten food, lots of calories and nutrients for the amount of eating.

 

[r2737072]

kitten food, lots of calories and nutrients for the amount of eating.

First of all thank you for the replay. Second, the problem isn't WHAT to give but rather HOW TO get her to eat.

 

[Kflowers]

Right, knew you wanted to figure out how to get it into her, not what to feed her, but tempting a cat you can't touch is pretty much all you can do. So, you don't want to try that, then the only thing I can think of is to do the towel grab and wrap then force it into her. If the towel wrap doesn't work. You could try cutting a hole in the center of a large towel and getting it on her like a poncho. Sorry if that's a replay. I didn't see it mentioned.

Some might suggest using a cat bag, but it's actually really hard to get them in a cat bag.

 

[r2737072]

Right, knew you wanted to figure out how to get it into her, not what to feed her, but tempting a cat you can't touch is pretty much all you can do. So, you don't want to try that, then the only thing I can think of is to do the towel grab and wrap then force it into her. If the towel wrap doesn't work. You could try cutting a hole in the center of a large towel and getting it on her like a poncho. Sorry if that's a replay. I didn't see it mentioned.

Some might suggest using a cat bag, but it's actually really hard to get them in a cat bag.

Why would I want to do that? why grab her I'm not quite following. The last thing I want is to scare her out of the yard.

 

[Kflowers]

If you want her to get well from a long illness you might bring her inside where you can control the situation. If you can't do that, and don't like the idea of tempting her with different foods, how in the world do you think you can help her?

 

[ewells1014]

My cat came home limping one day several years ago. The vet checked him over thoroughly and said he had gotten into a fight and must have been bitten, but he couldn't find any puncture wounds on the affected leg. Put him on oral antibiotics and sent us home. A day and a half later, the wound had become infected and had swollen and the abscess ruptured. Took him to a different vet (the first one was one of those emergency vets because this happened in the wee hours of the morning). My regular vet gave him a shot of a long-acting antibiotic and he was fine in a matter of days.

 

[r2737072]

If you want her to get well from a long illness you might bring her inside where you can control the situation. If you can't do that, and don't like the idea of tempting her with different foods, how in the world do you think you can help her?

Sorry ,my bad, you misunderstood and I think that I misunderstood too. I just didn't understand that the whole "grabbing" was meant to get her inside. And my question about the food was that if her appetite is diminishing how to get her to eat. Not telling you that I dont want to tempt her with different food

 

[r2737072]

My cat came home limping one day several years ago. The vet checked him over thoroughly and said he had gotten into a fight and must have been bitten, but he couldn't find any puncture wounds on the affected leg. Put him on oral antibiotics and sent us home. A day and a half later, the wound had become infected and had swollen and the abscess ruptured. Took him to a different vet (the first one was one of those emergency vets because this happened in the wee hours of the morning). My regular vet gave him a shot of a long-acting antibiotic and he was fine in a matter of days.

Glad to hear you cat is fine.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Have you tried canned tuna/tuna water to add to the food? Broths (no/low sodium)? Cat pouch gravies? Commercial toppers, like Applaws? Maybe even ask the vet for a appetite stimulant to add to whatever you might entice her with to start her going. Raw egg yolks (whites must be cooked)?
This isn't so much about what to feed her as to how to possibly entice her to eat. There may be foods that will encourage her to be intrigued enough to try.

 

[di and bob]

I did have a little female that sounds much like yours. Vet could find nothing really wrong, but she had quit eating, was staggering at times, lethargic, and even got to the point she was falling down. The vet didn't have much hope. He gave an injection of antibiotics, fluids, and one thing your vet did not....an injection of steroids. Within three days she was much better, started eating and ended up fine. If you don't want to bring her back in for an injection, which works the fastest, there are pills available, but they have to be weaned off of them when the course is finished, (very important, do not skip this step or it can cause kidney damage). I used to take the tiny pill and 'paste' it to a tiny piece of bacon with a little piece of Pill Pocket, or hid it in a tiny amount of tuna. You might run it by your vet and see if he will try it, at this point I would tell him you really have nothing to lose. But it will be hard to give them to her if she is not eating. The MAIN thing is tom get her back to eating, and iz know how hard that is.
I just got a cat eating again, and after trying EVERYTHING, and I mean everything to entice her, I finally got her to eat those pouches of 'Lickable treats' I think one is called Delectibles, in chicken and tuna. Purrfectly Chicken in the pouch was liked very well too. This cat was refusing tuna, Fancy feast, and Gerber baby food, everything!Good luck to you, i'll pray for your sweet little girl!

 

[catsknowme]

Have you tried any kind of herbal supplements? A depressed appetite is a real challenge, even in humans. Pain can be hard to pinpoint without expensive CAT scans and MRIs. It sounds as though the vet has done a good job in covering all the bases: antibiotics, pain relief and hydration.
In addition to the previous excellent suggestions (KFC, Gerber stage 2 baby food, Applaws, etc) you can try getting her to drink goat milk based kitten formula (I like using powdered or canned goat milk best in the recipe found at TCS member Hissy's website www.kitten-rescue .com). To isolate the raw egg yolk from remnants of the raw egg white, I hold the yolk in my loose fingers under a slow stream of cold water).
You could ask your vet about using herbal preparations such as red raspberry leaf tea or a decoction of slippery elm & licorice root. I use herbs quite often for my ferals because isolating one cat for medication administration is very difficult. However, cats often don't tolerate herbs considered safe for dogs and humans so veterinary guidance is a must; there are holistic vets online, too. Colloidal silver is another possibility - I recently started using it for a wide variety of symptoms and it seems to be helpful.
It might be worthwhile to experiment with novel feeding arrangements. some of my ferals prefer eating up on card tables and knee-high rounds of wood. others like eating off 4"-6" bricks. Some do well eating off paper plates or tortillas on the ground. I have one area that has boards leaned against an outbuilding to form a primitive lean-to which adds a sense of security for insecure kitties. Sometimes it is a physical reason but other times it is psychological as to why they prefer one spot/dish to another. Many of my ferals seem to get "whisker fatigue" easily which is why I have switched from regular cat dishes to tortillas & paper plates (recycled from human use).
Thank you for doing so very much for this kitty - this world needs more people like you!

 

[kittychick]

How's your girl doing today?

First I wanted to say she's obviously VERY lucky to have someone like you in her life - - that cares so much and is willing to do so much to help her. I wanted to give you a BIG pat on the back for that - - - you're doing SO much more than most people can or would do (I've worked/volunteered for shelters for years - - -alot of kitty guardians of "inside kitties" don't provide the wonderful care you're providing - let alone guardians of feral/semi feral kitties!!!!). I know saying this doesn't fix anything, but as someone who's also a caretaker of part of a feral colony - - I know the panicky/upset feeling that "I'm just not doing enough!!!!" - - and wanted you to know you are doing SO much for her. Regardless of what happens - - - she's been obviously extremely well-cared for and very loved - - - and I know she knows that.

So it was great you got her to the vet (I know that's not easy!). He sounds like a wonderful vet (so many in my area won't even try to treat ferals/semi-ferals). Glad he was able to be so thorough!!

I will say we had a TNR'd feral several years ago who showed up one day, unable to even put one of her front feet on the ground. We were terrified - -- - but multiple trapping attempts so we could get her to a vet were unsuccessful. So I know the feeling and worry of "what can we do now?" We tried so many things - one day she disappeared and we sadly thought she hadn't made it. The happy part? iWe found out months later she'd moved a few streets over to ANOTHER neighborhood caretaker, and she's absolutely fine!!!! So you never know what they can make it through - - they're tough little things! Obviously getting your girl back to eating is critical, since she can't fight anything off if she's not eating. You've already had lots of great advice up above on things to try to jump start eating, so if I repeat anything already said - sorry in advance . Getting her to eat anything - - even treats (obviously not long term!) - - is important. And they sometimes (like people!) associate a food or smell with when they felt bad, and refuse to eat anything like that. So sometimes it helps to "kickstart the eating part of her brain" again. I try anything different from what they've eaten in the past - or something they went nutty over as a treat. We've had luck "jumpstarting" cats who weren't eating with some of these (again - some probably suggested above): canned mackerel (stinks to high heaven, but most kitties love it), Gerber Stage 2 Baby Food Chicken (many of us call it "kitty crack" since alot of kitties can't resist it!). Kentucky fried chicken is SO aromatic that sometimes it's a big draw. I've also had success with Fancy Feast (particularly ones with gravy)...various "broth pouch" foods...and even grocery store rotisserie chicken! Some also love kitten food - - Royal Canin "baby cat" has worked at times. We had a cat at our shelter who was starving herself to death by refusing to eat anything (all tests showed nothing physically wrong), so we brought her home to foster & give her one last try. We went through something like 15 or 20 foods - - canned, hard, in-between - - plus everything listed above. Just as we were ready to give up (she'd lost almost half her body weight, and was getting so listless we were carrying her to her food!). Then suddenly - Fancy Feast Filet Mignon hard food - -she went nuts for!!!! We keep in touch with her mom in her forever home- - this was 2 years ago and she's STILL only eating that Fancy Feast Filet Mignon - - and healthy as a horse! We also have had luck with appetite stimulants (you'd need to talk to your vet about that - it's a prescription). We currently have a 16-year-old sweetie that this has worked wonders for - - we break it up and smoosh it into a treat. It's been a life-changer for him.

I personally would worry most about getting her interested in food again, since you know her leg's not broken. She could have a sprain (that's what the TNR cat I talked about turned out to have had). And she'd gotten so used to NOT using it, that she kept being cautious about using it long after she was back to ok! Kitties (and dogs) really do get it into their brains that "this leg hurts if I put it down" that it becomes a habit and continues long after the problem that made them limp initially is gone. We actually had an indoor sweetie that sprained a leg, and she kept limping for months. We kept taking her to the vet - - they couldn't find anything wrong. Then one day when she thought I wasn't looking - I saw her jump up to the kitchen table (all 4 legs fully in use!) to drag a shrimp off my plate! When I walked back into the room - -she limped again!!!! Turned out it was a "mom gives me more sympathy when I limp" limp at that point. Sneaky little sweetie! (hopefully that made you laugh a bit!)

Sorry this was so long - - -I know how scary this is, and wanted to offer everything I could think of!!!! Keep us posted on her - - - we've all got broad shoulders to support you!

 

[FeebysOwner]

In addition to the number of new posts you have above to read whenever you log back on, here is another thought on how you might get her to eat.

Using whatever foods that have been previously suggested, try placing it on a paper plate. For reasons unknown to me, but proven to work with some cats, they are more inclined when not eating well to eat off of a paper plate. Sounds strange, but if it works, who cares.

 

[r2737072]

Thank you all for your comments, sorry for not being able to reply earlier.
The cat has wandered off yesterday, we tried searching everywhere but couldn't find her. (made us really worried)
However ,despite expectations, she returned to us in the morning.
I was able to lure her into an old shed that we no longer use and I intend to keep her in until (if) she recovers. (I put water food and a litter box)

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm so glad you came back and posted here, and I'm REALLY glad you found her !

 

[FeebysOwner]

That's good news! Thanks for update. Please keep us posted!!

 

[kittychick]

SO happy to hear you found her! I'm sure you've had an emotional 24 hours looking for her!!!!!!!! I know how worrying it is when they go missing - - -even if they're totally healthy! One of our "regulars" missed breakfast AND dinner one day (and she's 'pleasantly plump' -don't think she's EVER missed a meal - - - and I actually wandered the neighborhood in tears, shaking the treat bag she loves (and to give you a full picture) ---I was in a t-shirt and my pajama pants. I think hubby was ready to commit me! So I know the worry it creates (I'm sure most of us here do!). So I'm VERY glad that you can rest a bit easier knowing she came back to you (you obviously make her feel safe and cared for - which is lovely), and it's great that you can keep an eye on her, helping her in any way you can. She was lucky when she found someone who cares so much!!!!!!

Keep us posted on how she's feeling. Hopefully something in the avalanche of answers you got above has something you can use....you can definitely see you've got lots of people here worrying about her AND you! Hang in there - - and keep us posted.