Neighbors cat is slowly starving to death.

snugglecat

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I have some neighbors who have a little black cat named Shadow. She started eating with my feral cats in 2012. These people are nice people but Shadow does not like them and she eats over here twice a day.

Back in March she started to lose weight and I started feeding her Wellness canned as I heard it is higher in fat. Fast forward to today, she is so thin and nothing but bones. She also has some kind of growth the size of a golf ball on her side.

I do not have money to take her to see a vet so I went to talk to the people who own her on Tuesday. I told them that I would even try and get her in my cats crate and bring her over to them. They sounded like this was a good idea and told me they would get back to me on Wednesday after they made an appointment with the vet.

Today is Friday and I have heard nothing from them. I wrote a note today letting them know that she has pretty much stopped eating and really needs to see a vet.

I have been crying all day and have a hard time seeing Shadow slowly starve to death. I have never seen a cat so thin before and it breaks my heart that these people won't take her to see a vet. If nothing else they could take her in and have her put to sleep.

My question is after talking to them twice what should I do next? These people never see her or pay attention to her so they claim they never even knew she was losing weight. They now know and still they don't seem to care.

I can't afford to take Shadow in as I feed 5 feral cats and have my own inside cat who has medical issues of her own.

Just need advice on what the next step should be.
 

Norachan

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Poor little thing. If she's their cat and they're not doing anything to help her it's animal abuse and that is against the law.

Can you get her into a carrier? If I were you I'd put her in a carrier now and tell them that you are going to take her to a vet and expect them to pay for her treatment. If they won't agree to this tell them you are going to hand the cat over to the humane society and report them for neglect.

It sounds like she might have to be PTS, but that's better than slowly starving to death. I wouldn't just leave things in their hands any longer. They might not do anything unless forced to.

Thank you for caring Snugglecat. It's heartbreaking when people treat their pets this way.

 
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snugglecat

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@Norachan   Thank you for responding. I just got a phone call from them and I will put Shadow in my cats carrier this evening at feeding time and take her over there. They are going to take her into see a vet. I'm so happy Shadow will get the help she needs. If nothing else she can be PTS and not suffer anymore.

I am very attached to her so the loss is going to be very hard to take. The strange thing is I had talked with an animal communicator when I lost a few of my feral cats and I was told Sassy the one I lost when she was only 8 months old was going to be sending me a little black cat. Two years later Shadow who is a little black cat showed up.
 

shadowsrescue

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I am just seeing this now.  I hope the best for sweet Shadow.  Please update when you can.
 
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snugglecat

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Well, I found out Shadow does not like to be picked up. The whole thing was a big mess and I was not able to get Shadow into a carrier. I don't know what to do now. I had it all planned out but forgot to put my cat in my room and shut the door. Shadow was freaking out and trying to bite me and I lost my hold on her.

I'm scared to try this again. I tried this back in 2011 with one of my feral cats and I was bit pretty bad and ended up in the ER. My hand hurt so bad and was swollen for a week. I couldn't even use it for over a week.

I did get the family to go buy some Purina kitten chow because I know Shadow likes it. She stopped eating because she did not like the food I switched my feral cats too. That's another story. I know she still needs a vet visit but on the plus side she has been eating a bunch of food. She is much happier with the canned and the kitten chow.

I'm going to see if I can borrow a carrier that opens from the top and hopefully try again.
 

Norachan

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Is there any way you could trap her, do you still have the trap you used to TNR your ferals? It's great that she is eating, but I think the sooner you get her to the vet the sooner your mind will be at ease.

I hope this all goes well. please keep us updated.
 

shadowsrescue

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Is there any way you could trap her, do you still have the trap you used to TNR your ferals? It's great that she is eating, but I think the sooner you get her to the vet the sooner your mind will be at ease.

I hope this all goes well. please keep us updated.
I would think that would be a great idea.  You could get her into the trap and either take her straight to the vet or try to transfer to a carrier. 

Thinking of you and sweet kitty.
 
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snugglecat

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I don't think she would go into the trap. All my cats stay far away from the traps, I have never been able to catch one since 2010 in a trap. Even when they were hurt or sick nobody will come on my porch if a trap is set up.

Shadow is not coming around at the usual feeding times. Last night she showed up to eat her evening meal around 9:00pm.

I think I will try the trap and the carrier that opens from the top but I do think the cats feel when I'm stressed and scared on the day I'm trying to catch one.

I don't own either of these but the lady down the road lets me borrow a trap and she is the one with the carrier I want to try using.

Thanks for your support and wish me luck on getting Shadow.
 

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Here's a trick I learned while trapping in New Orleans after Katrina. It's best to have someone to help you if you are using a carrier, but this can be done by yourself. Try practicing with one of your friendly cats so you feel comfortable doing this.

Have a carrier ready. If it's a top opening carrier, have the door open and try and have the carrier backed up to something stable like a large rock, a curb or a tree. If you are using a front opening carrier, tip it backwards with the door opening to the sky. To pick up the cat, get a good grip on the scruff of the neck. Quickly with your other hand, get a hold of one or both back paws and pull them up,to the cat's chin. This should make the cat unable to struggle and turn on you. Then place the cat in the carrier, hind end first, and very quickly close the door.

The only potential problem I see with this - if she continues to act feral at the vets office, they usually only handle feral cats who are in a trap. That way they can easily sedate her without getting hurt themselves.
 

Norachan

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Another way of trapping with semi-ferals, who will let you get close to them but don't like to be picked up, is with a laundry net. You need to give the cat something to eat so she is facing away from you, engrossed in her food. You open the laundry net, slip the open end over the cats head, scoop the cat inside and then zip it shut. You can then put the cat still inside the net in the carrier. It's easy for the vet to handle the cat while she is still inside the net. My vet can weigh cats, take blood, give injections and take the cat's temperature without opening the net.

I use one like this.



Practice a few times on a soft toy so you are confident about the scoop and zip shut part. Take a deep breath, you can do this!

 
 

fluffykit

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Poor Shadow. She's ever so lucky to have you taking care of her. And it's amazing that you got your black kitten, even though it was two years later!

I wish you all the best with getting shadow into the carrier, good luck!
 
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snugglecat

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I have been really sick from stress due to an abusive crazy landlord. I want to move from this hell hole so bad but I don't have the heart to leave my feral cats or have them PTS.

I did find out the lump the size of a golf ball was a bad wound that finally burst open. I don't have any idea what caused this type of wound, it's 3 big gashes on her side.

I called and told the owners about the wound but like I said I have been very sick and bedridden for a week now so haven't been able to get a trap for them to set up at their house.

I have been giving her antibiotics that I give to my feral cats when I need too. She is eating really good and I'm feeding her only canned food. I know she still needs to see a vet but I don't have anyone to help me and I'm too weak to be out of bed for long periods of time. The wound does not look as bad as the first few days since starting the antibiotics. She is also gaining some weight and is starting to look much better weight wise.

I have been feeding her several times a day, when ever she comes over I feed her and she cleans her bowl each time.

I'm also dealing with my little Maddie feral cat who has been missing for 3 days now. The stress of Maddie missing, Shadow being injured, my adult son going through a manic episode and my crazy landlord is too much for me to deal with right now. I'm having a bad fibromyalgia flare going on.

We could us lots of prayers our way.
 

shadowsrescue

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Please please please take care of yourself. 

I am glad Shadow is doing a bit better and you have some antibiotics for her.  It's so sad her owners won't care for her or help you out. 

I am sending vibes that Maddie returns home soon.  Whenever my ferals go missing it is such a worry.  You also have your son to worry about too.  No wonder you are stressed and not feeling well.

You should still consider a gofundme account.  I bet you could get some donations to help you out.
 

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I just read through this thread, and have a few things to say.

The first thing is, when you use a trap, it must be sprayed down with a household cleaner like 409, etc completely, let sit for a minute then hosed off very well, and allow it to dry.

A cat can smell the fear and adrenaline from the prior cat who was trapped and will never step foot in one as long as that smell is still there.

Another thing is, you will have more confidence using gloves, everyone who has ever had a cat bite infection has that same fear, using gloves and thick long sleeves will help alot!

Really tough to trap cats or previously trapped cats, I have used small cages or carriers (clean, no former smells) and rigged the door with string, run it through the back of it, once cat is inside eating tuna (works best!) I close the door fast and hold on tight, reeling the string as I approach to lock the door.

I suspect she may have felv from her description.

This causes growths, cysts, etc too.

If not, she must have been bitten and has an abcess, which means not spayed too :(
 

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That 'lump that burst' sounds like an abscess to me, my ferals often get them. I give them antibiotics as soon as I see a lump or swollen body part and that definitely helps. She may have gotten so thin from the pain.I pray that you will be blessed for all you are doing to help, good karma is surely coming your way. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers, and a special prayer for Maddie to come home and for Shadow to be OK and to get well again. These wonderful little beings are amazing on what they can suffer from and still get well. Lots of good vibes your way, please know I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping these babies.  
 
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snugglecat

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When it rains it pours here. Shadow was doing well and her fever had broke, the wound was healing nicely but today I noticed it's swollen again and she feels hot when I touch her face and ears.

I'm still giving her antibiotics and feeding her several times a day. The only good thing out of this is she is putting weight back on. I still haven't been able to go borrow a trap, I'm still sick from all this stress.

My son after days of being manic and awake for a few days finally fell asleep. He slept all night and through the day.

I noticed earlier in the week one of my feral cats tail didn't look right but with everything going on I didn't pay too much attention to it. I just kept telling myself she was not moving it or holding it up like she normally does.

Today it dawned on me that she can't lift her tail up, it just hangs down. I don't know if it's broke at the base or maybe was bitten by something. I don't understand what is suddenly happening to all the cats. Something is going after them. We do have some raccoons living under this place but we have always had raccoons around here with no problems. Tiger is still eating but she does look like she is in some pain and hasn't been playing with her mother like she normally does. In fact I only see Tiger at feeding times so I guess she is just hiding and not moving around much.

I'm just a mess right now and all I can do is hope and pray everything gets better.
 

catwoman707

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As long as kittys are not fixed they will continue to get injured unfortunately.

I suspect her face swelled back up due to the scab forming and unable to drain.

The tail injury is a big deal :(  The nerve that runs along the spine and tail can be damaged, causing a limp tail, and incontinence........

Many are pts due to an injury as this if it is not hopeful they can recover, some do, many do not regain use.

I would not suspect raccoon in this case. They are not really aggressive towards cats unless a cat tries to defend it's food, or for little babies, when hungry with no other food source they will eat baby kittens.
 
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snugglecat

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The cats were all fixed in 2009.

This morning Shadow seems to be doing better, she actually ran to me when I called for her to eat. I haven't seen her run in a long time. I do think the food issues is she did not like all the grain free foods I was trying, maybe she just can't handle the grain free dry food. I can't believe how much weight she is putting on in such a short time. I was not able to get a good look at the wound but she is more active then she has been in months. Maybe it is healing but I can't get a good look at it. It's not a deep red wound anymore.

I almost think Tiger was bitten in the back end. She is moving her tail a little. She did hold it up for a few seconds this morning and she can slightly move it back and forth. I started her on antibiotics this morning. I even saw her run across my patio. She is still eating and going around finishing anything left behind by the others.

We do have this one fixed male cat that tries to fight with every cat around here. Just now I heard a car fight and I can bet it's the neighbors mean male cat who goes after every cat it sees. The old man who owns the cat doesn't care that his cat is constantly causing problems.

So many things are changing and it is stressing the cats out. New house is being built behind us and 2 other houses were put in the same area. For years that was just a field the cats played in. My new crazy landlord is changing the fencing and putting dogs in part of my back yard.
 

catwoman707

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Someone is going after your cats, sounds like the neighbor's guy, who is likely NOT fixed............

Better news about the tail, at least it doesn't sound like more than an abcessed, sore bite wound that didn't cause any nerve trauma, but if that other cat isn't fixed, in time and more bite wounds, something bad can come out of it, not to mention the stress it adds to your fixed colony.

The biggest stresser will surely be the added dogs................ugh.
 
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snugglecat

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Just wanted to share an update on everything. Shadow is doing great, the wound healed with the antibiotics I was giving her and new fur is growing back. I found out she loves Purina Kitten Chow dry food and is back to her normal looking self. I still feed her about 4 meals a day, she is a petite cat in general but you can no longer see any bones.

Shadow has been very loving and loves to give head butts and be petted all the time. Still can't pick her up. Feeding her is a chore because she will only eat if I'm sitting outside with her and she eats very slow but that's okay because at least she is eating.


Tiger is back to her normal self and her tail is fine.

My landlord brought her 3 barking dogs here on Tuesday. All they do is bark at us or the neighbors on the other side. That neighbor got mad and yelled at landlords son, who lives on the other side of the duplex. Landlord came over yesterday to make a few adjustments so that they can sometimes block the dogs from being on my side but it has only made the barking worse. My feral cats have been really stressed out because I had just finally got them to eat in my backyard and now have to get them to eat back on my front porch again. They are so confused and when the dogs see any cats they bark like crazy.

My indoor cat has been stressed out also because she likes to lay at my patio door, she can see the dogs in our back yard and when they see her the dogs bark at her. All the neighbors are so tired of the barking and the dogs look neglected. They are dirty, matted and it just seems like they crave human attention. My landlord isn't even moving down here just her dogs. She claims she can't live without them and she doesn't want to lose them but she has nothing to do with them. If it wouldn't have been for her son getting yelled out for the barking dogs I don't think she would have been here to see her dogs at all.
 
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