Socializing a senior (10-plus year old) feral kitty

shadowsrescue

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I am so glad that she is back inside and has received vet care. I do hope that she will learn to relax and enjoy inside living. I have a cat on daily steroids and understand the importance of being sure a dose is not missed. Just to make you aware, there are options on how the medication can be given. If you find she will not take the tablet, you can get it compounded or even have it applied to the ear. Fortunately the tablet is fairly small and not too hard to hide in a pill pocket.

Take it slowly with her. Also be sure she has places that are warm. Since they shaved her she could be quite cold. Maybe a nice cozy cabana would help her to feel safe as well as keeping her warm.

Please keep us posted and ask all the questions you need. We are here to help.
 
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Clocat

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I am so glad you are going to try to help her and keep her indoors!!! Is she also receiving antibiotics? Many times, her condition will lead to a bacterial infection as well.

Wishing you the very best - :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:. And, by all means, keep us posted as well as ask all the questions you need to help her, and you, acclimate to her new life!
Thank you! And yes, she also had a secondary infection that they gave her an antibiotic shot for.
 
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Clocat

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I am so glad that she is back inside and has received vet care. I do hope that she will learn to relax and enjoy inside living. I have a cat on daily steroids and understand the importance of being sure a dose is not missed. Just to make you aware, there are options on how the medication can be given. If you find she will not take the tablet, you can get it compounded or even have it applied to the ear. Fortunately the tablet is fairly small and not too hard to hide in a pill pocket.

Take it slowly with her. Also be sure she has places that are warm. Since they shaved her she could be quite cold. Maybe a nice cozy cabana would help her to feel safe as well as keeping her warm.

Please keep us posted and ask all the questions you need. We are here to help.
Thank you! Yeah, we were worried about her staying warm so we cranked the heat up and I'm planning to visit the pet store this evening to look for more pet beds. One of my late cats was on prednisolone and I definitely know the importance of daily dosing! I asked the ER vet about a transdermal option and she said that would not be effective enough. Fingers very very crossed that she eats her pill crushed in her food this evening. I really don't want to have to catch her and pill her on a regular basis!
 

shadowsrescue

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Thank you! Yeah, we were worried about her staying warm so we cranked the heat up and I'm planning to visit the pet store this evening to look for more pet beds. One of my late cats was on prednisolone and I definitely know the importance of daily dosing! I asked the ER vet about a transdermal option and she said that would not be effective enough. Fingers very very crossed that she eats her pill crushed in her food this evening. I really don't want to have to catch her and pill her on a regular basis!
Take a look at Wedgewood pharmacy. They have compounded forms or Prednisolone. You can get it in treats or tiny melt away tabs as well as liquid.
I use Wedgewood fir compounded gabapentin for one of my cats.
 

Furballsmom

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look for more pet beds.
If you can find self-warming ones those might be good. Also, to help her make the transition try obtaining a purr toy and a heartbeat toy.

as hard as it will be for her.
There is every possibility that it might not be as bad as you think. She's had more interactions with you, ie is somewhat familiar this go-round.

As mentioned, go very slowly. You have all the time in the world because she's inside with you, safe, getting treatment, fed and warm.

My point is that you need to be absolutely sure you adjust your expectations. Don't assume anything, whether this will be hard on her because it might not be, or whether it will be stressful for you because it won't be if you relax, or whatever. An open mind to whatever occurs is the best way to proceed. If you are relaxed, she will be more easily able to learn about the inside environment and determine that it is comprised of good things and not harmful things.
 
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Clocat

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If you can find self-warming ones those might be good. Also, to help her make the transition try obtaining a purr toy and a heartbeat toy.


There is every possibility that it might not be as bad as you think. She's had more interactions with you, ie is somewhat familiar this go-round.

As mentioned, go very slowly. You have all the time in the world because she's inside with you, safe, getting treatment, fed and warm.

My point is that you need to be absolutely sure you adjust your expectations. Don't assume anything, whether this will be hard on her because it might not be, or whether it will be stressful for you because it won't be if you relax, or whatever. An open mind to whatever occurs is the best way to proceed. If you are relaxed, she will be more easily able to learn about the inside environment and determine that it is comprised of good things and not harmful things.
Thank you, and agreed about not having assumptions. It was difficult for me to keep her confined inside before, knowing that she spent a lifetime roaming the neighborhood and it was her home. But at this point keeping her inside is the only humane choice so that makes it frankly a lot easier for me to be okay with it. I will definitely take it slowly and do as much as I can to give her a good quality of life.
 

dustydiamond1

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Thank you! Yeah, we were worried about her staying warm so we cranked the heat up and I'm planning to visit the pet store this evening to look for more pet beds. One of my late cats was on prednisolone and I definitely know the importance of daily dosing! I asked the ER vet about a transdermal option and she said that would not be effective enough. Fingers very very crossed that she eats her pill crushed in her food this evening. I really don't want to have to catch her and pill her on a regular basis!
Gypsy gets 1/2 of a .05 Prednisolone every other day. She is very good about letting me open her mouth and giving it to her.(4 Greenies involved, 1 prior & 3 after) but I usually take a Greenies pill pocket pull it apart and insert the 1/2 pill into half of it then feed her the non pill half first. Easy peasy.
 

Eurocat

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Hi there -
Sorry this should be a reply to your other thread and I posted in the wrong place as I skimmed thus thread too. - don‘t know how to move it!
Really sorry for the worries you‘re going through…
Quick question and my apologies if I overlooked the answer somewhere, but has she been spayed?
Otherwise she may well be in heat which could perhaps explain the meowing?
All the best and really hope the situation resolves - you‘re doing an absolutely fantastic job with the cat…:)))
 
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Clocat

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Hi there -
Sorry this should be a reply to your other thread and I posted in the wrong place as I skimmed thus thread too. - don‘t know how to move it!
Really sorry for the worries you‘re going through…
Quick question and my apologies if I overlooked the answer somewhere, but has she been spayed?
Otherwise she may well be in heat which could perhaps explain the meowing?
All the best and really hope the situation resolves - you‘re doing an absolutely fantastic job with the cat…:)))
Hi there -
Sorry this should be a reply to your other thread and I posted in the wrong place as I skimmed thus thread too. - don‘t know how to move it!
Really sorry for the worries you‘re going through…
Quick question and my apologies if I overlooked the answer somewhere, but has she been spayed?
Otherwise she may well be in heat which could perhaps explain the meowing?
All the best and really hope the situation resolves - you‘re doing an absolutely fantastic job with the cat…:)))
That's actually something I was wondering about, as I listened to her howl all night... she *appears* to be ear tipped but she was not TNRed by us. I haven't seen her with kittens in years, but then I only saw her with kittens once. I'm now wondering if she's been unspayed all this time? The first vet we took her to also agreed that she had been spayed and attributed her longevity to that, but that vet was also wrong about multiple things.
 

dustydiamond1

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If her left ear is tipped she should be spayed. Did the vet check for a chip. Where where I live the local animal protective league (APL) do a discount spay/ neuter, rabies and one or 2 other shots for strays/ferals who are going to be returned to their orginal location. They chip using the name of the person who brought the kitty in.
Gypsy had already been TNR before we first met her.
20230326_103236.jpg
 
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Clocat

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If her left ear is tipped she should be spayed. Did the vet check for a chip. Where where I live the local animal protective league (APL) do a discount spay/ neuter, rabies and one or 2 other shots for strays/ferals who are going to be returned to their orginal location. They chip using the name of the person who brought the kitty in.
Gypsy had already been TNR before we first met her.View attachment 446510
What a cutie! As far as I know, none of the vets have checked for a chip, although I'll ask when we take her in next.
 
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