Trapping Difficult Sick Feral Help!!

[WoodstockGirl]

Thank goodness! I've been following this too and I'm so glad you got him! Let us know what the vet says!

 

[catsknowme]

Hooray, Yippee & HALLELUJAH!!! my smilies buttons won't work so please imagine the happy and celebratory ones that there are and add some extra high 5s, fist bumps, happy dances and on-my-knees prayers of thanks!!!
YOU ROCK!!

 

[mazie]

Good job, all are anxiously waiting to hear!!

 

[maggiedemi]

You did great! I hope everything goes well for him at the vet.

 

[Holliman Jane]

Thanks for the super nice reply’s everyone! So I took him to the Humane Society because I heard they have a low cost medical program. I get there and was told they really only do TNR or treatment if the cat is really, really sick. The front lady at the desk said the vet might not even do anything because he didn’t “look” sick. I was pretty annoyed by that... I said I have pictures of him with muscus all over his face and his mouth hanging open! I didn’t really like the way she spoke to me. She also said “he doesn’t look feral”. I’m not sure what would make her say that... he was just sitting in his trap. My rescue friend who helped me trap him said front desk lady is known to be a now-it-all & likes to make people feel dumb. Desk lady said they would call me around noon to tell me what was going on. So I’m waiting and waiting it’s almost 3 & they didn’t call. That was annoying. So I called them & was told he had a mild upper respiratory infection, conjunctivitis, & ulcers in his mouth, which are more than likely caused by the URI. Didn’t look sick huh? Felt like saying that to her! They gave him a bunch of injectable meds and said I could release him in a day or so. I don’t feel comfortable with that. He’s in a big crate in my garage. He’s not liking the cat food very much, so I’ve been warming up some Gerber baby food and chicken breast & he seems to love it! I called my local cat hospital & told them everything. I brought in the papers Humane Society gave me & cat hospital said they did everything they would do. She also said I should watch him for a week, & that she was REALLY glad he was eating. So in about a week he’ll go in for a therough exam. I want to bring this cat inside but not until his exam. I have indoor cats and dogs & I don’t want them to catch anything. This little feral cat is so cute. He just sits in his little bed all the time in the crate & he does this slow blink at me which I heard is a good sign! I really hope he’s not super feral when I bring him inside cuz I’ve fallen in love lol. If he isn’t happy I will let him back outside. Overall, he’s looking better! I’m thankful for the Humane Society but that whole experience kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I donate to them monthly so it’s a bit hurtful! They charged me $130 for their services. My rescue friend thought that was horrible but I don’t want to complain. I’m just so happy to see him looking better! Thank you for listening to my update/rant haha. This is a great community to be apart of! Will update soon I’ve attached pics of what humane society gave him Incase anyone is curious. It’s says “clipped ear” because they thought the original clip wasn’t prominent enough.

 

[Holliman Jane]

Thanks for the super nice reply’s everyone! So I took him to the Humane Society because I heard they have a low cost medical program. I get there and was told they really only do TNR or treatment if the cat is really, really sick. The front lady at the desk said the vet might not even do anything because he didn’t “look” sick. I was pretty annoyed by that... I said I have pictures of him with muscus all over his face and his mouth hanging open! I didn’t really like the way she spoke to me. She also said “he doesn’t look feral”. I’m not sure what would make her say that... he was just sitting in his trap. My rescue friend who helped me trap him said front desk lady is known to be a now-it-all & likes to make people feel dumb. Desk lady said they would call me around noon to tell me what was going on. So I’m waiting and waiting it’s almost 3 & they didn’t call. That was annoying. So I called them & was told he had a mild upper respiratory infection, conjunctivitis, & ulcers in his mouth, which are more than likely caused by the URI. Didn’t look sick huh? Felt like saying that to her! They gave him a bunch of injectable meds and said I could release him in a day or so. I don’t feel comfortable with that. He’s in a big crate in my garage. He’s not liking the cat food very much, so I’ve been warming up some Gerber baby food and chicken breast & he seems to love it! I called my local cat hospital & told them everything. I brought in the papers Humane Society gave me & cat hospital said they did everything they would do. She also said I should watch him for a week, & that she was REALLY glad he was eating. So in about a week he’ll go in for a therough exam. I want to bring this cat inside but not until his exam. I have indoor cats and dogs & I don’t want them to catch anything. This little feral cat is so cute. He just sits in his little bed all the time in the crate & he does this slow blink at me which I heard is a good sign! I really hope he’s not super feral when I bring him inside cuz I’ve fallen in love lol. If he isn’t happy I will let him back outside. Overall, he’s looking better! I’m thankful for the Humane Society but that whole experience kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I donate to them monthly so it’s a bit hurtful! They charged me $130 for their services. My rescue friend thought that was horrible but I don’t want to complain. I’m just so happy to see him looking better! Thank you for listening to my update/rant haha. This is a great community to be apart of! Will update soon I’ve attached pics of what humane society gave him Incase anyone is curious. It’s says “clipped ear” because they thought the original clip wasn’t prominent enough.

Whoops forgot to add in

 

[Holliman Jane]

Can you tell I’m now to this site? Lol. It’s 2am here. I just wanted to add the invoice from humane society. He also was microchipped. I swear he already was! Glad they checked that!

 

[Avery]

What a shame you had to go through that annoying woman, but I'm glad they were able to give him some meds and it is wonderful that he is eating! In September, I took in a semi-feral cat who I had been feeding outside for three years and it is slow going, but there has been much progress and it is very rewarding! Lots of people on this site have done this and will be able to offer suggestions and support. Let us know how it goes with this kitty over the week and at the cat hospital! Did you name him yet?

 

[maggiedemi]

I'm glad that he's feeling better! I have two former feral cats myself. It can be hard at first, but please don't give up. They are my whole world now.

 

[Kflowers]

I don't think he's a feral at all, he ended up the cage and to the HS without anyone bleeding. you can't say that much for a lot of house cats. I think he's a stray who got dumped. He knew people could help him, so he hasn't been too damaged by his time on the street. He'll make a nice friend for your fur babies.

As for the desk lady at the HS, consider her practice for when you have to go to the human hospital.

You're the best.

 

[Holliman Jane]

Thank you everyone! I really hope he will be a good fit for my house. He was trapped in a drop trap then I put the regular trap against the drop trap door and he went in there with me poking a stick to get him in. So I took him there in the regular trap. After he got treated I brought him home and was able to get him in the cage easily because he was still out of it from the sedation. So I really don’t know he’s true personality. Everytime I go out to garage to feed him he stays in his covered bed but he does slow blink at me & doesn’t act scared. Hoping this works out! He also uses the litter box I put in there!

 

[Kflowers]

He let you guide him by poking him with a stick. He's pretty docile, says the woman whose from kittenhood up house cat would attack any stick or stick like object presented anywhere near him. This included the litter box scoop.

 

[Holliman Jane]

Kflowers-That is really good to hear! He hasn’t shown any aggression towards me at all. It’ll be interesting to see how he acts when I take him to the cat hospital.

Avery- No, I haven’t named him yet. Any suggestions?!

 

[Kflowers]

How they act at the vet is no indication of how they will do at home. I had one who fainted as soon as he was in the car, his sister tended to have little strokes at the vet (per the vet, no lasting damage, just paralyzed while there), another who had to go in in the squeeze cage, one tried to climb in the cabinets. The feral took out an microscope and an intern, but she never bit or scratched at home.

 

[Holliman Jane]

Kflowers-You’re right. I was going to say it’s not fair to judge how he will act there. It must be so terrifying for them.I am just going to take it slow & let him have his space & go from there.

 

[Kflowers]

hugs and pets.

 

[Holliman Jane]

Update on feral kitty. She went to the cat hospital yesterday. It was a drop off appointment so I talked to the vet on the phone. I let them take blood and the results are in so the vet is supposed to call me tonight about the results. They also sedated her and bathed her. Vet was worried about her low weight so she might possibly have a thyroid problem. Vet also thinks she has calicivirus. Anyone here have experience with that? I heard it spreads so kitty is still in a big cage in the garage. Vet said I can bring her inside as long as she’s in one room and I always wash my hands and wear a robe or something so I don’t spread germs to my other indoor cats. Then today, as I was feeding my colony, I noticed one of my ferals from the same colony seems sick now too. He was sneezing, he was meowing at me, (he never meows.) also he kept licking is mouth. One thing after another. So I will try to trap him tonight. I spent $486 on Mrs kitty in the garage for everything and now I have the other sick one. I will be taking him tomorrow to a non profit vet that’s about an hour away and hopefully the price will be lower. Wish me luck everyone!

 

[Holliman Jane]

And yes he is a her now! I thought it was a male the whole time. The humane society told me on the phone it was a girl then I went to get her and they backtracked and said male! Now the cat hospital is telling me female! Vet said she has a scar on her belly like it was a spray surgery. But the scar could also be from any other abdominal surgery she could’ve had in the past. I never knew it was so hard to tell!

 

[catsknowme]

Bless you for helping those kitties! Did the vet suggest using L-lysine to help her system fight off the virus? My ferals have had so many viruses pass through and I use (with my vet's approval) L-lysine, licorice root, marshmallow root and slippery elm decoctions. I recently added colloidal silver. Unlike your situation, however, I am unable to isolate a cat to administer antibiotics. With my tamer cats, I can add antibiotics and that can really help.