I came online hoping I could find an answer to my feral's issue and found this post. I know the solution is taking him to the vet but I have no income. Blackie is feral - no touch is welcome. I only see him occassionaly so it is hard to keep up with him. He came up to eat Thursday and I noticed that his eye was swollen and had a discharge. I tried to wipe his eye from behind but he was having none of that. This morning he came up again and I noticed he was snorting and having to breath through his mouth. I've been feeding him for about 5 years and he has never been sick. I have been reading about L-lysine and a few other ideas but I'm not sure what to do. I am almost to the point of calling the shelter to come get him but I hate to do that plus if he goes to the shelter will he give this to the other cats. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Uri In Feral Cat
- Thread starter clw01
- Start Date
As you already know, he needs to be seen by a vet. If you have a shelter (no-kill)you can call that would be willing to come trap/treat him, then by all means do so. I am sure once you describe what is going on with him, they will understand there is a possibility of it being transmitted to other cats. I don't know what their policy is, so they might not be willing to take him in.
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If he is taken to a shelter they would do basic tests/quarantine for a certain amount of days first. They wouldn’t just throw him into the room where he can infect others, no.
You should ask them/bring up your concerns when you call them though!
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If the eye is swollen, the only option is to get him Veterinary care.
If you are able to give him L-lysine and if the cause of the problem is herpesvirus, you might be helping to reduce the intensity of the outbreak - BUT it won't help the already swollen eye nor his severe congestion (which are likely signs of secondary infection, requiring antibiotics).
You said you're "almost to the point of calling the shelter to come get him"......well, why are you reluctant to do this?
I looked through your earlier posts here - the only time when you identified any local resource you called it "animal control". You must be very careful when calling in help. "Animal control" operations are usually run by towns/cities and most euthanize unadoptable cats. That would be the last place to call, unless the cat was severely injured and there was absolutely no other resource available.
There are cat/animal rescue groups almost everywhere - often they go "under the radar" so well that most people don't even know they are there. Google exactly this: "cat rescue in (name of your town)". Even if there isn't one immediately close, Google will show ones that are nearby (and, most places that are close will extend themselves and help out).
You really need to 'team up' with some other folks who do this work. No one can do this alone for lengthy periods of time (effectively, anyway)....and, by 'joining forces' with an established group, everyone wins. These groups warmly welcome volunteer help, especially people who can become 'boots on the ground' to assist their efforts. You volunteer for them and, in turn, you will have access to the group's help for the cats you encounter.
You'll have 2 points to get across when you contact them: 1. you have a very sick feral - and 2. "can you guys use some help?".
So, what say you?
.
If the eye is swollen, the only option is to get him Veterinary care.
If you are able to give him L-lysine and if the cause of the problem is herpesvirus, you might be helping to reduce the intensity of the outbreak - BUT it won't help the already swollen eye nor his severe congestion (which are likely signs of secondary infection, requiring antibiotics).
You said you're "almost to the point of calling the shelter to come get him"......well, why are you reluctant to do this?
I looked through your earlier posts here - the only time when you identified any local resource you called it "animal control". You must be very careful when calling in help. "Animal control" operations are usually run by towns/cities and most euthanize unadoptable cats. That would be the last place to call, unless the cat was severely injured and there was absolutely no other resource available.
There are cat/animal rescue groups almost everywhere - often they go "under the radar" so well that most people don't even know they are there. Google exactly this: "cat rescue in (name of your town)". Even if there isn't one immediately close, Google will show ones that are nearby (and, most places that are close will extend themselves and help out).
You really need to 'team up' with some other folks who do this work. No one can do this alone for lengthy periods of time (effectively, anyway)....and, by 'joining forces' with an established group, everyone wins. These groups warmly welcome volunteer help, especially people who can become 'boots on the ground' to assist their efforts. You volunteer for them and, in turn, you will have access to the group's help for the cats you encounter.
You'll have 2 points to get across when you contact them: 1. you have a very sick feral - and 2. "can you guys use some help?".
So, what say you?
.
