Very sick “community” cat!!

[Rdanes]

I’m currently living in a very rural area and I came across an extremely sick cat at the local shops.
I spoke to a shop owner and he said that food is provided but that is the extent of the care given. No medical care, not sure if they are even familiar with TNR procedures around here.
I gave the cat water and I sat with him for a while. I was able to pet him and pick him up. (With gloves on) I have no idea what he is sick with. But he is completely emaciated. Cannot breathe, tongue hanging out and drooling. Covered in vomit and feces. My heart is breaking.

What is the best course of action to take? I could possibly catch him on my own but I cannot bring him back to my house. I currently have 3 ferals that I’m caring for and I can’t risk getting them sick. I’m willing to pay for medical care for this cat and do what needs to be done I just can’t take him home until I know what’s going on. Can I call animal control? Will they catch and bring him to a vet if I am going to pay for it? Or will they just euthanize? Please advise! I did not sleep at all last night because I am so worried about him.

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for trying to help this cat. He sounds as if he is extremely ill. If you call animal control, which is certainly not an unreasonable option, they will very likely euthanize him. If you have a vet who will see him, and some vets do not deal with feral cats, you could try to bring him in. Since you can pick him up, you might get a cat carrier and place him in it and take him to a vet. If there is an emergency vet in your area, that is also an option. You are wise to put on gloves and make sure that you sterilize any carrier that you use with himbefore he comes in contact with your own cats. If you don’t have a carrier, he sounds ill enough that I think any makeshift box which can be safely used with a couple of towels would also be sufficient.

Depending upon what you are told, if you were able to get him to a vet, you will probably need a place where you can safely take care of him in the event that he is given treatment or medication.

My own experience with extremely sick or injured feral is that many vets will suggest euthanasia. Please don’t be upset at that, and if you feel that you can provide for this cat, see what is involved.

Please let us know how this turns out

 

[Rdanes]

Thank you for trying to help this cat. He sounds as if he is extremely ill. If you call animal control, which is certainly not an unreasonable option, they will very likely euthanize him. If you have a vet who will see him, and some vets do not deal with feral cats, you could try to bring him in. Since you can pick him up, you might get a cat carrier and place him in it and take him to a vet. If there is an emergency vet in your area, that is also an option. You are wise to put on gloves and make sure that you sterilize any carrier that you use with himbefore he comes in contact with your own cats. If you don’t have a carrier, he sounds ill enough that I think any makeshift box which can be safely used with a couple of towels would also be sufficient.

Depending upon what you are told, if you were able to get him to a vet, you will probably need a place where you can safely take care of him in the event that he is given treatment or medication.

My own experience with extremely sick or injured feral is that many vets will suggest euthanasia. Please don’t be upset at that, and if you feel that you can provide for this cat, see what is involved.

Please let us know how this turns out

I am not sure that I have a feral friendly vet anywhere near me. Also, I work until 6pm and all vet offices will be closed in my area by the time I am able to potentially catch him. I can't keep him at my house overnight unfortunately.

Any ideas on what could potentially be wrong with him?

 

[fionasmom]

If he is calm enough to be handled and seems non-aggressive, or even too sick to be aggressive, I would leave the word "feral" out of the discussion with the vet and just say that you have a very sick cat who needs attention. He may well not be feral, especially in a very rural area where many animals may be outdoor pets.

I think that the cat is dying. Certainly, I am not there and could be completely wrong; he could be suffering from something that would respond to treatment. We can't really say what we think he has as there are so many possibilities. It could be infectious, or end stage disease like kidney failure or untreated diabetes.

 

[FriendofFerals]

He likely has multiple parasites that can cause the weight loss, but lung worms can also cause breathing issues. Cats get them from mice, birds, lizards etc. I had a barn cat in respiratory distress and they were trying to say he was asthmatic but turns out he had a lung worm and needed 2 weeks of Panacur powder in his food and he was fine. You would need to take him in to check for infection, de-worm and get a baseline on him. If he lets you within 10 feet of him he isn't "feral"...more like "unsocialized" especially if you can actually pick him up. He may not be as old as you thing (looking at the clarity of his eyes just from the pictures) but parasites and malnutrition from parasites can make a cat look old when they aren't.

I'd give him a chance and try to get him to a vet. Give them a head's up he's a non-socialized community cat and he needs the full work over especially fecal/parasite and any flea/deworming treatments they have. I took a straight up 100% ear notched feral I trapped to a VCA clinic with no other option available and they "dealt with him" so don't worry too much if you can actually handle him. The one I brought in was a vicious monster and they got him sedated and stitched up, vaccinated and dewormed after his fight with the neighborhood tom "Shitty Kitty."

 

[Rdanes]

If he is calm enough to be handled and seems non-aggressive, or even too sick to be aggressive, I would leave the word "feral" out of the discussion with the vet and just say that you have a very sick cat who needs attention. He may well not be feral, especially in a very rural area where many animals may be outdoor pets.

I think that the cat is dying. Certainly, I am not there and could be completely wrong; he could be suffering from something that would respond to treatment. We can't really say what we think he has as there are so many possibilities. It could be infectious, or end stage disease like kidney failure or untreated diabetes.

I think t

If he is calm enough to be handled and seems non-aggressive, or even too sick to be aggressive, I would leave the word "feral" out of the discussion with the vet and just say that you have a very sick cat who needs attention. He may well not be feral, especially in a very rural area where many animals may be outdoor pets.

I think that the cat is dying. Certainly, I am not there and could be completely wrong; he could be suffering from something that would respond to treatment. We can't really say what we think he has as there are so many possibilities. It could be infectious, or end stage disease like kidney failure or untreated diabetes.

Thank you for the advice! I am going to reach out to my vet tomorrow and see if I can convince them to fit him in asap.

 

[Rdanes]

He likely has multiple parasites that can cause the weight loss, but lung worms can also cause breathing issues. Cats get them from mice, birds, lizards etc. I had a barn cat in respiratory distress and they were trying to say he was asthmatic but turns out he had a lung worm and needed 2 weeks of Panacur powder in his food and he was fine. You would need to take him in to check for infection, de-worm and get a baseline on him. If he lets you within 10 feet of him he isn't "feral"...more like "unsocialized" especially if you can actually pick him up. He may not be as old as you thing (looking at the clarity of his eyes just from the pictures) but parasites and malnutrition from parasites can make a cat look old when they aren't.

I'd give him a chance and try to get him to a vet. Give them a head's up he's a non-socialized community cat and he needs the full work over especially fecal/parasite and any flea/deworming treatments they have. I took a straight up 100% ear notched feral I trapped to a VCA clinic with no other option available and they "dealt with him" so don't worry too much if you can actually handle him. The one I brought in was a vicious monster and they got him sedated and stitched up, vaccinated and dewormed after his fight with the neighborhood tom "Shitty Kitty."

He was not the biggest fan of being picked up, and he did start angry meowing and scrambling to get away after about 30 seconds. But yeah, I'd say he is probably more "unsocialized" than feral. I'm going to call my vet and see if they can fit him in ASAP. The only struggle I am going to have is catching him and getting him there. He may have to wait until the weekend if that's possible because by the time I am out of work all of the vet offices are closed. I would catch him and keep him crated overnight but I feel like the stress of that wouldn't help him at all.

 

[Norachan]

If he`ll tolerate being handled a little bit the easiest way to do this might be with a large zip-up laundry net. They sell them in most drug stores, home centers and dollar stores. Pick him up, put him in the net and zip it closed, then put the cat inside the net into that carrier.

This will make it much easier for the vet to handle him. They`ll be able to take him out of the carrier, weigh him, draw blood and give injections of SubQ fluids through the netting. No risk of the cat being able to run away or biting them.

Most of my cats are semi-feral rescues and almost all of them go to the vet in a laundry net. It makes everything much safer for everyone.

 

[Rdanes]

He is at the vet now. They don't think that they will be able to save him. They are running tests now for feline leukemia, aids etc. Checking for parasites and giving sub q fluids. I told them to do everything that they can before we give up. Please pray for this poor little baby that was ignored by everyone for months and left to die I wish I had found him sooner

 

[fionasmom]

You were exceptionally kind to step in when you could and to get him to a vet. I know that this is very sad, but give yourself huge credit for what you did. He knows that someone is taking care of him and they will be kind to him at the hospital, whatever the outcome.

Please let us know what happens.

 

[Rdanes]

You were exceptionally kind to step in when you could and to get him to a vet. I know that this is very sad, but give yourself huge credit for what you did. He knows that someone is taking care of him and they will be kind to him at the hospital, whatever the outcome.

Please let us know what happens.

Turns out that it's a little girl! She is very sick but still with us so far. All tests came back negative but she does have an upper respiratory infection. She is very very malnourished. She also has an autoimmune disorder that I've already forgotten the name of. It causes ulcers in her mouth and prevents her from being able to groom herself or eat, which was the reason for the excessive drooling. She will need all of her teeth pulled at some point. She is spending the night at the vets office and we will pick her up tomorrow. Our options were to keep her with us or euthanize as she can no longer be an outdoor kitty. I was not planning on returning her to the streets anyway so it looks like she's found a new home! We were warned that we are not out of the woods yet and it will be a bit of an uphill battle to get her back on her feet but I am feeling hopeful.

 

[fionasmom]

URI's often respond very well to treatment and that may resolve more easily than it might seem. How are you feeding her or is she able to eat soft food? It is absolutely true that she cannot be returned to the outdoors, even if she were to be given some treatment as her condition has declined too much during the time that she was alone. The vet has probably done a lot to make her comfortable and relieve pain and she already knows that someone cares about her. Despite her bad condition, she has to feel somewhat better than she did when you found her.

We are all certainly pulling for this little girl, and lots of people have read your original post. Remember that you have already given her a 100% improved life just by getting her off the streets and to the vet.

 

[Rdanes]

URI's often respond very well to treatment and that may resolve more easily than it might seem. How are you feeding her or is she able to eat soft food? It is absolutely true that she cannot be returned to the outdoors, even if she were to be given some treatment as her condition has declined too much during the time that she was alone. The vet has probably done a lot to make her comfortable and relieve pain and she already knows that someone cares about her. Despite her bad condition, she has to feel somewhat better than she did when you found her.

We are all certainly pulling for this little girl, and lots of people have read your original post. Remember that you have already given her a 100% improved life just by getting her off the streets and to the vet.

Thank you so much for the support and kind words. She will be eating wet food and we will see how it goes. She was given steroids to help with the ulcers temporarily. I'm hoping that it will help long enough for me to be able to come up with the money to get her teeth pulled. If not, I will need to figure out a way to have them taken care of asap. She will also need to be spayed when she is feeling better. I am just glad that she is still with us considering the condition that she was in when we found her.

 

[Avery]

I am following your story and was waiting nervously to learn the results of the vet visit. I'm so happy to hear that this little girl is getting medical care and has a chance. There are quite a few GoFundMe pages in my area from folks who have very similar situations needing help with sick cats and they receive surprisingly generous donations. Thank you so much for caring and for taking action to give her a better future and hopefully a good life with you.

 

[Norachan]

Thank you so much for everything you have done for her!

I will post more later, but Im running late for work at the moment. Just wanted to say I rescued a street cat in a very similar condition once.

Sick, possibly FIV+ Feral Kitten

 

[FriendofFerals]

Turns out that it's a little girl! She is very sick but still with us so far. All tests came back negative but she does have an upper respiratory infection. She is very very malnourished. She also has an autoimmune disorder that I've already forgotten the name of. It causes ulcers in her mouth and prevents her from being able to groom herself or eat, which was the reason for the excessive drooling. She will need all of her teeth pulled at some point. She is spending the night at the vets office and we will pick her up tomorrow. Our options were to keep her with us or euthanize as she can no longer be an outdoor kitty. I was not planning on returning her to the streets anyway so it looks like she's found a new home! We were warned that we are not out of the woods yet and it will be a bit of an uphill battle to get her back on her feet but I am feeling hopeful.

I'm so glad you're keeping her! When she feels better, she will show her appreciation to you in ways that will amaze you. She likely has "stomatitis" which is the immune disease with the painful mouth ulcers and resorptive lesions on the teeth. I have one who at 3 yrs old who needed 14 teeth out (genetic predisposition), and another cat at 16 yrs old (former feral) who needed all teeth out due to being a feral with no dental care his whole life. Both are 100% fine, pain-free and even eat dry food, years after the extraction. Yes, it's expensive, but it completely eliminates the stomatitis. If you need any advice about transitioning an outdoor cat to indoor, introducing other pets, litter box training, post-surgery medication administration, or food suggestions for cats right after surgery, I can help ...been through it all in the past 4 years.

This cat was fed under my car for 7 years and never let me near him until I trapped him after he was injured in a fight and had an abscessed leg. Had all his teeth out, a cardiology visit, asthma meds, IBS meds, thyroid and hypertension meds...and meds to stop overgrooming. He went from "EXTREMELY FRACTIOUS" on the original vet report in 2019 to this...in 5 years.

 

[Rdanes]

I am following your story and was waiting nervously to learn the results of the vet visit. I'm so happy to hear that this little girl is getting medical care and has a chance. There are quite a few GoFundMe pages in my area from folks who have very similar situations needing help with sick cats and they receive surprisingly generous donations. Thank you so much for caring and for taking action to give her a better future and hopefully a good life with you.

I may have to go that route, I don't want to keep her like this for too long if it is uncomfortable for her. I'll have to look into making a GoFundMe when I get a free minute.
Thanks for the kind words!

 

[Rdanes]

Thank you so much for everything you have done for her!

I will post more later, but Im running late for work at the moment. Just wanted to say I rescued a street cat in a very similar condition once.

Sick, possibly FIV+ Feral Kitten

Poor little kitten! It's so sad how many cats are out there on the streets needing help. It's always refreshing to hear of some that have happy endings!

 

[Rdanes]

I'm so glad you're keeping her! When she feels better, she will show her appreciation to you in ways that will amaze you. She likely has "stomatitis" which is the immune disease with the painful mouth ulcers and resorptive lesions on the teeth. I have one who at 3 yrs old who needed 14 teeth out (genetic predisposition), and another cat at 16 yrs old (former feral) who needed all teeth out due to being a feral with no dental care his whole life. Both are 100% fine, pain-free and even eat dry food, years after the extraction. Yes, it's expensive, but it completely eliminates the stomatitis. If you need any advice about transitioning an outdoor cat to indoor, introducing other pets, litter box training, post-surgery medication administration, or food suggestions for cats right after surgery, I can help ...been through it all in the past 4 years.

This cat was fed under my car for 7 years and never let me near him until I trapped him after he was injured in a fight and had an abscessed leg. Had all his teeth out, a cardiology visit, asthma meds, IBS meds, thyroid and hypertension meds...and meds to stop overgrooming. He went from "EXTREMELY FRACTIOUS" on the original vet report in 2019 to this...in 5 years.

He is absolutely precious! So glad that he has you in his life. This gives me so much hope for my girl.
I'm sure I will have a million questions once I bring her home tomorrow. I am planning on keeping her in a cage for now because she is still contagious for about two weeks. I figure that it will also make the transition easier for her and it will give her time to learn to use her litter box.
Thanks so much for reaching out. Everyone on here has been so kind and helpful.

 

[vampiric_conure]

I am sooooo glad you found her and she's in your care! I am reading this thread with a great deal of interest. Can't wait to hear of her improvements as time goes on. Have you a name for her yet?