Need Help!! Stray Injured

[Vanessa]

I have 5 of my own cats and seem to attract quite a few strays, one of which lives in my garage. I feed them all and would never turn away a cat that needed feeding.

I have recently contacted cats protection regarding a stray that keeps coming in to torment my little neutered female cat. He is not neutered. Cats protection won't help me because I am not on benefits but I really really cannot afford to keep feeding all these cats and then pay all the vets bills. One of my own cats has a degenerative spinal disease that requires 6 monthly blood tests and daily pain medication.

For nearly a year I have been feeding another cat on and off that I have tried to find the owner through the found forum on catchat. He is here now and looks as though he has been bitten quite badly near his tail by a dog.

I've tried calling PDSA to see if they will help but I cannot get through. Is there any way I can get help for this cat? I don't like to see the cat suffering

[greenkitty]

Oh that looks nasty

Are there any other rescues in your area you could try? http://www.catchat.org/adoption/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Could you take him to your vet to see if they can scan him for a microchip (perhaps he's lost?)? Have you tried the RSPCA? I'm surprised the CP won't help as he's not your cat and you're trying to help.

[Vanessa]

Thanks for your response.

I explained all that to cats protection. That I can meet them half way with costs - I will pay for the medicine. They will not help me this or any other time I have tried contacting them.

This boy has been with me on and off for a year or more. I've advertised him but have not managed to get him to the vet as although it is obvious he has had a lot of love - he is very affectionate - trying to get him in the cat carrier resulted in a tetanus injection and him disappearing for a month or so.

Someone did contact me before saying they were looking for a cat on behalf of the owner and were sure this was cat was their cat (and I know this is their cat) but when I contacted the lady again she said they were not looking for him anymore Such a shame. He really is such a lovely lovely boy.

He is eating well and doesn't seem in too much distress but this needs seeing to. I will contact a few vets to see if anyone is willing to help.

[greenkitty]

In the meantime will he let you touch that area? Are you able to bathe it? Even some cooled down salty water might help...

Makes me mad that a genuine case where a cat needs help like this and the big rescues aren't interested. What area are you in?

[MarkB]

Poor cat

Have you tried The Blue Cross? - I don't know what else to suggest. If the cat has been bitten, I would imagine that apart from pain relief, antibiotics would be needed.

Although Cats Protection don't usually help with vet bills for owned cats, they should be treating an injured stray as top priority.

Which area are you in? - It might be an idea to post on the branch Facebook page and also contact Cats Protection head office. I know it isn't good timing with the holidays, but sure they have staff in.

[Vanessa]

I'm in Peterborough. I think posting to FB is good idea however cat has now gone out and I don't think he will be back till around midnight

[MarkB]

More often than not, bite wounds turn into absesses. I really hope this isn't the case as they can make a cat really ill. I am quite shocked that you can't get any help from big rescues.

[Vanessa]

He is back now again. Since the early hours of the morning. I've made him a bed up to try keep him indoors until my vet opens. I've emailed the vet and I'm hoping they will help me.

Cats protection seem only able to help if you are on benefits. I'm sure most people on benefits are actually in a better financial situation than me.

In any event, he keeps licking the wounded area very gently. I'm wondering since he leaves here about midday and comes back at erratic times if he does have another place somewhere although I think not. I've had to pull horrible big ticks off him before. He is so full of love. I wish I could find him and the other strays a good home!! They cause distress to my own cats.

[Vanessa]

this is link to second advert i put out for him on the found cats
http://www.catchat.org/felineforum/view ... ugh#p16069" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and on animal search
http://www.animalsearchuk.co.uk/find-lo ... 9305&prt=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Vanessa]

Well we are back from the vet. No financial help but I couldn't let it get any worse. He has been shaved and cleaned and had an antibiotic injection although the vet said he would rather have had him take broad anti-spectrum antibiotic. I can't take the risk as I don't see him regularly.

He seems very very subdued. Worse since we got back from the vet I hope he stays in for a while.

[Crewella]

I hope you managed to get him sorted.

Just a thought, but is it worth trying to get a rescue to take him over altogether? As a stray with an injury, he stands a better chance of being taken on as an 'emergency' for rehoming. It might be worth ringing round your local rescues? Just be sure to check they have a no kill policy.

[Vanessa]

Crewella - many thanks for your replies. They are much appreciated.

In the past I have tried unsuccessfully to get one of a number of cats rehomed. Maybe I will try as he and another boy need neutering. My cats are all neutered but the strays are not.

Rest assured none of them are short of love, food or a warm place to sleep but I want nothing more than to find them good homes if not least to give my own cats (all ex strays) a more peaceful life. The cost for me in feeding all of them is through the roof - I reckon nearly 60 per week in biscuits and wet food (Aldi premium).

What concerns me is that there are so many cats that need rehoming and until they find a home they are stuck in little cages. Neutering aside - is that really better for them than being looked after here? This is a serious question for me. What if they don't find a home?

They need neutering and since I have the responsibility of feeding them when my circumstances change I will get this done but please answer me seriously and honestly? Will they be better off in a cat rescue? If so I will do my utmost to make it happen.

Mark - you were right. The wounds had turned into abscesses. Most likely a previous cat bite that has deteriorated into an abscess rather than a dog bite

[bobbys girl]

The wounds had turned into abscesses. Most likely a previous cat bite that has deteriorated into an abscess rather than a dog bite

Gracie has had a number of those, just the same. She winds-up the others and when they have had enough she runs off. But not before she's had a whack. A couple of times she has burst the abccess herself. But they always make her quite and listless, as the poison then the AB's get to work. She really is a silly girl.

I sounds as if your boy has had a similar swipe. I hope you can get him sorted, he really is a lovely cat.

[Vanessa]

Hopefully he is on the mend. He is shaved, cleaned and injected. He has filled his belly with roast chicken and is snoozing on his mat on the counter. Having to stop him lying about everywhere as the wounds are suppurating. Gracie sounds full of character!

[Crewella]

Hi Vanessa, I think the honest answer to your question is that it depends on the rescue.

I started fostering for a small independent rescue last year, and whilst I'm very much aware (as are the other volunteers) that life in a pen is far from the ideal, I know everybody tries to make life as bearable as possible for each cat taken on. There is no main cattery as such, so all pens are in volunteer's back gardens, and I know of several 'long stay' cats, mainly older or feral, that have been given the run of the garden in the daytime so as to give them some semblance of a life, or at least moved to a pen with an outdoor run, until a more permanent solution can be found. No cat is ever put down unless it's for health reasons and the kindest thing, when any loving owner would make the same decision. I have two permanent foster cats living with my own gang that are older and have on-going health problems, and there are several other permanent foster cats living in homes, considered 'unhomeable' but still under the care of the rescue. I'm sure we'd all love smarter, bigger pens and better food, but we do the best we can and rehome a good few cats - I'm sure there are many small rescues out there that operate in much the same fashion. It might be worth finding out a bit more about the rescues in your area?

I had to make the same decision that you are facing last year, when a stray I had fostered and fallen for started to bully the rest of my cats and I had to remove him for the sake of my own gang. It felt rotten having to move him to a small pen under another's care, but within about a week he was spotted and is now in the absolute perfect home for him, with a doting cat slave who adores him (and sends me updates). Even if he'd been in a pen for a couple of months I think, on balance, it would have been worth it. Hopefully, he now has a lifetime ahead of him that will be lived as it should have been from the start.

What I did learn is that people tend to want to meet the cats, and are more likely to visit a cattery where they can view several at the same time. If the cat is friendly and approachable, basically will 'sell itself', it's much more likely to be homed quickly in a cattery. I've taken another cat over to our biggest 'cattery' (12 pens) since, and after a couple of months with me (I have one outdoor pen and a spare room) and no interest, she too went to her new home within about a week. For shy or feral cats, I'm not so sure ...... it's a difficult one.

I have no doubt that the cats are well cared for with you, and bless you for taking such good care of them. Please forgive my rambling, I hope that helps!

ADDED: I'm glad you managed to get him sorted out! Give him a fuss from me, he's lovely.

[Vanessa]

Thank you Crewella. It really does help and I do need to think about what is best for the rest of them.

[MarkB]

Just to add. We had 2 cats hanging around our garden and the private road at the back of our garden for years. I was assured by a neighbour that they were owned by somebody around the corner. Over the years they were around more and more. One of them was nervous around other cats and became quite spiteful. It came to a head around September/October, when one of my oldies went virtually blind. She kept going for him in the garden (he was only allowed out under supervision and blood pressure meds restored some of his sight anyway) I decided once and for all to find out exactly who the owner was and tell them that they needed to take responsibility for their own cats. What made it worse was that there was a for sale sign outside the house. When I spoke to the man, he admitted he had 2 tortie cats, but said he rarely saw them and had assumed that they had chosen to live elsewhere!!!! - he added that he had originally bought them for his daughter, who had grown up and left home. I told him we had to do something and if he wasn't going to deal with his own cats, they needed to go to a rescue. He said he would take them with him when he moved - although he was unable to catch them. I told him I could easily catch them. A few weeks later, one of them vanished, but one was still hanging round. I went round again to find that the house had been sold and new owners had moved in. I contacted CP (who I knew, as I volunteered with them for about 8 years) who initially said that I needed to contact the RSPCA as it was an abandonment case. I did so, but they weren't really interested and I had no proof. It was getting cold by then, so we started bringing her in at night. We had to keep her in the attic bedroom as she kept fighting with our own cats. I contacted CP again, who said they would put her on the waiting list. After almost 3 months, a space came up - that was just over 2 weeks ago. There was an update on their Facebook page last night. She now has a home of her own - it was a long battle, during a tough time, as Lazarus, who lost his sight, went downhill, due to a liver tumour and we had to let him go a few weeks ago. We got there in the end though!

https://www.facebook.com/CPCanterburyan ... 3012452137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Crewella]

She's such a pretty cat, I'm really pleased to hear she's in a home of her own at last. Well done Mark!

It's funny how stray cats seem to have a radar that takes them to hang around homes that will help them!

[Hazel]

Well done catching him and getting him to the vets. I'm surprised they didn't neuter him while they had him, but maybe it would have been too much with his abscess as well.

I don't like to be down on any charities - I'm sure they are all doing their best, but I recently tried to borrow at trap to take a cat who lives in our garden to a vet and Cats Protection were pretty useless. The CP branch for my area didn't answer the phone, then when they eventually did it was some sort of call centre who assured me "a trained volunteer would contact me in a few days". When eventually they contacted me (after I'd already trapped vetted and released the cat!) they said I might be able to borrow a trap if I could travel 15 miles to collect it. There is another branch about 9 miles from my house and on my way to work...but I'd tried them first and they couldn't help as it was outside their catchment area. NASSL arranged to bring me a trap but didn't turn up. It was quite frustrating - I didn't want any money, I just wanted a trap and some moral support! In the end I rang a small local cattery from the list off catchat and a lovely lady in her 70s who'd been trapping cats for years helped me! The vet didn't charge a consultation fee either as we explained that although we feed her and nobody else looks after her she's not really ours. They only charged us for the spot-on de-worm/flea stuff that they gave her.

So (after that long ramble) maybe it's worth trying to get your vet on side too - especially if you have your own cats registered with them and you're clearly a good customer.

How is he feeling today? Have you let him back out? If he's really friendly I'm sure he'd find a nice home quickly enough if you could get him in somewhere. Good luck!