I adopted a feral cat just over a year ago. My elderly father was feeding him twice a day for two years. He moved to a condo when my mother passed and the cat sat at the empty house day and night waiting for my Dad to come home. I ended up taking the cat and have worked on taming him. I’ve been making progress but not quite where I can pick him up.
He’s been mostly healthy up until 8 weeks ago. He seemed to be straining to urinate in his litter box and had decreased appetite. I took him to an animal hospital. At this time, I couldn’t touch him. He was anesthetized and examined. His exam and bloodwork were all neg. He was put on a urinary diet and given mirtazipine to stimulate appetite. I was not able to consistently get the stimulate in his ear but he would eat, just not a lot.
Followed up with my vet who said maybe he isn’t that hungry because he doesn’t have to worry about food and just watch his weight.
Weight continued to drop and found out last week he has tapeworms. He got a topical dewormer. Since then, it seems like he’s lost more weight and his lack of appetite is worse. He does eat enough to poop and pee daily.
My vet does house calls only and is coming Thursday. She’s limited in what she can offer for interventions. I am contemplating taking him back to animal hospital for evaluation,
It gets dicey though because he’s not completely tame. When I went with him before I could hear the attending talking to resident on other side of door saying, “he’s feral, what does she expect us to do,” I get that, but to a point. Is it unrealistic for me to want Pinky treated? He’s getting sweeter and sweeter and enjoys being petted.
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My sister is stuck in Cordova Alaska. Her pet cat got a blockage in the urine and the local vet barely looked at him told her “ either he can be flown out to the emergency vet or be put down. “ she can’t afford to fly herself, the cat, and her 3 kids out to save this poor family member and she is devastated and just crying her eyes out.. is there anything at all she can do to save this poor little guy? She said it’s not in her heart to put him down and is trying home remedies..
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Hi! I have two beloved cats who I rescued about 4 years ago at the age of 2. They are now 6 (biological brothers) one of them has always been on the more apprehensive side. This problem tends to go in phases but this time it’s lasting longer than usual. During the night time anywhere between 12-4 AM he is just a ball of energy and wants to play and will cry and run back and forth. Before we go to bed at night, I try to play with each of them for about a half hour. Is there anything else I can do? I feel bad that he has all this energy and just looking for love and attention in the middle of the night! I’m worried about when we go on vacation or something or that sorts because we won’t be able to comfort him when he is having these “moments”
Help!
-anxious cat mom
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I have a one eyed cat who about 1.5 years old. He had his eye removed before we adopted him but know he had multiple eye infections that led to the enucleation. He has always sneezed A LOT since we’ve had him and we thought it was likely a side effect from his eye removal. In the last few months, every few weeks a very large pocket of air fills up in area surrounding his eye socket on the side with no eye. The first time it happened our vet was flummoxed when he aspirated it with a needle, expecting fluid but only air came out. Since the first time this happened, the area has continued to refill with air every few weeks. We continually take him in and they remove anywhere from 10-14ccs of air. It doesn’t seem to hurt him or bother him but it gets huge and uncomfortable. We took him to an eye specialist recently who said any exploratory surgery and tests would cost no less than 4k just to start and they had no idea what it could be. Since this doesn’t seem to bother him, are we crazy to think we could try to aspirate his eye at home when it fills up? Has anyone ever come across anything like this? Every vet we talk to has never seen anything like it. Would love any help or advice!
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I went to the vet and was told to put my down my 5yr old male cat. He has a partial blockage but i have no money to pay what theyre asking. They said it would cost $2000-$4000 and wouldnt do anything for me besides ask how much money i have and that i have to decide to put him down or not. I just want him to get better and i cant seem to find anyone willing to help at a low cost i can afford.
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My 14 year old Yorkie has recently been diagnosed with spine and nerve problems. He has severe pain in his back end (hips, knees, lower spine). The doctor gave gabapentin and he is already on carprofen. It seems he’s getting worse with more pain, and sometimes whining and yelping in pain even when nothing has touched or moved him. Is there anything else I can do for him?? I hate to see my boy in so much pain.
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I found a kitten, male. I first thought he had a cyst in his wrist but when I examined closer it popped through the other side and made crunches in the wrist. I now think that it’s broken and wondering if a splint would help him.
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My Golden Retriever was running in the yard playing and let out a yelp. She is now limping and won’t put weight on her back leg. Could it be a pulled muscle? I will take her to the vet in the AM if not better. Can I give her anything for pain?
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Hi! This is my first time posting here!
We are taking our baby Rusty to the Vet next week. He has been recovering from Parvo this past week after being hospitalized for 6 days. He is doing AMAZING. Eating great, keeping it down. Still has slight runny poop/diarrhea. But we know that was to be expected. No blood, colors great.
We take him to the vet next week for a check up to see how he’s doing.
My husband and I noticed a tiny red spot on his arm where his vitals/catheter was they stuck in him at the hospital. We thought at first he was just picking at a scab, so to prevent it I went to wrap it back up and bought a inflatable cone from Petsmart.
As I was about to wrap it up, I noticed it was a pretty big open area exposed. Looking closer, I see a tiny pinpoint hole in the middle. At first, I thought it was again from the vitals they put in his arm.
Looking on Google being paranoid, I came across the possibility of warbles. My heart sank.
I just wanted to know what you think. He has been doing so so well. All my life my family has had dogs but never have had this issue before.
You can see it is right above where his previous bandage at the hospital was.. so not sure if it is really from all the IVs or warbles.
I really appreciate the feedback. Thank you so much!
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My Plott Hound had a large internal lipoma removed on Monday directly above his penis in his abdominal area. Almost immediately, he developed prominent swelling directly to, proximal, and distal to his operative site. In addition, he has swelling down his leg. Took him back to the vet where a needle aspirate was done. He was diagnosed with multiple seromas. There was no WBCs seen or anything else visualized under the scope to indicate infection INSIDE. However, externally, his skin is red and angry and there is a lot of swelling. He is on 2 broad spectrum antibiotics. He is having a hard time walking on his right leg. Took him back today (day 5 post op) because swelling is even worse. He has swelling all down his leg. Vet says it made sense to her because of gravity. My dog is in a lot of pain, can’t sit down. He put his paws down and his bottom stays up in the air. No one can even palpate his operate site without him going through the roof in pain. He is on Tramadol and an NSAID. I’m extremely worried. The vet isn’t a fan of the drain because she doesn’t want to create more room for infection. Ultra Sound showed no abscess. He is drinking a lot of water (more than usual) and urinating normally. His last BM was yesterday. Eating mostly fine. Low grade temp. Does this sound all right? I hate that he is suffering. The pics I have included were yesterday, not today. But you get the idea of the areas of seromas and erythema. Today, the swelling is worse and his entire leg down to his paw is fluid filled.
Hello,
No it is absolutely not unrealistic. When we get feral cats at our shelter we try to treat them as best as we can, too. Obviously there are things that you can’t do with feral cats like you can with tame ones. But still we were still able do give daily fluids and feed them with a syringe, when they wouldn’t eat on their own for most of them.
However for this it helped a lot that they are usually in large crates, as this makes daily handling a lot easier. We place them in pillow cases to feed them or give them fluids. Most stay calm when they can’t see.
Also, a lot of needed exams can be done under anesthesia. Ultrasound (except heart), xray, bloodwork, urin analysis…
Not all treatments can be done with ferals, but there sitll is a lot of possible. That also depends on how far you are willing to go, and how stressfull daily handling for him would be. Most, while obviously hating to be forced daily, were still able to build trust after treatment or even with ongoing treatment. However it is helpful to have a second person do to the “bad” things.
Thank you for your response. He is currently hospitalized and being ruled out for a brain tumor. He is getting excellent care and the medical team is treating him well.
That sounds very good! I wish you two all the best!
Hello!
I applaud your dedication to this cat. It’s a hard case based on the cats temperament but it sounds like you are doing all you can. I wish you the very best of luck!