Need advice, stray cat with wound

cats_ahoy

Hi,

I didn't know where else to post on MSE forum, if I am in the wrong place place could the admin please move the post, it would be greatly appreciated! I am a cat owner to 2 indoor cats and need advice on a cat coming in our garden.

We have had the cat in our garden for 3 or 4 times now over the last few days, normally I would leave any cats alone and let them come in the garden and leave again, but this one has been sleeping in the garden, and looks very old and frail, and possibly injured.

I checked him over, and he seems old, moves very slowly (possible joint problems), is fairly skinny, but will let me stroke him and sat on me for warmth, and drank water I put out for him. I know that feeding other peoples cats can lead to trouble, but I am worried about this one. He has a fairly large wound on his leg (it has scabbed over but looks bad), and I know if my cat had that wound I would take them to the vet immediately.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

kataklysm

Hi Cats Ahoy,

Poor little guy! Definitely a thread for the Pets and Pet Care forum. However, some advice until the thread is moved:

- I would definitely knock on all the doors I could to see if he belongs to anyone nearby or if he's been visiting anyone else in the street and for how long.

- I would also strongly suggest taking him to a vet to be scanned for a microchip, and try get that injury assessed. He may have been involved in a road accident or a fight, and become disoriented/lost. I would hope someone would be willing to do this for free, or at least via charity assistance, and also offer some advice on next steps. There are also lots of great regional stray cat rescue charities who may be able to help too - check Facebook/Google.

- Find / buy a cheap collar, and attach it to him with a note tied to it in a way that's really obvious to see but will stay put.. If he's going home at night, hopefully his owners will see it, and remove it / contact you. If it's still attached after a good few days, then you can be fairly sure he really does have nowhere to go.

- Post a 'found' message to www.animalsearchuk.co.uk - it's completely free to do, and their services are amazing. You can also check to see if anyone is missing a cat matching his description. There are lots of other lost/found sites online too.


I know it's generally not a good idea to encourage cats with food.. but until you know more his survival may well be depending on you - I would make an exception in this case and provide food and water. And if you have some form of box or storage crate, you could even fashion a temporary outdoor shelter for him.
Uncanny - this is exactly how our 3rd cat arrived, he lived in a popup garden bin for a week or so...4 years later, he's king of the castle

Very best of luck, and keep us posted.

cats_ahoy

Hi,

Thanks for the advice, he slept the night in our garden in a makeshift bed I made for him, he is still asleep at the moment. I'm going to ring a couple vets today and see what they can do for him, and if he isn't microchipped knock on a few doors.

cats_ahoy

So we took him to the vets this morning, and they think he is a stray (no microchip and smells really bad) and has cat flu, and have taken him in with the rspca paying for his care. I'm going to ring up on Monday and ask how he his

Savvy_Sue

Moved for better responses

kerri_gt

cats_ahoy wrote: »

So we took him to the vets this morning, and they think he is a stray (no microchip and smells really bad) and has cat flu, and have taken him in with the rspca paying for his care. I'm going to ring up on Monday and ask how he his

Well done for caring enough to take him to the vet. Sounds like he did have a family once if he sat on you and let you catch him. A local charity near me tries to rehome older cats with older owners so they are both in their golden years so to speak. Hopefully with some attention he will be able to find a forever home.

Adora-Bell-Dearheart

Hi Catsahoy, please update on Monday as would love to hear how wee cat is. X

kataklysm

That's wonderful news! I'm so glad he's receiving the care he needed.

If you can, do please still post to animalsearch.co.uk, there are many cases of pets being reunited after months as strays. Always a chance that someone is missing the poor little sausage.

Well done you x

cats_ahoy

Hi everyone, thanks for replying. I rang up the vets yesterday afternoon to see how he was doing, and they had to put him down

They did some blood tests and he had hardly any kidney function left (they said he was very dehydrated when he came in), so the humane thing to do was to euthanize him. I'm glad that he wasn't suffering any more, poor little guy, still a bit upsetting though.

moggymutt

So sorry to hear that, but at least you gave him a chance. It always amazes me how so many people ignore the obvious plight of ill animals when they see them. Thank you for doing everything that you could for him- I wish more people were like you.

kerri_gt

Thanks for letting us know Cats Ahoy, sorry that they had to put him to sleep but you did the kindest thing for him. From the way he let you interact with him, it sounds like he knew you were helping him. Xx