We have a feral cat that just showed up a couple of months ago. We first saw him several yards away as he ran off. With a lot of patience over the last few months, he now will come within 2 or 3 yards to eat food. Any closer and he hisses. We've noticed he has bilateral eye drainage that appears to be blood tinged - it is light pink.
He eats well. We may be able to trap him once to take him to the vet, but there is no way to trap him daily to treat his eyes. Is there anything we can mix in his food that would help treat his eyes?
Thank you for any help.
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If you have a small feral cat group in your area they may have arrangements with a vet for liquid antibiotics. It's kind of a not talked about arrangement as no one wants to be sued, but some groups make this connection. Ask!
Your big names humane society or rescue agency may also be able to help trap and transfer for care, fixing (eye and reproduction), and release.
Prayers for the kitty. Post back what you learn!
I think maybe trapping him and, keeping him him at vets office until he has completely healed might be the only thing that will ultimately work. That is not something we can afford at this time. I just spent $1000.00 at the vets for critical care treatment for pneumonia for a Boston Terrier someone dumped on the highway. We tried all the places we knew to find his owner. He's a VERY obstinate little guy but, at the same time if he sees a broom he runs to a corner shaking terribly. He was obviously mistreated to say the least and I determined to get him healthy and see that not all people are vicious.
Where I live we have an animal control number to call. See if your town has it.
Usually if you call animal control they will either "loan" you a trap or they will set a trap to catch the feral animal. The problem with this is that normally these feral cats are taken to a shelter and if not tameable (?) they will be put to sleep (this sometimes happens even in a no kill county). Just be sure before you call them.
Thank you for all the great advice! I'm really worried about him. My problem is having to catch him on a daily basis. He is quite skiddist and once he has been trapped and then has treatment to his eyes I feel strongly he'll never fall that trick again.
Cats that have been mistreated are very skeptical of anything we try to do for them. I have a stray cat in my yard right now (non-feral pregnant) and she will not go anywhere near the places we fix for her. She has "chosen" to stay/sleep under a long trailer in our yard instead and will not even accept bedding that we place there. If we are to truly help them, it seems we have to go along with their choices.
Please try the medication suggested for his eye infection as the longer it goes without antibiotics the harder it will be to cure. Eye infections are so serious because many times the animal will go blind in that eye and it may also be a form of Herpes so please read the links about eye infections and find a store that sells the generic (no prescription) medication that you can put in his food.
Try to find a local cat group that will work with you. You have all the right ideas and are certainly doing all you can. Handling a feral cat in this situation is going to take the pros. Start calling local rescues (dog or cat) to find one that will help you. I have treated feral cats with infections by putting antibiotics in tuna I put out for them. It worked. I asked local animal lovers to find me some tasteless antibiotics and sure enough they showed up.
Just a PS about Rhinopneumonitis/Herpes in cats eyes. They are different names for the feline herpes virus, so they are the same thing. It is not the same herpes that humans get. Usually it is included in the shots kittens get. But sadly not all kittens get their shots. I didnt want you to be confused. My sons cat who has the herpes virus started taking the lysine powder in his food and has never had another symptom. That said it doesn't work for all cats. Trouble with the chronic herpes virus usually improves with age.
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