With the help of several in my Houston neighborhood, I am part of a feral cat TNR (Trap/Neuter (Spay)/Return) program with a colony of approximately thirty wild cats who have made their home at an abandoned house nearby.
To date, we have caught twenty-six felines during several weeks of trapping, with several still to catch.
The captured ferals are taken for sterilization, vaccinations, parasite control and ear-tipping, then are released back into their environment.
But, one little guy was only days from death due to parasites and chronic diarrhea.
How, exactly, do you confine and medicate a cat that is not interested in human contact? On our second night of trapping, we caught five felines in live traps...
and three others who had previously been captured and spayed or neutered...
you would think they would have learned not to enter the traps! Fortunately, we know from the fact that their left ears have been tipped (a painless process done under anesthesia during their surgery), that they are already fixed.
So, these three were re-released from the live traps.
Of the five new kitties we captured, we were fortunate to trap a thin and frail looking feline, suffering from extensive hair loss along with feces caked to his tail and legs.
We had been concerned about him and another cat with similar issues for some time, and hoped the veterinarian might be able to provide some insight as to his condition and whether he could be treated.
When I dropped him off for surgery, I asked them to evaluate him and offer advice as to whether the kindest course might be euthanasia.
They contacted me once they had a chance to look him over, and suggested testing him for feline leukemia and FIV.
If he tested positive for either illness, given his other problems, they would recommend letting him go.
I agreed to the test, which came back negative for both diseases.
They were not able to offer any definitive diagnosis, but we discussed keeping him confined for several weeks while trying to treat his diarrhea with antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs.
They also mentioned that he was (no surprise) severely dehydrated, and should eat canned food only, along with plenty of water, during his confinement.
With no good notion of how to confine an unhappy and ill kitty for an extended period, I sought advice from various sources.
I finally settled on a large crate, in which I placed many layers of newspaper.
I also added a litter box, some dry straw and a raised dish for his food and water.
I could not, in good conscience, see keeping him confined in the small live trap for that length of time, especially with all of the diarrhea.
The next question was how to administer the medications.
There were three liquids involved: Panacur (to treat for parasites and possible giardia), Flagyl (to help in case of giardia as well) and Clavamox (a broad-spectrum antibiotic).
Since he is a pretty good eater, I began to mix the medications with his food, using several small dishes and small portions, hoping he would consume most, if not all, of the medications along with his meals.
It seemed to be working, at least as far as consuming the medications with his food.
It turns out he absolutely loves milk, so even though that can cause digestive problems of its own, it helped him to rehydrate.
Although the diarrhea did not subside much, he seemed to be feeling better, standing up and meowing in his crate.
It turns out that Edgar (yes, he has a name now) liked being rubbed down with baby wipes and even invited being touched and petted around his neck and chest.
He had massive mats in the little fur that he still had.
Unfortunately, the areas that needed the most attention were incredibly sore, as he resorted to hissing and fussing if the wipes got anywhere near his back legs and tail.
But, we began making progress.
After several days with no discernable improvement in his condition, I talked to my regular vet and he agreed to take a look at him.
Edgar by this point was much more amenable to being handled, and even though he escaped my grasp as I tried to move him from his crate to a travel carrier, he didn't put up much fuss when I caught him again.
I had forewarned my vet about the severity of his condition and appearance, but I think he was still taken aback when he saw him.
You could see every bone in his skeletal frame.
But, my vet agreed to try.
First order of business was mild sedation for a bath and to shave off the mats.
They did a skin scraping and found a severe case of short-bodied demodex mange, which is contagious to other cats but not to humans or dogs.
So, Edgar underwent a lime/sulfur dip to help eliminate the itchy mites that had apparently caused him to lick and chew most of his fur off.
Once he was cleaned up, my vet said he seemed to feel much better, and was letting staff handle and pet him.
Slightly more optimistic now, we decided to proceed to the next step: trying to determine the source of his chronic diarrhea.
His bloodwork, other than an elevated white cell count and folate level, was normal.
X-rays also revealed no visible abnormalities.
The working theory is that the mange and the constant licking and ingesting hair and mites caused an overgrowth of bacteria in his small intestine.
We opted to try several different antibiotics and a low residue diet to try to get the diarrhea under control so that he might gain some weight and get some strength back.
My vet wanted to keep him at the clinic to monitor him.
After six weeks of treatment with antibiotics and prescription diet to cure the diarrhea and weekly dips to eliminate the mange, Edgar seems to be on the road to recovery.
He will need careful monitoring for a while, but in the meantime he has become a sweet and docile cat who takes medication well.
Some might question the effort and expense for one little feral cat when so many others need help, but that one little cat is certainly grateful.
To date, we have caught twenty-six felines during several weeks of trapping, with several still to catch.
The captured ferals are taken for sterilization, vaccinations, parasite control and ear-tipping, then are released back into their environment.
But, one little guy was only days from death due to parasites and chronic diarrhea.
How, exactly, do you confine and medicate a cat that is not interested in human contact? On our second night of trapping, we caught five felines in live traps...
and three others who had previously been captured and spayed or neutered...
you would think they would have learned not to enter the traps! Fortunately, we know from the fact that their left ears have been tipped (a painless process done under anesthesia during their surgery), that they are already fixed.
So, these three were re-released from the live traps.
Of the five new kitties we captured, we were fortunate to trap a thin and frail looking feline, suffering from extensive hair loss along with feces caked to his tail and legs.
We had been concerned about him and another cat with similar issues for some time, and hoped the veterinarian might be able to provide some insight as to his condition and whether he could be treated.
When I dropped him off for surgery, I asked them to evaluate him and offer advice as to whether the kindest course might be euthanasia.
They contacted me once they had a chance to look him over, and suggested testing him for feline leukemia and FIV.
If he tested positive for either illness, given his other problems, they would recommend letting him go.
I agreed to the test, which came back negative for both diseases.
They were not able to offer any definitive diagnosis, but we discussed keeping him confined for several weeks while trying to treat his diarrhea with antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs.
They also mentioned that he was (no surprise) severely dehydrated, and should eat canned food only, along with plenty of water, during his confinement.
With no good notion of how to confine an unhappy and ill kitty for an extended period, I sought advice from various sources.
I finally settled on a large crate, in which I placed many layers of newspaper.
I also added a litter box, some dry straw and a raised dish for his food and water.
I could not, in good conscience, see keeping him confined in the small live trap for that length of time, especially with all of the diarrhea.
The next question was how to administer the medications.
There were three liquids involved: Panacur (to treat for parasites and possible giardia), Flagyl (to help in case of giardia as well) and Clavamox (a broad-spectrum antibiotic).
Since he is a pretty good eater, I began to mix the medications with his food, using several small dishes and small portions, hoping he would consume most, if not all, of the medications along with his meals.
It seemed to be working, at least as far as consuming the medications with his food.
It turns out he absolutely loves milk, so even though that can cause digestive problems of its own, it helped him to rehydrate.
Although the diarrhea did not subside much, he seemed to be feeling better, standing up and meowing in his crate.
It turns out that Edgar (yes, he has a name now) liked being rubbed down with baby wipes and even invited being touched and petted around his neck and chest.
He had massive mats in the little fur that he still had.
Unfortunately, the areas that needed the most attention were incredibly sore, as he resorted to hissing and fussing if the wipes got anywhere near his back legs and tail.
But, we began making progress.
After several days with no discernable improvement in his condition, I talked to my regular vet and he agreed to take a look at him.
Edgar by this point was much more amenable to being handled, and even though he escaped my grasp as I tried to move him from his crate to a travel carrier, he didn't put up much fuss when I caught him again.
I had forewarned my vet about the severity of his condition and appearance, but I think he was still taken aback when he saw him.
You could see every bone in his skeletal frame.
But, my vet agreed to try.
First order of business was mild sedation for a bath and to shave off the mats.
They did a skin scraping and found a severe case of short-bodied demodex mange, which is contagious to other cats but not to humans or dogs.
So, Edgar underwent a lime/sulfur dip to help eliminate the itchy mites that had apparently caused him to lick and chew most of his fur off.
Once he was cleaned up, my vet said he seemed to feel much better, and was letting staff handle and pet him.
Slightly more optimistic now, we decided to proceed to the next step: trying to determine the source of his chronic diarrhea.
His bloodwork, other than an elevated white cell count and folate level, was normal.
X-rays also revealed no visible abnormalities.
The working theory is that the mange and the constant licking and ingesting hair and mites caused an overgrowth of bacteria in his small intestine.
We opted to try several different antibiotics and a low residue diet to try to get the diarrhea under control so that he might gain some weight and get some strength back.
My vet wanted to keep him at the clinic to monitor him.
After six weeks of treatment with antibiotics and prescription diet to cure the diarrhea and weekly dips to eliminate the mange, Edgar seems to be on the road to recovery.
He will need careful monitoring for a while, but in the meantime he has become a sweet and docile cat who takes medication well.
Some might question the effort and expense for one little feral cat when so many others need help, but that one little cat is certainly grateful.
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