What do I do with an injured stray?

jenn1984 · 24-08-2015 11:39am #1

Hi folks,

There is an injured stray cat that hangs around our garden alot of days. She disappeared for a while and has now appeared with a bad limp and looks like she has been hit by a car. We thought she belonged to a neighbour in the estate but when we got her number, she insisted she didn't live out our way (mistaken identity or pet abandoner, who knows?). Problem is that we don't have a pet carrier, though if we got one we're not sure we could get her into it. Other problem is we're not flush with money and could barely afford a vets visit let alone any other treatments she needs. Is there a duty of care, i.e. the vet has to take her? Any advice on what to do?

Thanks,
Jennifer

kathleen37 · 24-08-2015 11:53am

I don't have direct experience, but you should be able to phone the ISPCA - who should hopefully come with a trap, and then treat/neurture and release the cat once she's ok.

At least they should be able to give you some advice, or give details of a local rescue that may be able to help?

FelineOverLord · 24-08-2015 12:27pm

As far as I know vets are obliged to provide free treatment to injured strays. I don't know what area you're in but you could try checking with local rescues to see if they can help you trap the cat. Maybe even phone around vets in your area to see if they know of any tnr groups in your area that could help

jenn1984 · 24-08-2015 12:37pm

The situation is this - we feed the cat a lot of days because she doesn't seem to be eating much. We have our own cat and they absoloutely HATE eachother so we have never been able to take her in. At the minute the stray is asleep on our living room rug covered in a towel which is a very short term solution as our own cat is in the upstairs bedroom asleep. We live in Co Monaghan so we're thinking <snip>, trapping being the only issue.

Stheno · 24-08-2015 12:42pm

If she's in your living room why do you need to trap her?

Could you not get a loan of a box/carrier, lift her into it while she is asleep and wrapped in the towel and take her to a vet?

jenn1984 · 24-08-2015 12:50pm

The problem is getting her into the carrier, she was coaxed into the living room but when you try to lift her she freaks out, think its a combo of the pain and not alot of human contact. Cats wake up pretty quickly when they're touched, especially (I'd imagine) when they're basically a stray and always on their guard. Not sure if moving her into a carrier while she's asleep would be doable.

FelineOverLord · 24-08-2015 1:18pm

<snip> might have a top opening carrier they can let you use. One of ours panics when we have to get him in a carrier and the only way we can do it is to nab him in a towel and put him in a top opening carrier as fast as possible.

jenn1984 · 24-08-2015 2:32pm

We got talking to our vet, which is who <snip> recommended. They're essentially saying because she doesn't have an owner- chances are it will be euthanasia. We could come up with the money somehow if its a financial thing but would they not be able to do surgery legally when it can't be consented? We're afraid to take her to the vets now. We considered taking her in to live with us but the problem is she's borderline feral and we couldn't trust her with our cat.

FelineOverLord · 24-08-2015 3:50pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

We got talking to our vet, which is who <snip> recommended. They're essentially saying because she doesn't have an owner- chances are it will be euthanasia. We could come up with the money somehow if its a financial thing but would they not be able to do surgery legally when it can't be consented? We're afraid to take her to the vets now. We considered taking her in to live with us but the problem is she's borderline feral and we couldn't trust her with our cat.

Did you tell the vet that she's borderline feral? The reason I ask is that a feral cat is extremely difficult for vets to treat and this is why they might have said they might have to euthanise her.:( I think all you can do is your best and if she needs to see the vet then the sooner the better if she's in pain. Just take it step by step for now. She and your own cat may learn to get along but for now I'd just focus on getting her injury seen to and go from there. If she's happy to be asleep in your living room she's not feral. A feral wouldn't let you near them.

taytobreath · 24-08-2015 9:08pm

Hi Jenn, Fair play to u for doing such a nice thing for the poor thing.
You've established that know one owns the cat and that you have been feeding her, the cat and its welfare would now be your responsibility. The cat is unlikely feral and was probably someone's pet and the cat could of roamed too far and got lost or just been abandoned like you said.

I think you know in your heart what's the best thing to do, bring the cat to the vet and get it treated for the injuries, build up some trust with the cat (the way to every cats heart is food), gradually introduce your other cat to the new cat and there ya have it, congrats now you've two kitties.
I no what I said to do isnt as easy and as straighforward as that, but its that or the needle.

Good luck.

jenn1984 · 25-08-2015 10:33am

We were told by two different neighbours that live on a street of three semi-detached houses that the cat belongs to a specific neighbour. When we got her name and number, she was adamant that she didn't live out our way saying we had the wrong number (even though we had the right name). People like that make me sick. We took her to the vets yesterday evening with a definite broken tail upon initial inspection. She was put on painkillers overnight and will get a proper checkup this morning. We asked them to do everything they could and to call us before they did anything big. Like I said before, this cat and our guy hate eachother- they get into regular scraps so 'introducing' them to eachother isn't going to work. There is a local rescue in the countryside that has a no kill policy so that may be what we have to do. We'll see how she gets on today, fingers crossed she'll be ok.

FelineOverLord · 25-08-2015 11:56am

Ahh, poor puss but at least she's a lot more comfortable now and well done you for caring about her.:) Hopefully the rescue will be able to help you.

jenn1984 · 25-08-2015 12:05pm

FelineOverLord wrote: »

Ahh, poor puss but at least she's a lot more comfortable now and well done you for caring about her.:) Hopefully the rescue will be able to help you.

I'm hoping she'll be ok - tail amputation was suggested and apparently that doesn't affect their quality of life. Hopefully it won't be anything more serious. We were talking to our local SPCA and they were singing our praises - apparently what we're doing is unusual, looking after the cat and taking it to the vet and that most people would just ignore her. She dragged herself from our garden to our back doorstep when she saw my sister, then she collapsed. Who could ignore that?! Seriously?

FelineOverLord · 25-08-2015 12:34pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

I'm hoping she'll be ok - tail amputation was suggested and apparently that doesn't affect their quality of life. Hopefully it won't be anything more serious. We were talking to our local SPCA and they were singing our praises - apparently what we're doing is unusual, looking after the cat and taking it to the vet and that most people would just ignore her. She dragged herself from our garden to our back doorstep when she saw my sister, then she collapsed. Who could ignore that?! Seriously?

I think it depends on the point of the break. We have a little female cat who was dumped and she only has a stubby tail about the size of my thumb, it doesn't bother her at all and she's full or energy. We've no idea what happened to her, it had already been amputated long before she came to us. We had a male cat many years ago who arrived with a little stumpy tail and he had no problems either.:)

Pac2015 · 25-08-2015 4:51pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

The problem is getting her into the carrier, she was coaxed into the living room but when you try to lift her she freaks out, think its a combo of the pain and not alot of human contact. Cats wake up pretty quickly when they're touched, especially (I'd imagine) when they're basically a stray and always on their guard. Not sure if moving her into a carrier while she's asleep would be doable.

She is injured get her to your local ISPCA centre they have a care of duty to look after her most likely if she was hit by a car she has a fracture somewhere so when you lift her or move her you are causing her pain.

Get a blanket and pop it over her head and body and just be swift and fast and get her into a carrier and to the ISPCA or the vet they use.
Wear gloves too and long sleeves just in case she scratches you, chances are if you dont get her to the vets she will go into shock and will be worse.

jenn1984 · 25-08-2015 5:13pm

Pac2015 wrote: »

She is injured get her to your local ISPCA centre they have a care of duty to look after her most likely if she was hit by a car she has a fracture somewhere so when you lift her or move her you are causing her pain.

Get a blanket and pop it over her head and body and just be swift and fast and get her into a carrier and to the ISPCA or the vet they use.
Wear gloves too and long sleeves just in case she scratches you, chances are if you dont get her to the vets she will go into shock and will be worse.

Thanks for advice. We got her sorted, wrapped her in a towel and put her into a box with airholes, 3/4 securing it with string. We took her to the vet yesterday and we were speaking to the vet a short while ago. The cat's tail is fully broken so her tail will have to be amputated and she will be released in a couple of days so serious but not disastrous. Our local rescue got involved and is very kindly paying the bill. We will pick her up in a couple of days and go from there.

Stheno · 25-08-2015 5:35pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

Thanks for advice. We got her sorted, wrapped her in a towel and put her into a box with airholes, 3/4 securing it with string. We took her to the vet yesterday and we were speaking to the vet a short while ago. The cat's tail is fully broken so her tail will have to be amputated and she will be released in a couple of days so serious but not disastrous. Our local rescue got involved and is very kindly paying the bill. We will pick her up in a couple of days and go from there.

Good for you, well done for taking care of her

taytobreath · 25-08-2015 7:10pm

Cats need more people like you Jenn, well done

kathleen37 · 26-08-2015 8:19am

Yes - well done you!!

FelineOverLord · 26-08-2015 2:52pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

Thanks for advice. We got her sorted, wrapped her in a towel and put her into a box with airholes, 3/4 securing it with string. We took her to the vet yesterday and we were speaking to the vet a short while ago. The cat's tail is fully broken so her tail will have to be amputated and she will be released in a couple of days so serious but not disastrous. Our local rescue got involved and is very kindly paying the bill. We will pick her up in a couple of days and go from there.

Any news on puss?

jenn1984 · 26-08-2015 4:14pm

FelineOverLord wrote: »

Any news on puss?

Having amputation today, haven't heard anything yet. She's getting neutered, jabs, flea treatment, etc when she's in. We've agreed to foster her while she's recovering.

Stheno · 26-08-2015 4:15pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

Having amputation today, haven't heard anything yet. She's getting neutered, jabs, flea treatment, etc when she's in. We've agreed to foster her while she's recovering.

That's great news:)

jenn1984 · 26-08-2015 4:53pm

Just heard back from vet's nurse. She got through surgery fine. She'd already been neutered but had to be opened up before anyone knew that. Vet's is giving us the loan of a dog cage which will keep her confined and separate from our fella (Shadow). Should be interesting...

jimf · 26-08-2015 7:00pm

good stuff Jennifer your rewards will follow

jenn1984 · 27-08-2015 8:16pm

Both cats in the house now. Stray (Tinkerbell) hissed at our fella through cage and our guy tried to swipe at her tail stub. We're gonna keep them separate whenever possible cause our fella has a bit of a "Why don't you love me" face on him

FelineOverLord · 27-08-2015 10:56pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

Both cats in the house now. Stray (Tinkerbell) hissed at our fella through cage and our guy tried to swipe at her tail stub. We're gonna keep them separate whenever possible cause our fella has a bit of a "Why don't you love me" face on him

Sounds like they both need lots of fuss, and for it to rain lots of chicken to make them associate each other with good things.:) You're doing a really wonderful thing.

Stheno · 27-08-2015 11:25pm

FelineOverLord wrote: »

Sounds like they both need lots of fuss, and for it to rain lots of chicken to make them associate each other with good things.:) You're doing a really wonderful thing.

Good idea

You'd be surprised, in a week or two you may find them talking to each other

jenn1984 · 28-08-2015 11:13pm

Does anyone have knowledge of cat tail amputation? We have had cat back from the vet's since yesterday afternoon and she is peeing fine but hasn't pooped. Is this something to be worried about?

Stheno · 28-08-2015 11:14pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

Does anyone have knowledge of cat tail amputation? We have had cat back from the vet's since yesterday afternoon and she is peeing fine but hasn't pooped. Is this something to be worried about?

Possible that it's taking time for the anaesthetic to work it's way out of her system.

Is she eating and drinking ok? And are you able to get close to her to see if her belly/back end area feels normal or is hard/bloated?

jenn1984 · 28-08-2015 11:23pm

Foods not a problem with her. Will check if she's swollen.

FelineOverLord · 29-08-2015 10:48am

She might just be trying to avoid pooping in the house. One of our cats always toileted outdoors but when he had surgery he held it in for almost 3 days before he'd go in the litter tray. Even years later he will only pee but never poop in the litter tray.

kathleen37 · 29-08-2015 5:59pm

We've had several cats that have lost their tails various ways over the years.

Remember the hind area will be sore and the anaesthetic may affect them. As long as they are peeing ok - and eating - if nothing happens in two/three days (as long as they are peeing ok) then I'd phone the vet for advice.

jenn1984 · 29-08-2015 7:22pm

Eureka! She went number two. Lol.

Stheno · 29-08-2015 7:23pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

Eureka! She went number two. Lol.

Great stuff

FelineOverLord · 29-08-2015 7:46pm

jenn1984 wrote: »

Eureka! She went number two. Lol.

Isn't it amazing the things that bring joy.:D

jenn1984 · 29-08-2015 8:00pm

I know! I was reflecting on the sadness of that comment, haha. It would have been worrying if it had gone on much longer as it could have been a sign of nerve problems and could have been a major issue.

FelineOverLord · 30-08-2015 10:25am

jenn1984 wrote: »

I know! I was reflecting on the sadness of that comment, haha. It would have been worrying if it had gone on much longer as it could have been a sign of nerve problems and could have been a major issue.

We all worry when our pets are sick. At least a child can tell you what's wrong with them. I'll stick with 4 cats and leave the kids for others.:)

What do I do with an injured stray?

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