The night of the Orange Cyclone

MA · Post by MA » Sat Jun 28, 2003 4:33 pm

Yesterday, a feral that I have been seeing for a very long time, came to visit and feeding time. I was sitting on the stoop and I placed his food within my reach and to my surprise, he dug right in! I noticed when he ducked his head, that he had a wound on his nose and a bite on his leg. Ordinarily, he would run from me, so without hesitation I hissy grabbed him up, and swung him over gently into a cage we have outside, and captured him! He went ballistic inside the cage, and even after it was covered, he was still running across the bars.

I took the cage upstairs to the quarantine room, and opened the door to the cage. He raced out and started bouncing off the tables and counters, the walls. He climbed up the trellis I have over the window and started clawing wildly at the trellis, but it was screwed down firmly in place. He was panting so heavily and so out of control, I was afraid he would stroke out on me. We have a large wire door in front of the quarantine room, and I stepped beyond it, clearing out of the room so he would calm down.

A few hours later, I returned to the room, and he was squashed into a corner. Getting down on my knees, I approached him slowly and his sides were heaving and he was watchful and wary. I stopped right in front of him, and slowly with great care, I reached out and was able to touch the top of his head! I pushed this contact with him for two reasons. One, he is really ill, and two he is wounded. I needed to get medication and water into him quickly.

It took about 3 hours before I was able to scruff him without incident and I syringed water and medication into him, and it all ran out of his mouth. I knew he was in serious trouble then. When I backed off a bit, he once again went ballistic, and ran up the walls and over the top of the wall over the window, clawing madly looking for escape. It broke my heart, he is an old fellow with the scars of the street vividly upon him. His eyes were running yellow drops of pus and again, he was in dire straights.

I went downstairs to call the vet, and we had a conference. He said he would do a farm call first thing in the morning and come out and take blood and run it for me. We both knew that a trip to the vet's office would kill this poor cat. I hung up and then went upstairs to see him, and discovered, that he finally managed to claw his way through the trellis and he pried open the screen, leaped to the roof then to the ground and was nowhere to be found.

He did come back last night about midnight. I opened the door outside and he saw me and fled as if the hounds of hell were at his heels! Now I have a severely diseased feral running around, and if I don't gain his trust and get him looked at, he is slated to die a slow death. I strongly suspect he either has Enteritis for several times I caught him leaning over the water bowl but unable to drink, and after he left I was cleaing up and found small amounts of bile in the corner, or he has something equally as dreadful.

I hope he comes back, I really do. I know sometimes God brings them here just to die, and if that is the case, I will only be able to bring it to him quicker and easier based on what the vet finds

MA · Post by MA » Sat Jun 28, 2003 4:35 pm

kate & kobi · Post by **kate & kobi** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 5:18 pm

Wow, that's a burly looking tom! Sounds like it was quite a night for both of you. I'm glad you're looking after him; best of luck catching him and helping in whatever way you can.

Post by **Traci** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 9:53 pm

The bile could have been from all the excitement and stress. Do you have a hav-a-heart trap or other humane trap you can attempt to trap him near the food outside? It sounds like he is healthy enough to come back for food and has a good appetite, so time is on his side.

Enteritis cannot be diagnosed without at least a CBC...given his age, this could be anything from early renal failure to diabetes (as evidenced by hanging over the water dish), with an accompanying bacterial infection and probably abcesses to boot.

I sure hope you can trap him, MA, sounds like he could use your help. My prayers for success and that he can be treated effectively.

Susan and the girls · Sun Jun 29, 2003 12:20 am

Oh MA! He breaks my heart too! I sure hope you're able to catch him again to get him some medical help.

You do such a great job with the ferals, and I just want to say how much I appreciate it. You have such a wonderful heart for these poor babies, and the world is a better place with you in it.

MA · Post by MA » Sun Jun 29, 2003 1:02 am

Trace-

I have 12 hav-a-heart traps. I am the official rent for free center for these traps. The problem with trapping him would be I would catch my ferals first. With us in our final stages of remodeling, we do not have a completely sealed home, so there is no way I can keep all my guys inside while I trap, which means I would probably trap Cleo, and Whisp and probably funny face or Mckenzie.

I saw him tonight as I was feeding the horses, but the minute he noticed he had been seen, he vanished under the house.

As much as I love all the strays and ferals that come here, I am NOT going to be crawling underneath our house looking for him. I will just have to start over with gaining his trust and start lacing his food with antibiotics to as least give him a fighting chance to overcome whatever it is that is wrong with him.

I had a cat awhile ago that had enteritis, and just seeing him hanging over the water bowl like that unable to drink, reminded me of hissler and what she went through, as did the piles of green bile i found. Whatever he does have it is something that needs to be taken care of quickly. I have never seen such large drops of yellow pus coming out of a cat's eyes before. I have already disinfected the quarantine room and soaked the litter pans in vinegar first and then bleach to kill whatever might be lurking there. I just feel so sorry for him. I wish he hadn't felt the need to escape. All that water and medication that just spilled out of his mouth last night when I tried to get him to take it, just served to further break my heart about his plight.

Post by **Traci** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 1:44 am

Maybe hubby can try with the trapping?

And, what antibiotics do you have? As a precaution, unmixed powders, or in fact, clavamox tablets can't be in light or sun, they lose their effectiveness when exposed to light.

MA · Post by MA » Sun Jun 29, 2003 8:58 am

My vet gives me my antibotics at such a cheap rate it is embarassing! LOL

I have clavamox and clinidrops and amoxy drops almost on a standing order because so many cats filter through here in a given month. I am on strict orders to not dispense any of what they sell me at the bargain rate to anyone else but my cats, and I do not and would not ever let anyone borrow the medicine.

My vet honored me awhile back and told me I was the most knowledgeable layperson he has ever met on subject of ferals. That was cool to hear, but as I told him, I am always learning and will never believe I know it all. He also uses me from time to time to come to his office and help find cat bites. LOL

Post by **Traci** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 3:03 pm

Ok, thanks for elaborating. But, just want to caution.....be sure to always verify with your vet before giving them for specific purposes. While amoxi and clavamox have broad spectrum properties, one can't assume amoxi will do the work of clavamox and vice versa. Also, don't know what you're referring to in "clini-drops", but if this is a cephalosporin antibiotic or similar, it's usually only used when the bacteria is resistant to other broad spectrum antibiotics. ANY antibiotic can cause an adverse reaction in any pet, so even though they are widely prescribed, don't assume they are for every purpose.

Sure you know, but you know me, this is for the benefit for other readers as well.

davet · Post by **davet** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 3:37 pm

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2003 3:33 pm Post subject: The night of the Orange Cyclone

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Yesterday, a feral that I have been seeing for a very long time, came to visit and feeding time. I was sitting on the stoop and I placed his food within my reach and to my surprise, he dug right in! I noticed when he ducked his head, that he had a wound on his nose and a bite on his leg. Ordinarily, he would run from me, so without hesitation I hissy grabbed him up, and swung him over gently into a cage we have outside, and captured him! He went ballistic inside the cage, and even after it was covered, he was still running across the bars.

I took the cage upstairs to the quarantine room, and opened the door to the cage. He raced out and started bouncing off the tables and counters, the walls. He climbed up the trellis I have over the window and started clawing wildly at the trellis, but it was screwed down firmly in place. He was panting so heavily and so out of control, I was afraid he would stroke out on me. We have a large wire door in front of the quarantine room, and I stepped beyond it, clearing out of the room so he would calm down.

had them bounce off the surgery light, over the dutch door, off the AC around the walls and patients in the waiting room untill we caught him in a fish net....not a happy camper

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The night of the Orange Cyclone

The night of the Orange Cyclone

and here he is

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i've had patients like this Traci::