Kitty

[dancerjodi]

There's a cat in our neighborhood that I'm now pretty convinced is a stray. He's always outside around our house and last year lost an eye in a fight with something. Usually he's really skittish and runs away if we come even remotely close to him. Sometimes he climbs up on the roof under our 2nd floor windows and looks at our cats inside of the house. http://www.marmontianderson.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=8&pos=8

We came home from grocery shopping last night and he was laying on the side of the driveway. Normally he'd bolt when we got out of the car, but he didn't for some reason. I slowly crept up to him and got down at his level, talking to him all the while. I didn't want to get too close (I don't want to be bringing fleas in to my house) but he didn't seem scared of me at all. I'm not sure why the sudden change, but I'm glad he finally trusts us enough to let us near him.

I could see the damage around the eye much clearer. Something got him real good, because he's got massive scars across his nose. Something is up with his mouth, because it doesn't close all of the way on that side. It was all kind of black, but I couldn't tell if that was his fur or a hole or what given how I was still a couple of feet away.

We have some small cans of wet cat food in the house that ours won't eat, so I figured I'd bring it out to him. At first I just plopped it on a paper plate for him, but as he started to "eat" I noticed he just kept licking it. I got a closer look at his mouth, and saw a bunch of missing teeth. I did notice that the large top tooth was hitting his bottom gum, and the gum has kind of disintegrated around it. The poor thing - he can't actually eat with his teeth! I went back in the house to grab a spoon to mush the food up a bit (it was in its can-shaped clump) and it seemed to make it easier for him. He continued to just lick at it furiously to get some food into him.

That poor cat! I thought of him all night. We weren't sure if he was a stray or if his owners just never let him in the house. Either way, he's needed some major care and has been neglected. I'd bet his mouth is all infected. I'm not sure how the poor thing has kept alive given his mouth. Scrounging for food and water is one thing, but I have to imagine more limited given his problems with his jaw.

I'm not sure what to do about it. We can't bring another cat in the house. I'm willing to put food out there for him each day and will even go so far to get one of those heated doghouses that B and T found for the winter (if it seems like he'd use it - the heat is set off when the animal stands in it). He needs serious veterinary care. I'm a total bleeding heart for animals and I know that there is no lack of ones that need saving. I just can't help but wonder if we should try and trap this guy and bring him in to the vet. Though, God knows what the bill would be. And then what? If he's living outside, won't he just become a huge mess again?

What would you do?

And what kind of pirate name would you give a stray one-eyed cat that hangs in your yard all of the time? He was on our garage roof this morning when I left for work.

Comments

One-Eye'd Jack

[sanguineempathy.livejournal.com]

2 for 1 - a Pirate Name & a Twin Peaks reference ;P

Poor Kitty - Sounds like he at least has some sort of infection/abscess of his tooth/gums...

Maybe call around to some shelters and see if any treat strays...with a no kill policy.

Maybe also set up a PayPal Page for him... I'm sure your friends-list might donate if you decided to aid him....

Good luck ...

[tk7602.livejournal.com]

i'd call him Matey (aye, aye matey)

i was thinking about him too. he seems to be gravitating to our house more and more. i'm worried about his wounds not having been treated well / at all.

not really sure what to do though... for all we know, he may actually be someone's cat, that they really just don't take care of. and that gets into a whole 'nother can of worms than just taking a stray to the vet.

[evilbirdgirl.livejournal.com]

if he is owned, it seems that he'd be better off if you take him (erm techniquely illegal advice, so i said nothing if anyone asks!).

[maudlinkitty.livejournal.com]

Have you considered calling your vet and asking what they think? Maybe they'd give you a reduced rate.

Maybe you are just prolonging the inevitable by getting him fixed up, but I think we do that for our own pets all the time, because we love them. We just want them to be in the best shape they can be for as long as they can be, simply because we have it in our power to make their lives better.

Good luck.

~k

[alonewiththemoon]

I would start by calling the Animal Rescue League and asking them what to do: (617) 426-9170. (there's also a Dedham branch, not sure if that's closer to you or whether Boston is, but the Dedham # is (781) 326-0729 ) They may be able to come collect the cat, it sounds like he's in pretty dire straits :-(

[jasonsmyr.livejournal.com]

My ex-gf is the head the volunteer humane society.. a no kill cat shelter
Want me to find out if she can help?

http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/adoption_rescue/69078.html

[rubicat.livejournal.com]

One-Eyed Jack, definitely. :)

I would definitely donate to a Save the Kitty fund. I'm with you on the animal-neglect thing, and I wouldn't worry too much about it being someone else's cat. They have obviously allowed it to live with a ridiculous amount of neglect, and he's not tagged, so if anyone tried to lay claim, you'd have the upper hand by trying to make him healthy.

I have a very large dog kennel thing if you want to offer him some sort of a shelter in the meantime. You can just take the door off.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

Blinky.

Years ago I tried to rescue a one eyed kitten.
I named him Blinky. He actually had both eyes, but one was badly infected. I got him treatment, and managed to keep the infection from spreading to the other eye, but he did loose sight in the infected one. He had a lot of problems, and despite getting him good vet care, he just didn't make it. :( I still miss him sometimes. He had quite a unique personality. He liked to sit on my shoulder like a Pirate's parrot.

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

Sweetie....

*sigh*

Naming him will make it harder to let him go.

kitty

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"Naming him will make it harder to let him go."

Actually for a really emotional person, I don't have a problem with this (go figure)! I've fostered a ton of animals before - its just been a while (one of them being my nephew's old rabbits, Carlos and Nina). :)

[wereleopard.livejournal.com]

I would suggest step one is trapping him and just taking him to the vet for a quick exam, some blood tests and an estimate. If it's only a dose of antibiotics and a tooth pulled he needs, do that for him, get him some shots and take him to a no-kill shelter. If he needs something massive, or he's not really treatable, or he's got something like FIV or Feline Leukemia, I would suggest maybe having him put down. :o( It's sad, I know, but if he's sick/suffering, it's kinder than letting him starve to death outside or get hit by a car or killed by a dog, and at least he'd go peacefully, with a full tummy, somewhere quiet.

At least then you'd know you did what you could for him.

Julie
PS, don't name him til you've taken him to the vet and found out if he's going to make it through the week. "Cat" works just fine til then.

[evilbirdgirl.livejournal.com]

If you can catch him, I'd suggest you bring him in. Then we can at least diagnose if there is any hope for him. We do have funds to help with some stray animals, and there is a shelter we work closely with called Kitty Angels that may be able to help as well.

A sudden change in his behavior, such as letting you get close, may be a sign of poor health. We would happily assess him. And if you need a spare carrier to catch him up in, just stop by the clinic, we have a few extras i think (tell them i said you could have one).

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"If you can catch him, I'd suggest you bring him in. Then we can at least diagnose if there is any hope for him. We do have funds to help with some stray animals, and there is a shelter we work closely with called Kitty Angels that may be able to help as well."

I was going to give SPIN a call and see what they thought, but they only answer a machine once a week.

Now, given how I'm not sure if we'll be able to catch them, would I make an appointment in Wayland and hope for the best (hope we could catch him at that time)? How do people normally work that?

I'd definitely pay some basic costs. Depending on what's going on with the little guy (or girl) it could get pricey though - I'd have to play that one by ear.

"A sudden change in his behavior, such as letting you get close, may be a sign of poor health. We would happily assess him. And if you need a spare carrier to catch him up in, just stop by the clinic, we have a few extras i think (tell them i said you could have one)."

I was thinking that the change may have been due to a more serious health issue, or I'm wondering if with the windows open he's seen us/our cats and how we interact with them? We had Max last year but he was so old, he was never in the windows anymore.

This cat is not skinny so he's eating somehow. He's also quite nimble, being able to get up on our garage and our roof. He doesn't seem on death's door to me, but there's definitely something seriously uncomfortable about that mouth - the poor thing!

[dancer.livejournal.com]

I actually just called Wayland (not sure who I talked to). She said if I want to bring the cat in there I should make an appointment and hope to get him in the carrier and out there at that time. She suggested I call the city and let their animal control officer deal with it.

I checked out the city's animal control site, and they have a thing up about boarding cats that kind of eludes to "we'd rather not deal with it" and they suggested contacting a local trap-fix-release organization. I'm not sure if they'd be too helpful either.

I'll make some more calls and think on it a bit. Either way, I feel like we should do something for the poor kitty.

our neighborhood strays.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

there's an organization in somerville that does trap-fix-release. the feral cats in our neighborhood have had that done at the request of one house on the street that just lost their ancient cat to cancer. his housebound wife likes the cats and they feed them daily so that she can enjoy them from her window and door. they're all quite trained now to come out for breakfast/dinner when the spsh spsh sound is given. some are actually getting more friendly.

these were the last generation of kittens spawned from the old cat lady house behind mine before it was sold and the more mature cats taken to a shelter (they couldn't catch these guys at the time).

[evilbirdgirl.livejournal.com]

yeah, we can deal with the appt thing, that is not a problem. the catching is more difficult. you could try to leave some food in a carrier over night (hopefully the racoon population won't take that as a sign!) to attract the cat and make it feel more comfortable with the carrier. it may take a bit of time to make him comfortable enough. we do have a have-a-heart trap big enough for cats. i could ask if we could let you borrow it?

[missplatypus.livejournal.com]

My mom does fostering and has helped feral trappings. I'll send you her number on myspace she also has a deal with several vets for greatly reduced rates for strays

[lensman.livejournal.com]

If you need it to help catch him, B and I have a "have a heart" trap. Call, IM or e-mail if you need it.

[goat.livejournal.com]

If you feed him again, you may want to water down the wet food. It should make it easier for the kitty to eat.

[roaming.livejournal.com]

Animal Control will just put him (?) down. Especially if he needs serious medical attention. No clue if that is "better" for him or not.

We'll donate heavily to the fund, say half of what you need.

I've got a great vet in Medford: Dr. Looby. They don't charge extravagantly and don't do what doesn't need doing.

Cats can learn to eat without teeth when they lose them.

Yeh, watering down the soft food to soup consistency sounds helpful.

Yeh, we've got a hav-a-heart in case you can't get him into a carrier the usual way. Does he let you touch him?

My feral that lives in my yard for the past 10 years finally let me get without arm's length of her. Getting fed regularly makes them "bond" to ya. :-)

Luckily it's summer and so this kitty can survive outside with shelter and regular food. That will buy him time to find a home with help perhaps. I'll help too: someone will want him (?).

[thenetimp.livejournal.com]

I'd call animal rescue and see if they had any suggestions or if they'd try to pick him/her up.

[thenetimp.livejournal.com]

My friend Stacy plays foster momma to pets that Animal Rescue is trying to find homes for. She's going to contact the rescue circle and see if anyone has any ideas for you, or if anyone wants to come and try and get him. I'll let you know what the outcome is either way.

another thought

[roaming.livejournal.com]

(thoughyou probably know)

Wire the hav-a-trap so it can't close the first day or so, and only put the wet smelly fishy food in there. One-Eye can go in and out and nothing happens. . . then you catch him.

We also have a big wire cage you could keep him in for a day if you need to wait before your appointment. S/he won't like it much, but it means you don't have to be sure to trap him/her ON the very day you have the appointment, which isn't assured/highly unlikely.

Let us know if you need either trap or wire cage or both and we can bring it over tomorrow after work or whenever convenient for you.

There's an "after hour emergency" vet in Walthaqm, open 24 hours:

VESCONE (Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center of New England), www.vescone.com, 781-684-8387. Located at 180 Bear Hill Road, Waltham. Which means they probably charge more, BUT you can just go in any time you catch kitty and have the free time.

Don't worry, we'll help pay.

Re: another thought

[dancer.livejournal.com]

thanks for all of your info (and the trap offers) - we may take you up on it.

Brian and I have gone to Vescone a couple of times (they were the ones that did Mal's initial string allergy to the tune of $4k, ouch)! Its a minimum of around $200 just to walk in the door, so its substantially more expensive.

We're going to keep an eye out for him for a bit (it figures, I saw no sign of him last night) and I'll probably try and schedule a Saturday morning appointment for him at our regular vet, but try and grab him the Thurs or Friday before. You're right he won't be happy being stuck in a kennel type thing, but he'll be safe, have food and water and we'll know where he is.

I did call my vet and the Humane Society yesterday and they both suggested that whether he's got an "owner" or not, he needs attention and that we should intervene. I'll keep you posted! :)

Re: another thought

[roaming.livejournal.com]

ok. I'll go sell some more stocks and bonds. Maybe a kidney. ;->