For the love of ferals.

[Shedmistress]

In October 2023 a mama feral brought her 4 babies to my patio. I was already feeding her and a range of other ferals, strays, ex barn cats from the bad farmer down the road.

We have 3 of that litter still with us and have one left to neuter. The vet got annoyed with me after taking mama to be spayed as it took 6 months to catch her and I went without an appointment. Id already had the girl from her previous litter done, as well as most of the other boys.

So last week the remaining non spayed boy hurt his paw. I thought it was from fighting but now he cant even put it on the ground so yesterday after spending 2 hours moving stuff and prepping our laundry room for him, I got him in the carrier and took him downstairs.

Upon release he went bananas. And with a bad paw he was trying everything to escape so was just making it worse. I thought I was annoying him so left the room for 5 mins and it then went silent.

I went back in and couldn't find him. Then I saw his tail sticking out from...behind...the wall...I tickled his back and called his name and he backtracked and I thought fuck this im not having him disappear into the bloody foundations so I let him out, called his name up the stairs to the back of the house and opened the back door for him.

By the time I got back downstairs he had disappeared. I assumed he'd double backed and got out.

He'd peed everywhere so I spent 2 hours mopping all the floors with Milton, and all the sides of the walls and because I could still smell him I redid it with some light scented cleaner.

I could still smell him so I redid the whole lot again with milton. Still smelt him.

After about 5 hours my other cat came in and went downstairs and completely disappeared. We looked everywhere and nada.

5 mins later he appeared, came to find me and took me to...the first cat who had silently been hiding under the spare bed downstairs.

We'd been in and out, around and about, id mopped 3 times under that bed. The window had been open. And he'd just laid there.

By then id cancelled the vets appt to look at his paw so I had to them move everything out of that room, put litter trays, blankets, his outdoor bed, in it and move everything that was in my downstairs kitchen in to the laundry room. All my pottery stuff, glazes, clay, a full studio.

Bloody hell.

Hes peed on the bed since, so I have 2 quilts and 2 quilt covers and some sheets to wash, and a new mattress to buy. He pooed on rhe floor but it was next to some plants so ill strategically place the litter trays there. And ill cover everything in puppy pee pads and some old cat blankets and quilts from upstairs. And the mattress never fitted it anyway so we can use that in the new house when we move them all over for their 6 weeks internship.

But he is calm. And I'm hopefully taking him in later today. He is probably just happy not to be getting in to fights.

What a day and night its been.

Ive been awake since 3:30 as every noise i heard i was worried he'd started howling and trying to escape again.

Anyway, just about to commence another clean and a repositioning of the litter trays.

Cat tax of him under the bed should appear soon. His name is Winston.

He's been out, and walked around, and then pooed in his basket so I've had to wash basket, the whole ground floor, put more pads out, and changed to a plant tray with pad in the bottom and a blanket to mimic one of his baskets.

Poor boy, his paw is quite swollen. Appt at 2:30 my time. I hope it isn't broken as he does not like being indoors, he's an outdoorsy kinda guy.

He had 3 massive absesses on his leg from fighting so theyve been cut, drained, and hes had antibiotics and needs to be indoors for up to 3 weeks. Its going to be stressy and messy as he doesn't yet understand the whole litter tray thing so I've ordered a huge bag, and will try and surround him with them so he has to step on them and hopefully he will twig. He is not up for being picked up and put onto the tray and I'm just leaving him to destress again.

Once he is better him and the big feral tom he has been fighting are going to be neutered, I cannot have this again, poor lad.

So kind of you to care so much. ♥️

The poor chap but at least he has you looking out for him. Good luck with the next few weeks!

Bio washing powder is fantastic for getting rid of cat pee smell. Apparently the enzymes in the washing powder neutralise the smell or something like that. A vet recommended it to me when my old cat had constant UTIs and was pering on everything.

Thank you for being so good to these cats.
I just got a photo from my husband from Montenegro where many dogs are living on the street.I wish I could help animals more.
Anyway thanks

A friend recommended an enzyme spray so I've ordered some and a huge bag of wood based litter.

He is very very quiet, his brother has been to see him and I've got puppy pee pads everywhere.

He is also the quietest stray or feral Ive ever ever had in the car to or from the vets. Most start howling the moment the car sets off but he was silent until a few hundred yards from the vets place. And even then just a few meeps.

I'm just hoping that we've caught the infection in time, that it isn't broken as well and that he recovers. I do love him so much.

Since he got ill, his mama has been hanging round pretty much 24/7. She usually pops in for food in the morning but she literally hasn't left the garden. I wonder if she can tell he isn't well?

Poor little baby!

But at least he's got you now (whether he likes it or not!) to care for him.

Suggestion regarding litter training, would you be able to put some garden soil into a tray so it's more like what he's used to, then if he uses that slowly replace the soil bit by bit with litter?

Yes I'm going to get some from the polytunnel tomorrow but the issue at the moment is he isn't really up for being picked up and put into the tray to even know it is there. He has been grooming himself this evening and has even popped out from under the bed for some water. So I'll bring a few long seed trays and some soil and see if I can persuade him towards them.

I've taken my cat cam from the back terrace where I usually check up on them sleeping at night and put it on the floor in the room so I can keep an eye on him.

God the stress! I'm much happier when I can pop onto the camera and check he is ok.

Checked some of the photos this evening from the cam and the paw has touched the floor! Which he hasn't done for days. Which hopefully means it isn't broken as well. And he has finally flaked out for the night.

I'm so relieved, I've been up since 3:30 this morning worried about him so fingers crossed I can now flake out for the night too.

Thank you for caring, he looks gorgeous!

Please get the vet to test him for FIV- it’s transmitted through fighting and unneutered boy cats are prime suspects.

I’ve got 2 of them and they’ve both turned into massive softies but their health is fairly fragile.

We've looked after, fed, treated, spayed etc 17 ferals, strays or abandoned cats who wandered into our garden since the summer of 2022. We still have 6 and the mama cat who is fully feral.

We are moving this year and planning the move on where these guys will live, a floor to themselves, or a secure nicely kitted out barn, a safe space where they can get settled for 6-8 weeks, how close to a road they are etc. 2 at least will be indoors with us, I'd like them all indoors if possible and am using this spring to encourage them into our kitchen and front room to get used to being indoors.

The colony across the village all do have FIV but all ours will be having anything missing from the list done once we've moved, chips, vaccinations etc. That includes the FIV test. It is all a bit difficult catching and stressing them out if they aren't actually needing spaying or are actually sick enough to need the vet so we only do it if we have to.

As part of selling this place, the new owner will have to agree to carry on feeding the mama. We do have a plan B though, to make sure she is still watched over but it is part and parcel of where we live, the good mairies here work with the community to get cats spayed and the bad ones, like ours until a week ago, don't.

Anyway he has eaten some biscuits so me and his brother have been to see him. Still not talking, and two paw prints in the nearest litter tray so progress at least. No messes but he hasn't eaten much since yesterday anyway.

He is usually a real chatterbox. He chit chats to me when he wants feeding and yap yap yaps all the way to the back door. I don't take as many photos of him because he is always out and about so I'll make sure I get a few more of him whilst he is in his new lair.

Sounds like you really know what to do (much more than most of us here) and progress sounds really good.

My poor Tobias had 2 years on the streets before he was rescued, and as he must have only been a kitten when he lost his home he was similar to feral in many of his ways. Knowing the effort and heartbreak of loving a cat who had at least had a home as a kitten initially, I am humbled by what you do. Took him almost 3 years to realise that scritches & strokes are not only pleasant but are given purely for his enjoyment.

You sound absolutely incredible @Shedmistress!

I currently have my hands full with 2 FIV boys who both have complications but in future I would love love love to do more to help cats like that!

I really do not know what I'm doing, I bumble along just trying to stop more baby cats on my side of the village, to get them to a vet when they need one and get them chipped and vaccinated if occasion arises. Vet wouldn't do anything else like chips or vaccinations yesterday and won't think about neutering him til all the infection is gone.

I've only ever had calm rescues when I was younger and hadn't had a cat since 1993 so was starting completely from a blank slate here.

I can see the vet's point of view to be fair. For a feral cat who's just been caught, a visit to the vet would be stressful enough without adding in non-critical treatment. Neutering would need sedation and if the infection was very bad then that could impact on how well he took sedation. Plus I hate to say this, but it would be an awful waste of vets time & your money to put him through all that when the prognosis is still unsure.

On the plus side, as you've been feeding them etc he should have a much stronger constitution than most ferals giving him a good chance of recovery from the infection, and unless the interbreeding has been extreme moggies tend to be tougher than breeds. He needs to stay in as you said for a while, so vaccinations & neutering can wait anyway until he's ready to go out.

You may want to try to get in touch with @TheCatNeuterer on these boards - she works with Celia Hammonds in the London area and has a wealth of knowledge regarding strays and ferals

Ive been back down, he is walking on that leg but obviously cats hide pain but I'm so glad it is on the floor again. I originally thought it was broken so the fact he is walking on it is a relief.

He's had a pouch and some more biscuits and is meeping again.

Yes I totally agree with the vet. Its just I don't want people saying 'should have done this or that' because it isn't always possible. It is one foot in front of the other and often 3 steps back as they don't want to do what needs to be done.

Take his brother. He was the first to be caught and neutered. They left him for lunch after neutering and because he was the first I'd put him in a larger metal cat cage as given to me by my neighbour. Well, during lunch he had woken up and tried to escape. His head had got through and bent one of the bars and he was trapped. So they had to bend it back and of course he was going apeshit in there. So he has been scared of people ever since. Then when he was about 1 he saw a bird in the tree behind our house, raced up said tree and in the split second between me seeing him race up and getting the door open, he'd been caught by a buzzard or hawk or something and all I saw was a flash of white and brown flying out of the tree. I thought he was a goner. He must have used that 'get away from humans' energy to wriggle out plus he is really fluffy so hard to grip and about 4 hours later he was back in the garden. I could not believe it.

It took until last summer when he was 2 to even let me touch his head and now he wants head back and butt scratches all the time. But still will not let me pick him up.

This is him. Used up 2 of his 9 lives that I know about. An absolute angel. Eddy.

Update on the lad.

He is taking his antibiotics, and his antiinflamatories but is is hard to put the treatment on his 3 cuts that the vet made as he just won't stop moving about when I am down there.

He is sleeping mostly but is getting up and sitting on other blankets in between my visits. I have the camera on him so can monitor from upstairs.

He has pooed in the litter tray, I filled each of the 3 up with loose dry soil from the polytunnel yesterday and put his paws into them gently to show him what it was, and this morning after breakfast he walked over to one so I left him to it.

His leg is really quite warm still so I'll take a surface temp reading and start monitoring that over the next few days and hope it goes in the right direction.