Stray cat help

[geoffman]

Hello not sure if I’m looking for advice or what…

We’ve got a stray cat that’s been coming round and helping himself to our cats’ food, wandering in as we’ve had the doors open in the heat. He’s been coming for a few weeks.

At first I noticed he had a manky eye, maybe gone blind in it, and now the other eye looks manky. He’s mangey, malnourished and has sores on his skin.

Rang the vets, they said to take him in but I don’t think I’d be able to get him in a carrier although he does let me stroke his head so maybe with a bit more time he’s allow me to put him in. Tried the RSPCA, PDSA, CP, various local rescues, and none seem able to help. They just say take it to the vets. Can’t get through to Animal Trust, just in the phone queue forever. Been ringing around places all day and no further forward, so frustrating.

What do I do? If I manage to get him in the carrier and take him to the vets are the options that I either pay for treatment or they PTS? Would they take him to an adoption centre? I know there are lots of unknowns here because I’ve no idea what his underlying health conditions may be… I would adopt him if he wanted to stay.

Sorry that ended up a bit of a ramble.

Try asking the various rescues if they have a trap cage they could loan you.

They are probably so over crowded at the moment, especially with it being kitten season still, that they wouldn't have the time to come out themselves or the space to put any more cats that came in. Someone else doing the actual catching would take a lot of the pressure off them, especially if you want to keep the cat, so that may encourage them to loan you a trap.

Call around charities like the Blue Cross and Cats Protection to see if they will help with any vets bills. Vets will scan for free but are likely to need to charge for any treatment (though some will provide at least pain relief for free), but many of the larger charities will help with bills in some cases. Just make sure you have spoken to the charity and the vet before taking the cat in and explained the situation.

Do be prepared for a vet to say there isn't much if anything they can do for the cat if it's too far gone. Sounds like he's been stray for a long time now, so he may have contracted all sorts of conditions and his clearly run down condition won't help him fight off any illness or injuries. Of course you may decide that even if he does have long term/permanent issues, you will keep him to let him live out his best life until his quality of life deteriorates too much.

@AllergictoironingThank you for your reply, really helpful. Haven’t tried Blue Cross yet actually. I will try to get one of the traps. Hopefully he can be treated and come and live with us. It is heartbreaking to see him struggling with his eyes and itchiness, especially in this heat.

I took a sickly stray to the vet, and was taking a deep breath about the potential cost.

They didn’t seem to bat an eyelid, just took him in. No charge.

It was a happy ending in that the cat turned out to be chipped but unwanted by his owners, who hadn’t been looking for him for a year. . But there was still no bill for me to pay after a few days when the ownership had been clarified and he’d been treated. If I hadn’t offered to take the cat, the vet said they would have tried to get him in a shelter.

Made me realise they must get lots of strays through, and somehow made me feel better about all the vet bills I’ve paid in the past - that there’s some altruism in the industry, too.

I did know my stray quite well - he was a regular visitor- and he was easy to get in a carrier with the element of surprise- your situation sounds much more difficult.

The best place to try would be a local cat rescue centre. They would have a trap/paper collar and a scanner then they would take it to the vet if necessary. IME the worst places to get advice from is RSPCA and CP unfortunately. Easiest way to search for a local rescue would be Facebook. I have had 3 lovely boys from my nearest rescue in Beddordshire.

@largeprintagathachristiethank you for your reply. sounds like a good outcome!

@robinsnest1967thank you, yeah I have tried the local smaller places but they said they are all at capacity. I’ve got a couple more to try over the weekend so we’ll see if they can help.

Just been a frustrating day - I appreciate the advice on here.