Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Just trying to decide.
I manage apartments and there is a Ferril cat community. An early spring kitten has just a hind leg stub, just Femur. At 1st we thought it was born that way. Since then, it did have an abscess and the feeding person thought a rough end of bone. My fear is a racoon, or something got a hold of it. If it was not born that way, then it would need attention.
This cat will likely not survive the winter. At first, I considered adopting it but now not sure about the leg and cost to stabilize the condition. I honestly thought about shooting it so it would not suffer. I don't have the heart, but it will likely die come winter if not a plan to deal with this.
I don't know what to do. The feeding person tried to grab it and was bitten twice to draw blood.
Hi Allen, welcome. Thank you for keeping an eye out on this community. It does sound like the cat needs medical attention.
Is there a cat rescue community near you who might be able to assist? If you don't know of any let us know your general location (you can Private Message it to me with the little envelope icon to the upper right of my post, if you'd like), and we can help find the nearest group that can helpl.
Hi, thanks for caring enough to find us and post. The feeding person should know a local group who can help. We all agree the trikitty needs help ASAP and before winter. The kitten is scared and defended itself when the human grabbed for it. It reacted in fear. Try feeding and sit back, not approach the kitty. It might take days or weeks of feeding, and being still, it very well might let you come near without a forceful grab. The feeding person or an organization can also trap it and get it to a vet if it is NOT approachable.
He/she can live a good life with care, love, and patience.
Update when you know more, please
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I am not okay with this situation.
The Ferril will let us be around when eating (not sure yet if boy or girl), but is not wanting us to do anything but talk. I don't want to trap it and freak it out but I am out of time with winter coming. We have a shelter that will take all but the moms. I told person feeding I will take it and pay the shelters expense if he/she can be saved at a reasonable cost.
Thank you for listening.
Hi Allen, thank you for updating, you are such a good human for being concerned, thank you.
It does sound like the kitty is making some progress in the trust department. That's huge! Smart to not want to trap yourself. Did the person feeding the cat make any indication that they will try to trap the cat? Or can the shelter or a local cat rescue help? I can try to help you find one if you want to let us know your location (you can private message too).
Thats great you have made significant progress!! I would not be okay watching and doing nothing, either. I'm not sure im following what your wish is? To get them all to the shelter. Is that correct? Do we know if this is a no-kill shelter? Please ask. Feral cats can survive with food and winter shelters. Many people make those. If thats interests you, FERAL CAT WINTER SHELTER We did this for a stray cat to help him stay warm in the winter until we could find him a home.
The concern is for the trikitty who is injured to survive winter. You could use a simple pet carrier to lure him/her in with the food and shut the door rather than a live trap. 100% no, and you would have to be extremely quick. The live trap will scare them, NO DOUBT, but what are the alternatives? What does the person feeding say? Are you new in this area? Or are the cats new?
Holly, Purrkins, and Saxton in the Sky💫
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Learn more about community cats and Trap-Neuter-Return
Try reaching out here, and hopefully, they can direct you further.
Those are both links above in orange. Just hit them, and they will take you to the site.
Hello,
The feeder has practiced trapping them. The all freak out, even the one that will let herself be picked up. We have winter shelter for them. Neither I nor the cats are new. There may be eleven. there had been 22 but some were trapped next door earlier this summer. We are in contact with a no kill shelter in Hudsonville. They are happy to take all but the three moms. They will fix the moms and we would bring them back. I am going to leave it up to the shelter about the stub legged one. I can not afford to go to vet if the leg needs any work (if it is an injury they will operate as if its an amputation expense) and do not want to make the decision to put it down. If the shelter thinks cost will be too much and put it down at least I won't have to decide. If it is just a birth defect and is otherwise okay then I will pay them to spay/neuter an I will adopt it.
Hudsonville Michigan? Thats a little over an hour from us.
You are fortunate you have plenty of resources there. I'm glad this is a no-kill shelter, and the mom kitties will be TNR and have winter coverage and food.
They will all freak out being trapped; it is safe, quick, and sometimes needed. I'm glad they have experience!!! We had to trap a neighbor's cat to get it back home for the owner. I hated it, and the cat was spazzing out; we put a blanket over the cage, and the owner came to get him. He did calm down with the blanket over him. It is safe to do and helps save lives when no choice exists.
Thanks again for caring for these kitties, and I hope to hear you are a proud new tripawd owner.
Keep us posted, regardless, please.
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Holly you know exactly what questions to ask and resources to share, THANK YOU! I had NO IDEA that stray cats could survive outside in a Michigan winter with the right shelters. Thank you for the enlightenment.
Allen, something your shelter needs to know about is our Tripawds Rescue Grant. We will match $500 toward the cost of amputation surgery for any cat in the care of a rescue or shelter. If that's what you really think might be needed it's worth a mention. Maybe this will help to convince them to assist in the TNR?
I have spent the past few weeks bonding with this gray girl. Still no name. I told my sister that this could be the stupidest thing I will do. Kidding, just I don't do things without thinking them through. I also realized I am trying to get this kitten to trust me when when the next couple weeks could be the most traumatic of her life and then I hope she trusts me again? I am trying to not interfere with my job and the fact that vets don't do walk ins but I can't set an appointment. I also struggle with the fact that financially I would be better off dropping her at the shelter in Hudsonville, let them deal with it, then adopt her. Thank you for all you do.
Hey Allen, I believe there's a reason why you are so connected with this kitty.
What do you mean you can't set an appointment?
Sadly it's not guaranteed that a shelter will treat an injury like this. Many animals are moved onto the euthanasia list if their injury repair is too pricey. Not trying to guilt you into keeping her, but just want to let you know that shelters are so overburdened right now (things got really bad the last year or so with pandemic pets being returned). She would be better off going into a rescue if at all possible.
Hi Allen
Im glad to hear you are making progress, and I agree with Jerry there is a good reason you are drawn to this gray girl.
When you say you will break her trust, is that because of the possible amputation? That is everyone's fear here when we had to take our furmily for an amputation, and that fear has never come true in all the time I have been here. What it does it makes our bond stronger, getting through the amp and recovering. Plus, we still don't KNOW she will need an amputation until she sees a vet.
Keep doing what you are doing; If you have a hard-shelled pet carrier, put it out where you bond with her and feed her in the carrier. She will be used to coming and going in that carrier for her food. When the day comes, you can close the door on the carrier.
Hugs
Hello everyone,
I just meant that appointments just add to my stress. I can catch and keep her ready for an appointment. I have a hard-shelled carrier that is like 3 times too big and I have a soft carrier that is smaller. I plan to set appointment and grab her tomorrow. I have a storage room at home that I need pick up a little to be sure is cat proof.
After my work meeting today I am going to talk to the Kalamazoo Humane Society just to see what ideas.
Thank you.
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