There are outdoor, colony cats (all spayed and neutered) on my street that the street, as a whole, kind of takes care of (people put food out). There's a lady a few houses up the street from me that started this- I think some of them she "rescued" from bad pet stores, but she lets them roam free on the street. I've had a few conversations with her about the cats. There are at least four that are outdoor-outdoor. There's a few others that I think sometimes go in the lady's house. She says the four outdoor ones won't go in her house though and that's why they stay out, year round... ? I've been in this neighborhood about a year and I feed the cats and keep fresh water out for them. I worried about them in the winter, so I fed them even more when it was bitter cold. Other people feed them too, but there's 3 of them that
seem to prefer my food (of course) and my company, so they are at my door a lot. Two of them will come on my front screened porch and "hang-out." I've stepped up the attention I give them and the feeding since Monkee died because they were a way for me to continue to interact with cats and to look out after something.
One of them, my favorite, is this tiny (under 9 pounds) little girl who is "just one of the guys" and she's runs roughshod over them. When the dominant male is not around, she's sweet, adorable little cat. When the males are around, she's large and in charge. She will let me pet her and now I can hold her. I knew she had tapeworms because I saw the segments. I finally got a tapeworm pill for free from my Shamrock Foundation contact and I pilled the little girl this weekend-- it went fine, she fought me, but I came out of it without even one scratch. I'm such a good piller- it shocks even me! My Shamrock contact also gave me a free Advantage to put on her because I wanted to control her fleas. I give only the little girl Wellness wet food and I mix in Colostrum, L-Lysine, and pet calm (the male cats are large and
healthy looking, so I don't treat them to the Wellness if I can help it). I am just trying to what I can to help boost her immune system. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
I guess my question is this: should I be trying to treat the other outdoor cats with flea control too? I just wanted to hit the little girl for now because I knew she had tapeworms, but I haven't yet seen segments on the other ones (and I always check their butts), even though I know it's highly likely they all probably have them and other worms too. What do people think about Frontline Spray? Is it safe to use? Could I treat the other ones with Frontline Spray? I am just looking for advice here because I don't know what I am doing!
I would probably haul them all up to the vet if I could but I can't afford it right now. I still owe $400 on Monkee's vet bills. I am currently fostering an 11 month old female tortie, declawed, surrender from two different homes that the 2nd home surrendered her to Animal Control (instead of a no-kill shelter like Shamrock)-- idiots-- but thank god, my Shamrock contact was literally on the street doing a re-release and saw the whole thing going on and she got the cat out of the pound 24 hrs later. She's been with me over a week now and I am thinking about keeping her, so that would mean more vet bills. On top of all that, my mom (a reluctant participant) and I did a rescue of a severely malnourished spayed female on Saturday that's been out in my mom's neighborhood for about 3 weeks. She's staying in a crate in a room in my mom's
house. She looked horrible (weepy infected eyes)- which I am treating with terramycin but she needs vet care because she is so malnourished and has fleas, etc. She's getting Wellness wet food, also with Colostrum, L-Lysine, lots of pet calm/rescue remedy and tons of Nutrical. My mom reports she looks much better (finally) this a.m. and her eyes look much improved. So, I am hoping that we can get Shamrock to help fund us taking her to a vet, but if not, then it's on us.
Also, I live in Kentucky and it's been incredibly hot here and it's only getting worse. This is what made me finally treat the little girl for tapeworms and fleas- because I knew the heat was going to stress her out and I didn't want her further stressed by having worms. Apparently, it's going to be the hottest it's been in 5 years, so I am really worrying now about the colony/street cats in this heat. Any suggestions as to what I can do to help them get through this heat wave?
Thanks,
Caroline
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