Thanks for reaching out in your desperation to help your mom's kitty. Sorry you lost your mom, btw.
In my opinion, this cat has to get to the vet, even if only for euthanasia. It would be great to do exam/bloodwork first though, if finances allow -- just in case it's easily treatable. Euthanasia would be better than slow starvation. If she is shy of the standard box trap, then a drop trap is awesome. See http://www.livetrap.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=30250 for full kit with trap and transfer cage. They can be made, too, if you are handy. I'm totally not, so I bought the drop trap and it is great for trap-shy cats. Failing that, what about asking the vet about some kind of sedative like acepromazine? This could be fed via pill pocket or perhaps crushed in her food. (I've never crushed it, not sure if it's bitter... PP have always worked for me.) This med would make her calmer, more sleepy, and possibly slow enough where you could very slowly herd her into a trap. Having a friend with a large sheet of cardboard could really help. A large door dog wire crate is great for housing feral cats during treatment. Ask a friend with a big dog, if you can borrow their crate. You can put the trap right inside the crate and work completely hands-off, especially if the trap has a guillotine door. If not, it's just a little more difficult but not impossible. I recommend the setup as seen at http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/HOW_TO_FOSTERING_A_FERAL_CAT_SAFELY , with the exception that the trap/carrier door should face AWAY from the crate door opening, with maybe 6" at most between the trap door and the back wall of the wire crate. That way, if you have to work with the cat without it being secured in the closed trap/carrier, the cat has to come out, turn around and then head for the door -- that buys you extra time to react. Bungee cords are great for holding the trap/carrier door open - you can hook the door and pull it up from external to the crate. A second bungee can hold the trap in palce. An extended wire coat hanger can help grab the trap door handle too. . For a litter box, I recommend getting a $3 kitchen dish wash tub. The high sides will keep litter from going everywhere, and it's easy to clean. I like the 18 liter size tub ( http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-18-Qt-Dishpan-White/17011369 ) but I typically use 42"-48" double door wire dog crates. Just so much easier to fit everything in, and to work in. If she is diabetic, getting her on low carb wet food (no more dry kibble ever) will in all likelihood put her into remission within a week or two. Especially if she can get insulin shots for a week or two, but even if not, the symptoms should drop dramatically with low carb wet food. I can advise more on this separately, having worked with diabetics since 2007. If the cat is hyperthyroid, surgery could be a great option. It is usually a cure. The vet at Helping Hands in Richmond is extremely experienced and will do the surgery for around $500 including bloodwork and everything else. I just had it done for one of my old girls and she is gaining weight beautifully. It was 1/3 the cost of radiation treatment. You could make an insulated bed for pretty cheap. A roll of reflectix can be bought at your local hardware store. It is a thin flexible silvery insulation that reflects back 95% of body heat. Add some straw for nesting material, and then the Snuggle safe would make it awesomely warm. Where are you located? (town name or something nonspecific like, 45 min north-west of whatever city) KG On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 2:48 PM, MaiMaiPG <[email protected]> wrote: > I really appreciate the information about getting her to the vets and > would if it was an option. I have live traps etc. Once this crew is > trapped, they are rarely trapped again. She can't be handled nor can the > others. It is my hope to trap them one final time and relocate them to my > farm. They live at my Mom's and she died. Her house will be sold. I have > examined all the trap/vet possibilities. Honest. Consider that there will > be no way of treating her for diabetes or even thyroid issues over any > period of time unless she is imprisoned at the vets for the rest of her > life. > > I will check the Neutro Ved for her food. Sometimes I can get supplements > into her food and other times I can't. These guys are very wild. Think of > this in terms of treating a possum or coon that lives near you. And yes, > she is very loved but she is very wild too. > > On Mar 20, 2013, at 12:00 PM, Lee Evans wrote: > > Could be overactive thyroid. Especially if she's eating normally or more > than normally and is getting thinner by the minute. That could also account > for the fact that she is cold. Is her fur dull looking and dry? If she can > be trapped, she would need a thyroid profile (T-3 and T-4) and a glucose > test for diabetes. She may have the equivalent of human pernicious anemia > or chronic anemia so a test for her hemoglobin level should also be done. > These are things that various cats I have had living with me over the years > developed as they aged.Hope it helps. You could also add NeutroVed to her > food. It's a liquid iron and vitamin compound for cats. > > > Spay and Neuter your cats and dogs and your weird relatives and nasty > neighbors too! > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* MaiMaiPG <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Wednesday, March 20, 2013 11:44 AM > *Subject:* [Felvtalk] Off Topic. Very Thin 8 year old cat > > > I realize this is not a FELV+ question but this group has such wide > experience and helped so much with Dixie, I just have to try. > > I have a very thin 8 year old cat who is almost impossible to vet. She > has lived in Mom's garage since she was a day old. Recently she has gotten > thin and appears cold. I have heat lamps, a cat heating pad, Snuggle Safes > and rice bags for her on top of rubber maid totes. I can't be sure what > she is eating but there is always food available and I've added Pet Tinic > to the mix. She has two cats who hang out with her. They have all been > neutered/spayed. Tommy has had weight/cold issues for at least 8 weeks. > She acts ok most of the time but there have been days that she looked like > she was ready to leave this world. I am trying chcken livers and anything > else I canthink of for iron. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > >
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