HALP! My Mom's Feral Cat is Dying!

[Taverner]

Don't get me wrong, her adopted feral cat had a long long LONG run. For an outdoor cat, she has made it 22 years on this planet. That's pretty good with her being 100% outdoor all her life.

She's a skittish cat - even with my mom feeding her every day, she never gets too close to people.

So a week ago, my mom noticed a clump on her back. It started getting bigger, and Rainbow (the cat) kept falling over when trying to eat. Now there are tons of flies all over her back, and Rainbow can't stand up.

I suggested mom call Animal Control since she can't put the cat in a carry all (the cat would freak and scratch and bite) and say a feral cat is dying in her backyard.

Anyone else have any ideas?

[LeftyMom]

1. If the cat can't stand, picking her up should only take some heavy gloves and a towel.

Then drop her in a carrier, if one's available, or a pillowcase if that's all that can be found, and go straight to the vet without passing go. If she's still able to eat a little it might be possible to feed her some vet tranqs in the food dish (just keep other cats away) so she can be more easily handled. Alternately, there may be a mobile vet service available that can come out and euthanize the cat on the spot.

[Taverner]

3. Is calling Animal Control a bad thing?

[Bertha Venation]

4. In my opinion, no.

A cat of that age, with such an obvious problem - any vet would probably euthanize the poor thing, and that's what they'd do if you called animal control.

I'm very sorry. :(

PS I like what LeftyMom said, though.

[Taverner]

5. The cat's lived 22 years - That's one uber cat!

Yeah its sad to see Rainbow go - even though you couldn't pet her or touch her, she was fun to watch.

She was also the only survivor in our litter (long story) of a neighborhood Cat Serial Killer

[LeftyMom]

6. No, but I'd rather take the cat in myself personally.

Animal Control tends to be busy, to there's likely to be a long wait for them to come out. If that were one of my neighborhood's ferals I'd have her in a container and off to the e-vet so her suffering didn't drag on. Plus she's less likely to freak out being picked up by a person she knows and who has fed her for years than by some stranger with a trap or a catch pole or god knows what.

[applegrove]

7. Yup. Oven mitts work well for angry cats. And you can put a squirming cat in a cat carrier if you

grab their lower feet and put those into the bottom of the cat carrier with one hand (the rest of the body will follow).

[Madrone]

2. Agree with Leftymom - and if that doesn't work,

try to find a live animal trap. If it's mobile enough to get into the trap for food you can take the whole trap to the vet. Rescue organizations will sometimes lend them out.