stray cat with sticky eye

echosound

Any suggestions on anything I can give/do to help a stray cat with a very sore looking/sticky eye? Bearing in mind he's really nervous and won't let us within about 6 ft of him?

I can't catch him to bring him to a vet, TBH. He's too wary to let himself be trapped. However I am feeding him daily, and if there was something I could give him in his food to help with the sore eye - what, I don't know, hence posting here - that would be great. As mentioned, he's extremely wary of humans, so there's no chance I could get a hold of him to clean the eye out or apply anything to it.
I'm assuming the eye is just as a result of a cold or at worst, a tussle with another cat, rather than anything serious like feline aids, as he looks healthy enough otherwise.

Sooo - any ideas? Hate to see the poor little blighter with such a sore looking eye.

I'll be speaking to a vet later on in the week to see if they have any suggestions, but thought I'd ask here as well. thanks

babychuckles

Dear Echosound
I have had the same with feral/timid cats.
The only thing is as you say: go to the vet and explain the situation re the eye and a vet should be able to prescribe something that can be ground up in the food you feed it is if something liquid is not available.
If the vet is insisting on you bringing the cat in then just go to another vet, its not like you are hiding the cat from them its just a kind deed you are doing so that a feral/timid cat can be helped.
Trapping cats takes time and patience and if he/she is feral it will have to be then sedated in order to have the vet examin its eye and unless you were planning on getting it neutered at the same time then just ask for help with clearing up the eye without the cat being present. I think if its not in the best of health at present then neutering would wait till it was in better form. but thats and aside issue.
i presume the eye is not hanging out...sorry for being graphic ...so its quite possible a result of a fight or an infection.
ps hope the vet does not charge you too much..i would be paronoid and check on the phone before going all the way in. esp as we are all feeling the pinch these days it pays to ask before you get inside the door. but thats my personal opinion.
good on you for caring.
BC

echosound

Thanks babychuckles, no the eye is not actually damaged/hanging out, thankfully. If it was, I'd have no reservations about going all out to trap him no matter the stress that might cause him in the short term (or the mauling I'd probably receive while doing so ).

It's just weeping/sticky, the poor fella is squinty with it so I want to see if I can clear it up before it gets any worse, with as little trauma to himself as possible as he's so nervous of humans as it is.

I've taken in cats/kittens before who had sticky eyes and other complaints, and it was easy to clear up as I could handle them to clean the eye and put in eyedrops etc, just this poor little nervous fella won't let any human close to him at all so any treatment needs to be via something in his food.

I will pop into the veterinary centre as soon as I can get there and ask, our vet is usually very good like that and wouldn't charge a fee for a visit when he's not having to attend to the animal in a session, it'll just be whatever the cost of the medicine is.

echosound

well a tiny update - boo!

The vet said they can do nothing unless they see the cat. I contacted a few different vets, and all said much the same thing (and one very helpful and nice person also pointed out that anti-biotics in his food won't do much good to clear the eye, it would have to be drops administered to the eye). She also said that if the cat gets worse, they will try to arrange to get us a proper "trap", as my only plan to date would have been to try to entice him into a cat-carrier using food, and somehow sneak over and close the door, not really viable as he's extremely wary and jumpy.

So the plan of action for the moment is to work really hard on gaining his trust, I've propped a shed door ajar and put a nice warm bed in there in the hopes he'll eventually work up the courage to use it (I'm currently leaving a trail of food from his usual feeding place to inside the shed to the bed ).
I had assumed he was "living" in a farm shed that is a field away from us, but I've been out poking around and found his "home" is just a hole in the ditch in the field, where there's an old plank of wood he's lying on

Hopefully with lots of patience he'll get more used to us, and start to use the shed and at least be warm and dry, and perhaps then I can manage to trap him and get him to a vet (although I still don't know how I'd get the drops into his eye after that, as I don't think he'll willingly come back after being trapped and allow himself be handled, not without giving himself a heart-attack and me the mauling of a lifetime!). Will cross that bridge once I can gain his trust some more I guess.

babychuckles

Dear Echosound
Sometimes and this is my opinion again, i think this country is such a nanny state: you cannot get the cat to the vet without loosing an arm and they wont trust that you are not using the meds on yourself. if I had to bring every feral cat i feed to the vets id never get most of them dosed.
Meantime its a good idea to entice the poor thing into the shed and it will take time as cats never know when we are trying to give them comfort and will fight us all the way!!!

Keep up the feeding and enticing into the shed if kitty cooperates and if the vets does get you a trap will you be able to get it seen to but how to dose it after you release it will be interesting question for the vet!!
BC

The Sweeper

The sticky eye is possibly something like conjunctivitis, but weeping, gloopy eyes can also be indicators of herpes infection, chlamydia, (none of these are transimissable to humans from cats, and they're not STDs either, they're just viruses), and sometimes herpes and chlamydia can be a sign of feline AIDS (again you can't catch it from the cats and it is simply a chronic condition of depressed immune system).

If you can trap the cat and bring it to the vet, the vet can sedate it in the cage and then do an examination. The cat will probably need to be tested for AIDS and FeLV (feline leukaemia virus), then if it's herpes or chlamydia a possible course of action with be an antibiotic shot plus an anti-inflammatory shot. The antibiotic is usually good for 7-10 days and the anti-inflammatory can do a lot to suppress the symptoms. If the infection is conjunctival, it gets a bit harder - the cat will need a cream or drops administered to its eyes, which may be extremely difficult with a frightened feral cat.

Still, if you can gain its trust do so - it will certainly benefit from good feeding to get its condition up. It won't be harmful to the cat to supplement the food you're giving it with two things - vitamin C, and L-lysine amino acid.

You can buy human-grade vitamin C and L-lysine tablets. Make sure if you buy them they're as pure as possible - no added ginseng or other vitamins, just plain old vitamin C (the ascorbic acid kind) and plain old L-lysine.

(Vitamin C is usually synthesized in the livers of healthy cats, and therefore doesn't need to be supplemented in the diet of a normal, healthy pet cat who gets a balanced AAFCO approved diet.)

L-lysine usually comes in 500mg tablets, and pure ascorbic acid vitamin C can be bought in 500mg tablets too usually. It's perfectly all right, and can be very beneficial for the cat, to have 250mg L-lysine (half of one 500mg tablet) and 125mg-250mg of vitamin C (a quarter to a half of one 500mg ascorbic acid human tablet) ground up in their food once a day.

There are issues with long-term dosage of both of these supplements, but stray and feral cats quickly deplete their vitamin C stores through stressful living and supplementing vitamin C can help boost the cat's immune system and general health. This is especially useful if the cat has something like a herpes or chlamydia infection.

L-lysine stops the replication of the herpes virus (it's sold to humans as a supplement for helping relieve coldsores - if you start taking L-lysine the day the coldsore tingle begins, you can significantly reduce the severity and duration of the flare-up.)

Basically, until you can catch the cat and bring it to the vet for sedation and examination, supplementing vitamin C and L-lysine in commercial wet food are the two things I believe you can do to help it build up its strength somewhat.

Don't overdose - while there are no proven side-effects of overdosing L-lysine, too much ascorbic acid will give the cat the trots and the last thing it needs when it's feeling low is a dose of the runs to boot!

Both of these supplements are widely accepted and used in the treatment and maintenance of feral cat colonies. They're not cure-alls, but in a situation like yours where the wildness of the cat is an obstacle to proper treatment, they can be beneficial as part of a longer-term plan to get the animal veterinary treatment.

The Sweeper

Just to add - if you are trapping the cat to bring it to the vet, don't try to take the cat out of the trap.

You trap, and take the cat in the trap to the vet. The vet sedates the cat in the trap, then examines it while it's sedated, and returns the cat to the trap for recovery.

You may discover the cat isn't that feral and it may prove to be nervous but handle-able, but in dealing with a properly feral cat you really need to follow the 'it stays in the trap unless it's unconscious' rule. After you've trapped a feral cat successfully once, it can be virtually impossible to trap them again because now they're wise to the trapping. A once-trapped feral needs to be really and truly starving to even contemplate entering a cage a second time.

If you catch a feral that needs longer-term care, it can be an idea to house it in your bathroom with absolutely nothing for it to hide in or behind other than a large carry crate. Remove all mats and comforts - box with towel in wins over cold tiles or cold bath in terms of places to rest. The cat will tend towards hiding in that crate which can be useful if you're quick enough to get in through the door and close the cage door on the cat that's in the box already - but properly feral cats are dangerous, and aggressive ones can be just as likely to lauch themselves at your face when you enter the bathroom as they are to hide in the box.

echosound

Wow, thanks for the very detailed help! Really appreciate it. I'll see about getting those supplements and adding it to his food.

I was worried that it might have feline aids alright (my mother's cat eventually died of that after being attacked by a feral cat who had it:( ).

However, I am hoping both that a) he doesn't have feline aids and b) he's not properly feral, rather a pet cat who's been maltreated/abandoned, as other than the eye, and a nose that looks like it's seen a few fights (bit scarred) he actually looks in pretty good shape for a cat who lives where he does - very good weight and size, glossy coat, fit and agile. He also meows at us to get our attention, and I haven't come across a feral cat yet who's meowed in that distinctive way that regular tame pet cats do with humans. I remember reading that that particular "cry" is reserved for interaction with humans only, they use their other cries for interaction among themselves and other animals, so I'm hoping that he's stray and was used to humans earlier on in life, rather than properly feral.

He's been fed by me for a while now, and it's only recently I've gotten close enough to him to have been able to spot his sore eye, up til this week he's kept too much of a distance for me to see his face, and I had previously thought him in very good shape.

I'm a bit worried that if he does have something serious, that my own pet cat might be in some danger, but given that my own cat is an old slob who only goes outdoors for 5 minute stretches very occasionally to sit on the car, and the two cats don't go within 20 yards of each other, the possibility for transmission of anything is minimal. I hope.

I hope that eventually I'll win his trust a bit more, and manage to get him to a vet. I guess we'll be adding him to the family if we can get him healthy, and if he works up the courage to accept us and perhaps even enter the house itself.

Our own cat came to us this way too about 8 years ago - abandoned and living in a ditch, a head full of snot due to flu. It didn't take much to tempt him in though - fed him once and he virtually clawed the door down to come in . We cured him up, and he became the most loyal and loving cat I have ever had, who promptly took over the bed, sofa, my lap, the dog's back, everything

Will report back if/when I manage to get this cat to a vet, and huge thanks once again to both of you for your very helpful posts, really appreciate it.

BengaLover

Sticky eyes can be a sign of chlamidyia!
Be careful if you have other pets.

Adventure Pout

echosound, where are you based?
eyes infection can be different thing..is he a kitten or adult cat? If he is a male cat, he could have got infected during a fight with another cat..
The best thing you can do is to try to trap the cat, then take to the vet.
The vet should know how to deal with feral cat. they will sedate him and do all the jobs i.e. neutered, treat the eyes, worming, fleas treatment etc...while kitty is sedated..
If you need help with trapping, you can contact one of the group or person here, depending on your location:
http://feralcatsireland.org/Feral_Cats/TNR_volunteers.html

Dont let the poor kitty in the bad shape..some people think because they are feral/stray that they will be ok..that is not true..
If you are in dublin area, PM me..i can put you in touch with someone who might be able to help you...

echosound

Hi Adventure Pout, thanks for the link! I've had a good read of it.
I'm based in south Kilkenny, right between south Co Tipp and Co Waterford, so a bit far away from you but thank you so much for the offer of a contact who could help. I'm going to look into finding some local group/animal welfare organisation that might be interested in helping.

It's an adult cat, I *think* it's a male (again, can't get close enough for a good look!), and he has definitely been in fights as his nose is scarred. I'm working hard on building trust, and it seems to be paying off already, I managed to tempt him into a shed for some food today (but he won't go in until I back off and go back into the house to watch him from the window, he waits til I close the door and he can see me in the window before he'll slink into the shed and keeps an eye on me while he eats).

I'm going to give it a few days more, and begin to put the supplements the Sweeper mentioned into his food, and see if I can begin to sneak closer and closer to him, because as I said before I don't think he's truly feral, just a poor cat who's been abandoned (we live rurally) and who's been fending for himself as best he can. If I don't have any success by myself very soon, I'll get a trap from the vet or a welfare org if there's one near who will help, and get him seen to and treated.

We've got a bit of form with tending to feral cats, my mother managed to tame one kitten born to a feral mother almost completely (the mother unfortunately disappeared once she saw the kittens were being fed and sheltered), he's now a "proper" pet who will sleep indoors, and the sister is half-tamed, she will come inside - if a door is left open for escape - but still prefers to continue to live outdoors in a bed in a shed. We'll get this stray fella at my house healthy and contented yet

thanks for all the advice and help.