Tired old feral cat comes in from the cold for TLC and medication

The photographs graphically tell us how hard life can be for a stray cat living outside all the time picking up illnesses and injuries. It just wears them down and shortens life considerable. You can see this in his eyes. He has had enough.

Ted is beat up. He has been out in the cold for a long time we are told. The lady who runs the Ivy’s Story on Facebook page says he has been a stray for a long time and is in bad shape. He looks in bad shape. He looks down and fed up. It is a sign that he is in pain. He has tested negative for the usual diseases but blood work indicated that he has issues with his kidneys and liver. It is hoped that good nutrition will resolve the liver and kidney issues.

He is anaemic and has a condition that I have not heard of before: mush foot. This is plasma cell pododermatitis. It is believed to be an autoimmune disease but experts are not sure. It might be an allergic reaction. It is painful as his paw is inflamed. His paw is badly infected. He was reluctant to take his medication which includes antibiotics. It was stressful getting the pills down him. However, his carer put liquid antibiotic into strained chicken baby food and he ate it all. I love to read that. It is a good feeling when you now he has the medicine inside him doing some good. It helps his carer to believe that he will feel better. It is quite painful emotionally to see an animal in distress.

“The strained chicken or strained beef baby food is also good for ill cats or kittens who either don’t feel like eating or are too young to eat kitten food. Just make sure it’s pure chicken or beef and there is no onion or garlic added.”

He also needs dental treatment which is unsurprising. Even well cared for cats need dental treatment. Finally he is yet to be neutered. The dental and neuter work can wait as more urgent work needed first.

The medication has cost $435 so far. That’s a lot of meeds. His fine carer – I don’t know her name – says that she wants Ted to know comfort. That I can understand.

After two days he has a long way to go but looking a bit better…

I just wanted to present this little cat rescue story because it highlights (a) the tough life that street cats can live (not all stray cats have equally tough times however) and (b) how beautiful the lady is who is caring for him.

Update 2 days later: He has improved and looks more lively. That’s a bit of food on his chin. His nictitating membranes are visible over the corner of his eyes indicating ill health. But they seem to have retracted slightly. Great.