Hello, I am new here and have a challenging situatuion and would grealy appreciate help. I have been taking care of a feral cat for over fourteen years now. Little by little he has moved into my spare room with a cat door to the outside and has tamed so much from where we started. Recently he is showing symptoms of diabetes. Tons of drinking and peeing, starving, dandruff, had some big accidents until I added a litter box for the first time. This is a cat that cannot be handled without a MAJOR trauma happening. I can touch him and he will get in my lap but blood tests and trips to the vet are going to be cruel in my opinion at this stadge of his life. He has been eating Fancy Feast fish flavors and Purina dry ( very picky eater- will not touch fresh foods ). Today I got Authority dry kitten and Friskies Special Diet cans to start changing. Is there anything else I can do without scaring him? What are the opinions on herbals mixed in the water? Thank you so much for helping!!!
How to treat a feral cat
- Thread starter LBs Mom
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Donna & Doogle
Member Since 2011
I would stop the dry food all together. Feral cats still catch animals and that is best for him. Giving him wet food is ok but the dry is probably not doing him any good. I too feed two feral cats but I only feed them friskies pates. Also I would stop the fish because it is so bad for cats. Keep to the Friskies pates (or even Nine Lives pates). Good Luck!
Hillary & Maui (GA)
Member Since 2009
I understand the challenge of taking care of a feral. It's great that you have made the type of progress where he comes in and you can actually touch him, that huge!
The first thing you need to do is NOT feed any dry food and be sure that the canned food you do feed is low carb. With Fancy Feast that would be any of the Classic flavors - which are also pates.
Here is more information about feline nutrition: www.catinfo.org
Changing the food will help, it may not fix the problem and insulin is typically the solution along with the diet change. However, it is important to test the blood to make sure it is safe to give insulin. OF course a prescription is needed to give insulin and I don't know any vet that would prescribe it without examining the cat. However, we do have savvy folks here who may have ideas on how you can get insulin. Also, check the forum Supply Closet as sometimes people are giving away or selling insulin they no longer need and it's a work around the vet issue. Depending on where you live, you may need a prescription for the insulin syringes however. Again, Supply Closet may be a good resource there too.
You said that you can hold him, are you able to play with his ears? Massage them? If you start doing this and get him used to you, you can progress to getting a blood test. Because if you do need to give insulin, then you also need to test to make sure it's safe to give the insulin.
Others will be along with additional ideas. If you let us know where you are, there may be someone local who can help as well.
The first thing you need to do is NOT feed any dry food and be sure that the canned food you do feed is low carb. With Fancy Feast that would be any of the Classic flavors - which are also pates.
Here is more information about feline nutrition: www.catinfo.org
Changing the food will help, it may not fix the problem and insulin is typically the solution along with the diet change. However, it is important to test the blood to make sure it is safe to give insulin. OF course a prescription is needed to give insulin and I don't know any vet that would prescribe it without examining the cat. However, we do have savvy folks here who may have ideas on how you can get insulin. Also, check the forum Supply Closet as sometimes people are giving away or selling insulin they no longer need and it's a work around the vet issue. Depending on where you live, you may need a prescription for the insulin syringes however. Again, Supply Closet may be a good resource there too.
You said that you can hold him, are you able to play with his ears? Massage them? If you start doing this and get him used to you, you can progress to getting a blood test. Because if you do need to give insulin, then you also need to test to make sure it's safe to give the insulin.
Others will be along with additional ideas. If you let us know where you are, there may be someone local who can help as well.
jt and trouble (GA)
Member Since 2009
The fact that he comes IN your house is amazing...I fed the block "Tom" for many years but only canned low carbed food. If he didnt like it he would go elsewhere. BUT he always came back. I think removing the dry food SHOULD, if anything, help yours feel better,then you can go from there.
I found that the worse Ol Tux Kitty felt, the easier he was to deal with and in the end he even let me pet him. He was feeling so poorly that I was finally able to crate him and get him to the Vet. He was DX'd with stomotitis (sp?) I dont think I would have been able to treat diabetes though, :/ as he was "his own cat". Good luck with your little feral. They are wonderous creatures.
jeanne
I found that the worse Ol Tux Kitty felt, the easier he was to deal with and in the end he even let me pet him. He was feeling so poorly that I was finally able to crate him and get him to the Vet. He was DX'd with stomotitis (sp?) I dont think I would have been able to treat diabetes though, :/ as he was "his own cat". Good luck with your little feral. They are wonderous creatures.
jeanne
Thank you all for the suggestions and support. This is an amazing old kitty. We live in a very rural area where cats often get dumped and rarely survive the coyotes so the fact that LB is still around is amazing. He is safe now that he had his own room and doesn't seem to go far anymore, he is very attached to his heated bed! Unfortunately, I am sure that blood tests and insulin will be out. I may get one chance to poke him but it will be the last and he won't let me near him again for a long time. Just gettting flea meds on him is tough. I will change his diet and try anything else you guys can think of and hope for the best. Thanks again!
Helene & Cleo
Member Since 2012
Really sorry for the off topic post, and the last thing I want to do is hijack this thread... but the above statement has really concerned me.Donna & Doogle said:
Fish is "so bad for cats"?? As in fresh fish, or fish flavoured cat food...? My Cleo massively prefers the fish flavours of wet foods, and about three quarters of her diet are fish flavoured. Various different fish flavours of Bozita, such as salmon, herring and crayfish, interspersed with a minority of non-fish flavours. And her post-BG test treat is tuna.
Can someone please explain what the problem is with fish?
Thanks!
H
Hillary & Maui (GA)
Member Since 2009
The issue is the high level of mercury in fish and therefore, the fish flavor cat food, which is why most recommend feeding fish no more than once or twice a week.
tuckers mom
Member Since 2009
Feral cats are not easy, and as others mentioned it's great that you can get close. My own girl, Friendly as she was ironically named, lived with Ron and I for 18 years but we could never touch her, we could only look at her and her beautiful eyes. Catching her for vet visits meant putting on long sleeves and gloves. Late in life she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and needed vetting every few months and it was terrible for her.
Since you can hold him, you may be able to give insulin, although home testing might not be an option. When I give shots to my kitties, even the new ones I adopt who don't know me well, I wait until they are eating and are concentrating on something else. I play with their fur, rub my hand on their side and very quickly pull up the skin and shoot. Since the needles are so tiny they almost always don't notice.
In time I would try to work with testing. Touch his ear a little, give him a freeze dried chicken treat for letting you do that. Only give the special treat when you touch his ear. Then in time, move on to using the lancet device without a lancet in it, just touch it to his ear, let him hear the click then give him treats. Try to work your way up to testing.
If you do change his food to canned only or raw and the folks here will be great at helping you find good food, he may not need insulin, but you won't know unless you can test him. For the time being you could try pee sticks that measure the glucose in urine if he will use a litter box. That would tell you if diet change alone was working. If he needed insulin the pee sticks aren't ideal because they don't tell you what his blood sugar is immediately, but instead what it is after hours of traveling through his body and kidneys.
If worst came to worst and he absolutely needed insulin and you could not give it, there are pills although they are not good for cats. They can cause liver damage. I haven't used them myself and they are not popular, but it is an option. It would be my last resort though. That is if you could get the pill into him. Hiding the pill in pill pockets or cream cheese might work. But again, I really have to emphasize that the pill would not be ideal, I'm only putting it out there so you know it's there. From Wiki about the pills:
Pills
Oral medications like Glipizide that stimulate the pancreas, promoting insulin release (or in some cases, reduce glucose production), are less and less used in cats,[14] and these drugs may be completely ineffective if the pancreas is not working. Worse, these drugs have been shown in some studies[15] to damage the pancreas further, reducing the chances of remission for cats. They have also been shown to cause liver damage. Many owners are reluctant to switch from pills to insulin injections, but the fear is unjustified; the difference in cost and convenience is minor (most cats are easier to inject than to pill), and injections are more effective in almost all cases.
Since you can hold him, you may be able to give insulin, although home testing might not be an option. When I give shots to my kitties, even the new ones I adopt who don't know me well, I wait until they are eating and are concentrating on something else. I play with their fur, rub my hand on their side and very quickly pull up the skin and shoot. Since the needles are so tiny they almost always don't notice.
In time I would try to work with testing. Touch his ear a little, give him a freeze dried chicken treat for letting you do that. Only give the special treat when you touch his ear. Then in time, move on to using the lancet device without a lancet in it, just touch it to his ear, let him hear the click then give him treats. Try to work your way up to testing.
If you do change his food to canned only or raw and the folks here will be great at helping you find good food, he may not need insulin, but you won't know unless you can test him. For the time being you could try pee sticks that measure the glucose in urine if he will use a litter box. That would tell you if diet change alone was working. If he needed insulin the pee sticks aren't ideal because they don't tell you what his blood sugar is immediately, but instead what it is after hours of traveling through his body and kidneys.
If worst came to worst and he absolutely needed insulin and you could not give it, there are pills although they are not good for cats. They can cause liver damage. I haven't used them myself and they are not popular, but it is an option. It would be my last resort though. That is if you could get the pill into him. Hiding the pill in pill pockets or cream cheese might work. But again, I really have to emphasize that the pill would not be ideal, I'm only putting it out there so you know it's there. From Wiki about the pills:
Pills
Oral medications like Glipizide that stimulate the pancreas, promoting insulin release (or in some cases, reduce glucose production), are less and less used in cats,[14] and these drugs may be completely ineffective if the pancreas is not working. Worse, these drugs have been shown in some studies[15] to damage the pancreas further, reducing the chances of remission for cats. They have also been shown to cause liver damage. Many owners are reluctant to switch from pills to insulin injections, but the fear is unjustified; the difference in cost and convenience is minor (most cats are easier to inject than to pill), and injections are more effective in almost all cases.
Deborah & Muffy(GA) & Wendall
Member Since 2010
He's going to need at least one trip to the vet for bloodwork to get a proper diagnosis because at age 14 there could be other things going on like kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, etc. If you want to do some preliminary investigation, pick up some glucose testing strips at any pharmacy and give him a litterbox with aquarium gravel or other non-absorbent material. Dipping the strip in urine will tell if he's spilling sugar.
If you can put a large cat carrier in his room with a blanket sprinkled with catnip or his heated bed inside, he might be encouraged to sleep in it which will make getting him to the vet easier. Getting cats comfortable with the carrier is half the battle.
If LB does have diabetes, you might be able to train him to blood testing at home and eliminate frequent trips to the vet. Unregulated diabetics are always hungry and food is great motivator. My 4 diabetics have learned to jump on the washer at testing time and I really don't even have to touch them. I place a small amount of watery food in front of them and test while they're occupied with that. They don't even notice I'm poking their ears or giving shots anymore. Mine were adopted as older adults so there's something about treating a diabetic that creates trust, a stronger bond.
Thank you for taking such great care of this guy. About a third of our cats are house ferals so I know how special they are.
Best,
Deborah
If you can put a large cat carrier in his room with a blanket sprinkled with catnip or his heated bed inside, he might be encouraged to sleep in it which will make getting him to the vet easier. Getting cats comfortable with the carrier is half the battle.
If LB does have diabetes, you might be able to train him to blood testing at home and eliminate frequent trips to the vet. Unregulated diabetics are always hungry and food is great motivator. My 4 diabetics have learned to jump on the washer at testing time and I really don't even have to touch them. I place a small amount of watery food in front of them and test while they're occupied with that. They don't even notice I'm poking their ears or giving shots anymore. Mine were adopted as older adults so there's something about treating a diabetic that creates trust, a stronger bond.
Thank you for taking such great care of this guy. About a third of our cats are house ferals so I know how special they are.
Best,
Deborah
jt and trouble (GA)
Member Since 2009
Deborah is right!! I used catnip to lure Tux Kitty into the carrier. It worked like a charm. I just wished I had thought of it when I was trying to catch him in his younger days for TnR.
Thanks Deborah
j.
Thanks Deborah
j.
Ry & Scooter
Member Since 2011
Aside from the mercury content, I have heard cats can get fish addicted - kind of like how they get addicted to dry food I suppose.
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