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I have been feeding an outdoor cat for 4-5 years and a few days ago it showed up with a small amount of fur missing on top of its head near its ear and missing skin about the size of nickel. Over the next few days the wound has gotten much bigger and now covers most of the back of her head. At first I thought another cat or animal pulled out the fur in a fight but I doubt the cat has had multiple incidents like that over the past few days. Now I think maybe she scratched herself because of a insect bite or a skin condition and is making it worse. I don’t know if she can reach the area but cats are very flexible.
The cat has never allowed me to touch her so I can’t take her to a vet as she does not let me pick her up. She doesn’t show signs of pain and her appetite is very good but the wound is gruesome. Anyone ever hear of something like this or what to do about it?
As hippo says, trap. Our local TRN outfit will loan out traps for a $50 deposit.
We had a slew of strays show up in our back yard, led by the momma cat who had three kittens. Short version is we rented traps, took them to TNR, released them. We fed them even though most avoided out touch for about a year. Finally they relented, they all love getting patted now and a couple will hop lap if given a chance.
So a vet trip and some hoomin handling may, MAY, soften up your stray. As I understand it, a true feral won't let you near him or see him if possible. This guy is at least used to you, whether he softens up or not is up to lots of factors.
If you have a TNR outfit within range, they're used to handling less than friendly lap cats.
I'd try to get him to a vet. But I'm a sucker. I hate to see an injured innocent.
I don’t think a trap would work. This cat is very wary of her surroundings and wouldn’t walk into a trap bated with food.
I think there is a chance that the cat may belong to someone else or at least has someone else taking care of it. It doesn’t hang out in my yard after eating nor do I see it in other yards so I don’t know where it spends 90% of its time. Someone did have the cat spayed because it has its left ear clipped indicated it is spayed and it never goes into heat. If that person is still looking out for it maybe they can take the cat to a vet assuming the cat lets them handle her.
But I can’t figure out what happened to it other than the cat scratched itself.
I don’t think a trap would work. This cat is very wary of her surroundings and wouldn’t walk into a trap bated with food.
I think there is a chance that the cat may belong to someone else or at least has someone else taking care of it. It doesn’t hang out in my yard after eating nor do I see it in other yards so I don’t know where it spends 90% of its time. Someone did have the cat spayed because it has its left ear clipped indicated it is spayed and it never goes into heat. If that person is still looking out for it maybe they can take the cat to a vet assuming the cat lets them handle her.
But I can’t figure out what happened to it other than the cat scratched itself.
It sounds feral. It may be that someone else feeds it. However, because you don't know, the best course of action is to get it medical attention as soon as possible.
Have-a-Heart traps are specifically designed for cats. Most are lured by a high-value food item (chicken, sardines). As soon as they enter, it automatically closes and you can transport the cat to a local vet for treatment.
Traps are available on Amazon or at a local hardware store:
If you cannot or do not want to try to trap her, then call your local Animal Control to see if they will help. She really should be evaluated by a vet.
If OP is unsure of ownership, you could post some signs with picture on a few phone poles around the hood.
Humane Society may have some ideas. I will tend to vote FOR medical treatment if it looks like it's getting worse. You don't want to wait until kitty is crawling with maggots to grab and help.
The cats we trapped were pretty wary. And hungry. I'd run out immediately and cover the trap with a blanket I'd sprayed with Feliway. I don't know if Feliway helped but a blanket will help calm kitty down anyway. Less to see less to get freaked out about.
Good luck, nobody here wants to see a cat suffer. If she has an owner then owner isn't taking proper care, by appearances anyway.
It sounds feral. It may be that someone else feeds it. However, because you don't know, the best course of action is to get it medical attention as soon as possible.
Have-a-Heart traps are specifically designed for cats. Most are lured by a high-value food item (chicken, sardines). As soon as they enter, it automatically closes and you can transport the cat to a local vet for treatment.
Traps are available on Amazon or at a local hardware store:
If you cannot or do not want to try to trap her, then call your local Animal Control to see if they will help. She really should be evaluated by a vet.
Thanks for the suggestions.
I have a very similar if not the exact same trap that my parents bought years ago. There is no way this cat would ever enter it for food. It is not so desperate for food that it would walk into a contraption like that.
Whether it is a feral cat I guess is a matter of definition. The cat doesn’t let me touch it but it runs to me when it sees me from a distance although it backs away from actual touching. I can put a food bowl under its nose.
There is no animal control that I am aware of that would help in this situation unless there is some volunteer organization and I doubt they would have a better chance of trapping it than I do.
I will continue to monitor the cat when she comes around and see if she will let me help her. Hopefully the wound stabilizes and starts healing.
If OP is unsure of ownership, you could post some signs with picture on a few phone poles around the hood.
Humane Society may have some ideas. I will tend to vote FOR medical treatment if it looks like it's getting worse. You don't want to wait until kitty is crawling with maggots to grab and help.
The cats we trapped were pretty wary. And hungry. I'd run out immediately and cover the trap with a blanket I'd sprayed with Feliway. I don't know if Feliway helped but a blanket will help calm kitty down anyway. Less to see less to get freaked out about.
Good luck, nobody here wants to see a cat suffer. If she has an owner then owner isn't taking proper care, by appearances anyway.
I think this cat may be owned or fed by someone on the next street. When she leaves I usually see her cross the street and head through a neighbor’s backyard toward the next block. I know that neighbor doesn’t feed her so she must be going somewhere else. It could be that someone is also feeding her but doesn’t “own” her. The cat sometimes doesn’t show up at my home for 24 hours so I doubt it is going a day without any food. It usually waits by my door in the early morning and at sunset but sometimes skips a morning or night. Even when I feed her twice a day, she doesn’t eat as much food as one of my indoor cats do in a day.
I will continue to monitor the cat and hopefully the wound will stabilize. I wish I knew what caused it.
The cat came to my door just now and the wound looks slightly better. Last night it looked really bad so any improvement is good. I saw her make a scratching motion without really connecting so it appears the wound was self inflicted. I added some canned cat food to her diet for better nutrition in addition to the dry cat chow. I will of course watch her very carefully. I am very fond of her.
The cat came to my door just now and the wound looks slightly better. Last night it looked really bad so any improvement is good. I saw her make a scratching motion without really connecting so it appears the wound was self inflicted. I added some canned cat food to her diet for better nutrition in addition to the dry cat chow. I will of course watch her very carefully. I am very fond of her.
I’ve had a cat like her who was “squirrelly”; I could not get near her except to put down food. Until one day when she was injured. She not only let me get near her and pick her up (which made me instantly aware that something was wrong) but, also, giver her antibiotics until she felt better.
Cats are not stupid. There are some true ferals who would rather die than have a human put hands on them; she doesn’t sound like that. So, if the wound looks like it is improving and she is running away, it probably isn’t fatal.
That said, she might have mange, which will cause them to scratch and, then, bleed. Mange can look pretty gnarly.
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