How do I help an injured stray cat?

Question

I found cat in my yard eating my other cat's food, it is missing one ear with the hair above the skin removed and the would open. it was about 3" by 1". below the other ear there was a gash about 2" wide and 4 - 4 1/2" long. I have gotten almost 4 feet away before the cat get scared and runs. it is obyous that it needs and wants help. how can I give it it him?

Answer 1

Jenny,
Do you plan on adopting the cat once you have helped it out? If so here is what I suggest to do:
Achor yourself with patience and just go sit outside with treats I know it's going to sound like Bugs Bunny show but be very very quiet. Do not go to the cat let it come to you. Sit with the food bowl at about 2 feet from you. Place tuna (very smelling tuna) in the food bowl and make sure to rub some on your hands. Then with all the patience in the world sit and wait and let the cat come to you... all the way to you. I say to do this if you will be keeping because you will be establishing your first contact with a cat who needs to trust you. Don't waist his trust on you if you will not keep him. I think you should keep him because he seems to have chosen you. He's made the first contact now it's up to you to see if you have room for one more in your life. If he is a feral cat then the bond you will be creating with him at this time is very important. If you create a bond and then abandon him/her it will be harder for someone else to create a bond. Cats feel pain and feel abandonment and do have resentment. Keep it in mind since your next action might decide how easy it will be for this cat to find a home.

If you do not want to keep the cat (odds it is feral) then yes call shelters ask them to come and trap it or set a live animal trap (Wal-Mart even sells them) and put tuna in there and wait.

Answer 2

Injured Stray Cat

Answer 3

I think that you better call the zoo because a normal house cat doesnt have a head that big to have cuts that size. a cats head is only like 3 1/2 " wide. I am trying to picture how this cat could possibly have a 3x1 " cut plus a 2 x 4 1/2 " long gash below the ear since there is only like maybe an inch of space left on the the cats head below the ear. So this last gash must be on the body right? And since cats are about 16" long that would mean that the cat had a gash 1/4 length of its body and half as wide as its head , right? What ever you do dont try to catch the cat or you might end up looking like the cat with gashes all over your face and hands. Obviously the cat isnt dieing or bleeding to death so to be safe if you want to help it make sure there is some food out for it and fresh water so while it is healing it wont have to be out hunting. You could try and trap the cat but you could end up hurting it more once it is in the trap since it will thrash around trying to get out. It could very well belong to someone close by and he is just out on a mission and got his butt kicked by another cat. The gashes probably seem alot bigger than they are because of the blood that is probably matted in the cats hair. I would just keep your eye on him or her and keep alittle food and water out for it and you will see it should be fine really quick. It wont grow its ear back but I guess thats part of being a cat and getting into cat fights. Thier nails as you know can slash anything open almost. You could also call the humane society and they will come and pick the cat up .

Answer 4

I had a thing for strays ever since I was a little girls and now at 23 I'm still a sucker for a stray cat. If you want to try catching the cat yourself you will need to be patient and calm. The fact that you can get 4 feet away is a good sign. What I would do is at the normal feeding time of your cats or if you happen to see the cat near by take a bowl of food out. Sit on the step, shake the bowl of food, then set it near you. Then just sit there, don't move around to much and don't make any loud noises. If your lucky the cat will get brave and slowly creep near you to get to the food. If not try it a few more days and the cat will start to get use to you. If the cat does come up to eat let him eat then slowly reach down and lightly pet him. He might be startled at first so just back off and let him get comfortable eating again and try petting him again. It's all about gaining trust and if you can do that you can try and get him into a cage to take him to the vet.
Of course this is just if you want to try and catch the cat yourself. The other ideas people have are great also. Good luck!

Answer 5

I've had the same thing happen to me. The dog had the cat bailed up in the wood shed. I didn't know how friendly it was, so I just gave it a bit of chicken and some food and water. It seemed to like it, and although it was growling for a while, it was mostly just afraid of the dog. Once that was over, I was able to take it out from there and nurse it. Turns out he had this gash on the bottom of his paw that was infected. There wasn't much I could do, so I just brought it inside and kept feeding it until one day he just disappeared =/ He liked sleeping on mum's bed though. Figured I might as well show him a little kindness before he ended up dying.

I'd suggest continuing to feed it for a while before getting someone to come and trap it for you. Just remember, the vet bill will cost a lot, and it's likely the cat will end up dying soon if it's a stray unless you end up keeping it safe and training it.

Although I love cats, it's probably not worth the effort. I'd say try to keep feeding it. If possible, try and lure it in with a bit of food, and then let it see you placing the bowl of food and water down. Also, get it something filling like chicken necks, or uncooked chicken wings. They love it, and they gulp it down practically whole.

Answer 6

Try to keep getting close to cat keep putting food out and when you get as close as you can stay at that spot and talk to the cat. If you are really concerned about it's wound, you can put a live trap out, place food inside and wait for the cat to enter, If you use a live trap make sure that you take the cat in a small room preferably a bathroom before you release it or with very thick long protective gloves try to reach in the cage to calm the cat down. Be very careful they can do a lot of harm and damage to you....
If you are a very patient person sitting out and trying to get the cats confidence and trust would be good .If once you get the cat and can handle it clean the wound gently, if there is any infection gently clean it with warm water, you can add peroxide to the water which will help clean up the infection, also apply poly sporn to the area and keep it clean... Or if it is too much take the cat to the vet

Good luck, I have saved many stray cats.

Answer 7

First off, you should put food out for the little darling. Also, don't try to get to close to it; it may be feral. Does the cat have a collar of any kind on? You should put some food in a cage after putting the food nearer and nearer to the cage. Leave the cage there and the cat will think that it is safe to go inside (it is, but the kitty is too scared to know it. Call your vet or animal hospital. With the gashes you are talking about, the animal hospital may be your best bet. DO NOT try to pick it up, it could be sick with something like cat scratch fever which CAN be transmitted cat-to-human. Call a professional. Hospitals may have some experience with this type of story. I hope the kitty ends up OK!!!! Good luck with this case--I'm sure it will turn out well if you help!

Answer 8

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RE:
How do I help an injured stray cat?
I found cat in my yard eating my other cat's food, it is missing one ear with the hair above the skin removed and the would open. it was about 3" by 1". below the other ear there was a gash about 2" wide and 4 - 4 1/2" long. I have gotten almost 4 feet away before the cat...

Answer 9

Maybe you should call a cat shelter and they can come and catch the cat. It may bite or scratch you when you try and catch it. The cat shelter people will have special equipment for this. Although it may be traumatic for the cat at the time of capture in the end it will be better for it as it can then receive the attention it needs from a vet. The longer you leave it and cannot catch it the more chance the wound will have of getting infected etc.

Answer 10

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Most private vets will. Remember, most of them became vets because of their compassion towards animals, not for the big bucks. Shelter vets frequently will if they think the cat is savable. If there is a TNR (trap, neuter, release) organization, then it is highly likely the vet associated with them will save the animal. If you think you might need this information for future reference, take an hour or so and make some phone calls to vets and shelters. Or, ask people if they know if their vet would do this. Investigate TNR programs in your area, as I suspect the cat fights are from unaltered males and females. Good luck!

Answer 11

let it come to you. Sit with the food bowl at about 2 feet from you. Place tuna (very smelling tuna) in the food bowl and make sure to rub some on your hands. Then with all the patience in the world sit and wait and let the cat come to you... all the way to you. I say to do this if you will be keeping because you will be establishing your first contact with a cat who needs to trust you. Don't waist his trust on you if you will not keep him. I think you should keep him because he seems to have chosen you. He's made the first contact now it's up to you to see if you have room for one more in your life. If he is a feral cat then the bond you will be creating with him at this time is very important. If you create a bond and then abandon him/her it will be harder for someone else to create a bond. Cats feel pain and feel abandonment and do have resentment. Keep it in mind since your next action might decide how easy it will be for this cat to find a home.

If you do not want to keep the cat (odds it is feral) then yes call shelters ask them to come and trap it or set a live animal trap (Wal-Mart even sells them) and put tuna in there and wait.