Relaxed section for discussion and debate that doesn't fit anywhere else. Whether it's advice, how your week is going, a link that's at the back of your mind, or something like that, it can likely go here.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
See if the emergency vet accepts CareCredit. You can apply for it and use it same day. They should have a thing at the front desk that will tell you how to apply.
If you apply and are denied, see if they will work with you on it and explain that you were denied.
I'll look into this also. Thank you
Have you spoken to your local humane society? If they aren't able to help, they might have advice.
In the meantime, if the cat is chewing its legs, you need to get a cone on it ASAP. If it causes enough injury to merit an amputation, they will probably recommend euthanasia instead.
They probably need wound care and antibiotics if they have open wounds, but that will be a challenge if they are wild.
Unfortunately if the mother is not caring for it, that usually means the mother has decided the cost of caring for it is too great at this point.
It looks like an amputation is necessary... 😟 it's leg isn't in good shape at this point
Where in KY are you? If you're near Louisville, look up Alley Cat Advocates or The Shamrock Pet Foundation, they may be able to help.
I'm in southern Kentucky, but will look at those, thank you
I just want to make sure that at least one person tells you this. You have no obligation to care for these animals. Wild animals get injured and die all the time. You can't save them all.
It already sounds like these animals are putting a major stress on your life in both time and money. People can get really weird about wild house pet animals, and will assume you care about them as much as they do. Which I am sure you do.
The TNR advise is solid if you want to get involved, but please for the love of God do not go into debt 'saving' this kitten.
You sound like a great person. Don't do anything you are not comfortable with, but sometimes the best thing to do is let nature take it's course.
After communicating with a lot of people today, this is what I settled on. I let it go. Hopefully she survives, which I'm pretty confident she will, but she's going to have a rough time with pain and infection for a while.
All but two females out of the cats we have are spayed and neutered. We've got around 15. Those two females have been hell to catch.
An old cat lady used to live a half mile down the road, and apparently she passed recently. Left us a gift that just keeps giving lol.
It's heartbreaking but that was the right choice I think. There's an island in Greece where cats are an invasive species, they are everywhere. If I ever want I wouldn't be able to leave without taking every needy cat I saw :(
Usually, the best way to control a feral colony is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
https://www.alleycat.org/our-work/trap-neuter-return/
If you were to simply remove the cats, it just makes space for others to move in. Leaving a few in place but unable to reproduce helps to keep the population low.
Look in your area for local TNR groups or humane societies willing to help you. Don’t expect them to do all of the work, but sometimes they will be able to loan you humane traps or point you to low-cost spay/neuter services. They always get more requests than they have capacity to handle, so the more work you can take on yourself, the more likely they are to help you. Also, just to set expectations, it’s probably not something that can be solved in a weekend or even a month. Trapping often takes a lot of patience.
Unfortunately for the injured kitten, often the must humane thing to do is euthanasia. You can contact local vets and ask if they would look at the kitten for low cost or provide low cost euthanasia so that at least it doesn’t suffer. I know it sucks, but sometimes the best you can do is reduce suffering.
Here’s a contact page that offers to help you find someone local to you.
https://www.alleycat.org/our-work/feral-friends-network/feral-friends-network-connect/
Here are more tips on TNR https://kyanimalwelfare.com/community-cats
And a list of wildlife rescues near Bowling Green, KY. These groups will usually handle animals other than cats and dogs, but tell them you found an injured feral kitten and they might be able to help.
Thanks so much for your research, I really really appreciate your help
There's not much you can do for it. Its difficult to make a pet out of a wild kitten unless you get to it when it's a few days old. So you will be spending all your money and a few weeks of your time caring for a wild animal that hates you.
That used to be common opinion, but do you have anything to back that claim? Newer vets and rescuers have found even adults CAN be tamed, depending on their temperment.
Still, a professional or someone with a foster background would be great for the OP to reach out to. Cats aren't like pigs, they don't change all that much physically from being feral.
Experience from having a barn cat population when I was younger. Sometimes the kittens would be hidden in the straw until they walked out, and those ones would never warm up to people.
Yeah, we're talking taking into a home and actually doing rehab, not back when kittens would be drowned in sacks.