I found it caught in a loose string wrapped around itās leg and released it. After a couple days Iāve noticed itās been chewing through itās leg, now, and itās in a lot of pain Iām sure. The mother wonāt care for it either.
These cats are wild and I canāt seem to catch all of them before they start reproducing, for the past 2 years I have been spaying and neutering these cats, but more keep showing up.
I live out in the country in the US, and I havenāt been able to get anyone to come take the cats, itās like Iām just stuck with them. A few of them are outdoor family cats, and we donāt want to lose those.
I donāt know what to do about any of it, I canāt afford another pet bill right now, especially a bill for a kitten needing so much care. Any recommendations are appreciated. I live in KY, United States
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 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 canāt 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 āsavingā this kitten.
You sound like a great person. Donāt do anything you are not comfortable with, but sometimes the best thing to do is let nature take itās course.
After communicating with a lot of people today, this is what I settled on. I let it go. Hopefully she survives, which Iām pretty confident she will, but sheās 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. Weāve 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.
Have you spoken to your local humane society? If they arenāt 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.
Where in KY are you? If youāre near Louisville, look up Alley Cat Advocates or The Shamrock Pet Foundation, they may be able to help.
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. Donāt 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, itās 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 doesnāt suffer. I know it sucks, but sometimes the best you can do is reduce suffering.
Hereās 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.
