So last night after intense study session we headed to a fast food joint near my school. There I saw a feral young cat/kitten with an injured leg (paw is turned under and it drags it). I tried to get near it but it is scared. I is “living” in a strip of woods by the restaurant and hovers under the cars in the parking lot. I can’t take it home - I stay with my parents who already have 6 animals. Plus I cant spend money on it. The rescue orgs in my area (Atlanta Ga) seem to be overwhelmed or to require me to take in and screen the animal. Is the best solution to call animal control? That way at least it won’t suffer needlessly. I’d appreciate your thoughts on this.
-Sara
Sara,
Have you tried calling any of the veterinarians in your area. I know that when I worked as a vet tech, the vet I worked for would occasionally take an injured stray, treat and rehab it and let us find it a home.
You might give it a shot and see what happens.
have you thought of placing a bullseye on it and letting a near sighted Texan practice with it? 
Sorry, but I was thinking of Jeff when I wrote this…LMAO!!
Ferral cats have been living in my tightly packed suburban backyard for at least seven years; The old mama panther has been hissing at me since I moved into the house in 1996. I made the “mistake” of feeling sorry for the young, friendly one last winter and putting out some food . Now they have acquired me. I have opened my woodshed to them and leave food out. Actually, they jump on my window sill and meow to me for dinner.
There are several considerations here. First, ferral cats can survive fairly well without intervention. Too well in fact as they will decimate the small bird population in an area (feathers abound now by me). Most shelters/animal control won’t “bother” with ferral cats as they are so numerous and most stay out of sight. One of my hiking friends is a very active animal rights activists who has extreme difficulty in getting rescued cats placed in homes. So a shelter that takes it may likely have to put it to sleep. If you start feeding it, you may attract other cats, not too mention raccoons, opposums and skunks, all of which paraded through my yard and into my live trap. Even with relocation several miles away, some of the more annoying cats found their way back to my yard.
Trying to help may cause more harm than good. Simply leaving it to its own devices is painful but may be the best of limited and worse options.
BTW, Costco has huge bags of inexpensive dry cat food. But if you start that…you’ve been warned
Thanks all for your thoughts (and Rich’s inspiring “Mark Trail”-esque report). Now I even have a name for the kitten - “Bullseye” :-).
After negotiations, I MAY be able to keep the cat: IF I can catch it; IF my sister agrees to temporarily house it in their storage shed; IF it doesn’t have FIV or rabies etc; IF it can survive with the lag; and IF (big IF) I find a vet who won’t charge much.
Wish me luck! Oh and luck on my finals too.
-Sara
UPDATE:
“Hinky-Punk” (Harry Potter reference) is doing well and happily ensconed on my bed most of the time. I found a wonderful vet who appreciates that I am in med school and gave me a great deal. Hinky’s leg is definitely paralyzed but there is plenty of blood flow to the limb so there won’t be a need to amputate just yet. Now I just have to keep myself from buying out the cat supply aisle at Wal-Mart…hehehe
Joe is obviously not a cat owner!! 