My BFF has two bengal cats. One is super chill and hangs out with people like a dog. The other is a tiny wild cheetah. She is like the zebra of house cats, always feral. My friend has had the wild cat for maybe 5 years or more. His wife died 6 months ago and she could super tentatively charm this cat. Still, it took big strategy to trim nails. We can barely touch her. Now, the cat has an eye infection. It’s not too bad now, but we need to catch her.
Any ideas? I am not a cat person!
TIA
Has your friend talked to their vet about options to deal with this?
Mild sedation while eye needs treatment might help. Adding something like Gabapentin to some wet food might work?
Not treating an eye issue can lead to some serious long term issues, so might it be worth simply hospitalizing the cat for the time the cat needs medications?
Eye issues can be very painful, which might be adding to the issues with handling the cat.
If you need to catch her to get her to the vet, I’d use a live trap - just feed her in it, and let the trap do it’s work. You might need to give it a few days while making sure the trap doesn’t spring on her, to get her comfortable with it.
Then, if the eye needs drops or salve, I’d leave her at the vet and let them take care of it. They will charge you extra, likely, but I’d rather pay them to do it than have the hassle of doing it myself.
If it’s something oral antibiotics might help, you can mix that in their food (I’ve done this with several semi-feral cats, and it works fine).
Live trap, gabapentin or a heavier sedative by vet, board until eye is healed or contain in a crate at home. Eyes can go from eh to emergency pretty quickly so I’d assess whether the owner has the skills to safely medicate a semi feral cat 2-3 times a day for 7-10 days. Sometimes boarding with a vet is totally worth it.
Thanks for the replies. I’ve had similar thinking. But I’m also not a cat person. And my animals are fairly obedient, even when they’re not.
This! OP you can also see if there is something long lasting that can be given once a week or so instead of every day . If you must take the cat home and medicate daily considering confining the cat to a small space. I find with my semi feral cat that she gets supper stressed if I try to grab her while she is in large open space . I have to herd her into the bathroom and close the door before I can try and get her .
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