The Serpent, the King, the Tiger... UPDATE on King

King's ten days restricted to the carrier are up!  What now?  I don't know!  We will have to take it one day at a time.

King yesterday, after ten days restricted to a carrier

 

If you are just tuning in, we picked up a feral cat recently at our local park who had been hit by a car. His hip was broken and so we have had to keep him as sendentary as possible for ten days so the hip could begin to heal. 

He has made great strides.  It has been a trying ten days for him.  His appetite has been good, and I am so thankful for that.

It's also been a challenging ten days for us.  As he has gotten better, and more alert, it's been like having a tiger wake up. 

Another challenge has been keeping his carrier clean, because he can't use a litter box yet.  Our solution has been to put a puppy pad under him in the carrier.

Everyday we have changed his carrier twice a day, sometimes more.  We have more than one large dog carrier, so while he is in still in one,  we are able to clean and prepare the other.  Taking the tops off both,  we place them side by side.  Then, using heavy garden gloves, we gently place a towel over King, and pick him up from the soiled carrier with the towel covering him, and  place him on the fresh puppy pad in the clean, prepared carrier.  It worked well, until we ran out of intestinal food and he got diarrhea. 

Feeding him the intestinal diet was a happy accident.  The second day here he wouldn't eat. I was very concerned and trying everything we had in the house to peak his interest.  On a fluke I tried some intestinal food we had bought for Charity a while back.  King loved it.  But, once we ran out, he was willing to eat the gourmet I offered him, so I began giving him that, and what a mistake that was.  Can I just say, I highly recommend if you ever have a feral cat you have to keep restrained for some time in a small space, give him an intestinal diet.  Lesson learned. We have a box of the sachets now.

He's been a trooper about it all though.  We have only been bitten and scratched a couple of times. : | We have been hissed at a lot.

Not much to do in there

Giving him his eye medicine has been more challenging.  We haven't been able to give it to him regularly.  Both his eyes have been oozing, so I am concerned about that.

Yesterday I was trying to change him to a clean carrier by myself, and he stood as best he can at the moment, and escaped before I could finish the switch, crawling up under the couch .  He eventually went back in by himself, which was a blessing, but it was a good sign to me he was healing and about ready to be free of it.  Let's see if that is what he wants.  We will play it by ear.  The last few hours I have left the carrier door open and he has remained in there of his own accord.  I have closed it only to keep the other cats from bothering him. 

"I'll stay in for now, thanks."

He is a little less fluffy for wear; he could defintiely use a shower.

"Not quite up to grooming myself just yet."

But one day at a time. :)

The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep.
---Chanakya