What are you supposed to do?? Sick feral cat..

[newflvr]

In driving up to the cabin this week, I stopped to let the dogs have a little walk and a drink of water.  We were at a Taco Bell just off the freeway that was closed because of a water problem so there was no one else around.  Backing up to this cluster of fast food restaurants are just fields:  farms and ranches.  As I'm getting out of the car a little wee kitten comes crawling out of the bushes.  It was obviously feral so I had no chance of catching it...but it was just as obviously sick.  I felt so sad for it!!  I had Cowboy and Chester's food with me so I left him a huge handful of it (cooked chicken and rice) and as I was walking the dogs, he/she ate every bit.  There was plenty of water available....b ut what should one do in that situation??  I quit trying to catch it because I couldn't figure out how I was going to drive, hold the kitten and keep the dogs from getting too wild.  What would you do??? It has been just haunting me...

[Binky]

Don't feel too bad- you did what you could.  I have been in this position several times and I still think about the animals I've seen but there is only so much you can do.  I once spent an hour trying to catch an injured dog, but it was snarling and I had my three in the car.  After I thought about it, what would I have done had I caught her?  Put a strange animal in the car with the rest of the dogs?  You did the right thing by giving the poor thing food.  Hopefully that will give him a better chance for survival.
However, if you go up there often, you could always consider getting a live trap and catching the cat.  My mom's friend does this with the feral cats near her summer house.  She's caught 8 so far and has them spayed/neutered and then releases them again as they will never be able to be tamed.

[macybean]

To trap feral cats/kittens, you get a live animal trap, put newspaper along the floor so it's comfortable for them to walk in, and bait it with some tuna/soft food-the stinkier the better. Cover the trap with a light sheet, except for the enterance, of course. Then walk off (get in your car with the window cracked, maybe drive around the corner of the building, but stay within earshot. As soon as you hear the trap's door spring, you have to get out there and cover the front, too, so the cat can't see anything (freaks them out a lot less).

Chances are, it's not neutered, so you can get that done, too. They can take a look at him from there. Feral cats are *very* difficult to control with your hands (grabbing the fur on the back of their necks), but kittens aren't as hard (easier to hold up a tiny kitten by it's neck fur than an adult. The vet can examine him and get him the necessary treatment. I once had to pill a semi-feral cat twice a day for a couple of months. She was quarantined (for a bite), got a URI at the shelter where she was quarantined, and nearly died. What a mess. Pilling her took two people, thick gloves, and a thing that shoots the pills down her throat. She stayed in a large dog crate during this time.

If you choose to go this route, good luck. I'm guessing there isn't animal control in the area if it's rural, so that's probably not an option (he'd be put down in all likelihood, too).