Help us get medical care for Sten the feral cat

Hello, my name is Mary, and my husband and I are fundraising to help pay the medical bills for this wounded feral. We've been feeding this boy on our front porch for years, so we named him Sten. He doesn't permit human touch at all, so he cannot be domesticated; we just feed him and his buddy feral Leliana whenever they come by our porch. When my husband fills the dry food, they hide and watch him, but they refuse to come close enough to touch him due to the fear of humans. We successfully performed TNR on most of the cats in the neighborhood, though Sten has been an exception. We captured Sten because our front door camera caught him limping for about ten days, so we wanted to get him to vet care. We brought him to the vet where we bring our pet cats, and they had to sedate him even to give him an examination - we knew this in advance; I'm just pointing it out because it makes the visit very expensive! We also ensured the vet x-rayed him because we assumed broken bone(s), which was also expensive. The vet didn't have an immediate cause and so sent him back with us after giving him an antibiotic shot and an anti-inflammatory. He suggested sending us with some pills to give Sten as well, I assume for pain management, but there's no way we could give this boy anything; he's terrified as it is! I can't imagine the heart attack we might bring on if we tried forcing pills! For a feral, he's also somewhat picky about food; he won't eat wet food, so we can't sprinkle anything in wet food to trick him. Part of the expenses for this boy is that we purchased a large kennel and a feral "den" to have a place to keep him during recovery. The den is small carrier-sized with a round side door for him to crawl into to hide from us. Of course, we also covered the entire cage with a sheet to keep him calm, but the den helps when we need to clean things or replace his food, water, or litter.

 

Already what we have spent has been pricy for us, but we were and are willing to do it to help a cat. We are cat lovers and care a lot about cat rescue, TNR, and the rights of ferals to live peacefully. Unfortunately, we learned that there are more bills for this poor boy. The radiologist found a bone growth of some kind on the "wrist" of Sten's limping paw. We do not yet know if this is an easily treatable problem, whether it's cancer, requires surgery, etc. At this time, all we know is that we have to bring Sten back in two weeks to see if the antibiotic has reduced the growth and have the vet do blood work and probably another x-ray, which means additional vet bills and continuing to house and care for him for three weeks or more.

 

Of course, Sten being a cat, he had to have this issue right in the middle of our move to a new house, when all our ready cash has been put into a new place and fixing up the old house! I would not be asking for money if this had happened six months ago. We have already paid approximately $1100 in vet bills and supplies. The next visit will involve bloodwork, so I would be surprised if it is less than the last bill. My vet also told me that they do not do biopsies, so if we need that, we'll have to go to a specialist (cat oncology?) In addition, once his treatment is complete, we hope to get him neutered finally, which is its own expense.

 

This may seem like a lot to do for an animal that cannot even be anyone's pet. As I said, we are cat lovers, and we feel a sense of responsibility towards feral cats. Ferals don't live in cities because they have chosen to; they exist because people abandon their pets or refuse to spay and neuter their pets. Even moving a feral out of a neighborhood is a dangerous thing to do permanently because the cat will try to get back to its "home" and may risk life and limb to do so. All we can do for Sten is get him back to health and then release him to his home neighborhood.

 

Any amount you are willing to donate would be greatly appreciated!

 

FAQ: 
What will this money be used for?

Right now, it will be used for finding out what exactly is wrong with Sten's paw and if it's easily treatable, along with getting him neutered. In the future, it may be used to have Sten's paw removed if that becomes necessary.

If Sten has cancer, are you really going to put a feral through cancer treatments?

No. If Sten has an illness that requires an extended and painful treatment plan, we will use the money to have him put to sleep. Sten doesn't have the understanding to know why we would be putting him through such a treatment plan and as a result this would be more like torture than anything else. 

What will you do if you have more donations than needed to cover Sten's bills?

In the unlikely event that that happens, any additional money will be donated to Animal Allies of Texas, a local rescue group who has helped us with the kittens of ferals in the past: https://animalalliesoftexas.rescuegroups.org/