Glad to know the cat is okay, please contact the police department and make a report, find out who shot her and hold them accountable for the vet bill at the very least.

Very nice to hear you could save that kitten! I probably would have panicked!
Just thought I might pass a warning on oral metacam, though. Just do a google search, and you will get LOTS of warnings against this form of Metacam for cats, let alone kittens. Don't mean to scare you, but I learned this the hard way!
As for a police report? Necessary, probably. But I doubt they'll ever find this heartless person (can't use the word I would really want to use!).

You should be proud for saving this little, innocent one!
Anne-Marie

I didn't mean to mislead anyone but she isn't a kitten she is 5 years old. She came to the feed store as a very small kitten but was so wild that it took me a year to be able to touch her. She has lived there for 5years catching mice and being a ray of sunshine.
We live rural, a bit north of you mazer in Mendocino County, and the sheriff, we have no police, does nothing for animals animal control doesn't handle this sort of thing.
The vet is having me give her the metacam once a day for 3 days and every other day for 7 days.

What a horrid thing to happen to her. I'm so glad you look after them and Swestie's life has a happy ending, retiring safely to your loving home : ) I don't know what people are thinking with this kind of stuff. It's frightening. Maybe it was kids. I also wonder if they are able to heal when wild and get no medical care for that type of injury.

Probably not- with wildlife of all types its survival of the fittest.

I tell you it ought to be illegal to keep/have intact pets on your property feral or domestic., THAT would stop these horrible kinds of things. In the country I think people are around so much nature they take it for granted, sorta like buffalo bill back in the days of endless bison herds out on the plains. I used to know a guy who shot cats raiding hen houses/ect before, and get this- He was a PCA too!!! ( personal care attendant- works with handicapped people. its a scary world out there.

True, they'd be more vulnerable. I was wondering about the wound itself, though. If the body could manage to heal itself or if infection or bleeding would likely prevail.

I know what you mean, that to some, they are just animals and a nuisance is something to just be rid of.

I don't follow the intact thing -- do you mean just that there wouldn't be some of these feral wildcats roaming around?

What makes anyone think the feed store cats haven't been spayed or nutered? I have been posting on this forum for at least four years I have been flamed because my cats go in and out and I give them friskies but I have always given them their shots and spayed and nutered them. I got this cat's trust then threw her in a carrier and had her spayed four years ago. It is always hard for me because for a time I betrayed their trust and had to work with them again.

Sorry, acorn, for thinking this was a kitten.. I read your post too fast because I wanted to know if the cat was OK!!

About Metacam oral.. Hope your cat will be OK, but please be aware of the risks of that drug. Wish I had known this for my cat at the time (and yes, it was prescribed by a vet, once for 3 days). Below is just one of the many sites about the danger of this drug (just did a google search on Metacam oral side effects in cats) Also check the CRF support group. The topic often comes up. I had one vet who said she would NEVER prescribe it for a cat, while others said the benefits outweigh the risks..

Well, hope this cat continues to recover and will be readily accepted by your other cats!
Big hugs to her, and thank you for giving her a home!
Anne-Marie

Here is a link that might be useful: Dangers of Metacam

Thank you Ann-Marie I will talk to my vet about discontinueing the Metacam, it was give because she was choking from the swelling.

My cat takes Metacam twice a week to help her with her arthritis (she has a bad hip, and it's very painful for her to walk). Yes, it is risky, but sometimes you have to weigh the risks against the benefits. Not all cats have renal failure when taking Metacam, and some of them need it to have happy, full lives.

Acorn, Friskies IS a very bad food, its low in quality value AND probably uses dead cats/dogs as part of the meat,content, plus moldy grains that could be fatal to a toddler or homeless person, by buying and feeding brands like friskies you are endangering human as well as feline health, next time recalls happen it could be humans. Thats the ONLY reason it was in the news at all. I think you should read "Food Pets Die For" by Ann N Martin.

There is NO government regulations IN pet food. The truth of the matter is most cat food/dog food is garbage better off used as plant food or sent to a sewage treatment plant.

By letting your cats outdoors you lose all control over their safety, they could get hit by a car,stolen, or sent to a research lab. Cats are currently $5 a head, there so common. They could get into cat fights, even though they are fixed and/or get trapped in someone's garage door. On average indoor cats live 14/15 while outdoor cats are lucky to reach 4. If the cats are de-clawed they will be unable to defend themselves by 75% and have difficultly climbing trees to escape from predators such as dogs. Just so you know.

I hope your kitty is okay and heals up.

Unfortunately that is the risk one takes when you have in and out cats. Pellets, cars, fights, disease... its a scary life out there for outdoor kitties.

Runsnwalken, these feed store cats are not our friend Acorn's cats, they are stray cats that she befriended, fed, spayed and neutered, and feeds. They would be wild if not for Acorn. If Friskies is what she can afford, then this is what the cats will get. As Acorn told you, she has already been criticized before on this forum because of the cats being outdoors cats.

I learned yesterday that the Animal Control Dept. in our county euthanizes 80% of all of the cats that they bring in, because no one wants them. I am sure this is not unusual and similar numbers are probably euthanized anywhere there are not no-kill shelters. I will bet that Acorn's care gives these wild cats a more than passable life and that they would chose to have the life they do, rather than be caught by Animal Control and killed.

I feed my dogs very good food, and I hope that others learn about poor quality food and buy the best they can afford. Sometimes I even have conversations with strangers about why the grocery store brands are so bad. Sometimes, though, it is just best to chime in with support. Advice can feel like criticism sometimes, especially when it is kind of off the topic being discussed. I know you read a lot and have a lot of information to share. I also know that Acorn just went through a very difficult few days. She did everything she could to save this cat and I am so glad that it worked out and that the cat may be okay. Acorn, I don't know if I would have had the courage to nurse the cat for days until the vet came home! My first impulse would be to put it out of its misery - because I would not have the courage you had! I hope that everything continues to go well for Swestie, you, and your home cats.

I really feed friskies mixed with chicken soup adult lite and water. My cats don't like the same flavor so I change it. They get chicken soup adult cat and taste of the wild mixed for dry food. All six of my cats have stories that still make me cry.
The feed store has been a rescue with SNAP so we get spay and nuter for the cats we get. Some are barn cats, trapped ferals and pets with owners who didn't spay their cat. We will only take the kittens if the mother is spayed. Friends of Felines, and the Anderson Valley Rescue help too. We place 70-100 cats a year the feed store cats are the ones we just couldn't place. We have a hay area with 120 tons or more of hay. Grain and dog and cat food area. We have a self feeder for the cats to use. They live a real street cat life but a kitty life. We spay them and let them live their kitty lives.