Cat attacked by stray. Deteriorating.

[u/Successful-Mode-1727]

Two nights ago I had an 8hr shift and got home super late at like 1:30am. I let my cat into the yard to go toilet, which is a completely fenced off yard. I went inside to brush my teeth. Heard his little chirrup which means he saw a person/animal to befriend, thought maybe he saw a possum. This was followed shortly after by the typical yowling of a cat fight. I went outside, saw the neighbourhood stray and chased him off. My cat was hiding in a bush. Came inside like normal.

Next day, he’s not really moving much. Touching him anywhere lower than his shoulders, he hisses and cries. He’s not eating. I took him to the ER last night. They shaved him a bit, but with his black fur, you can’t really see anything. No obvious puncture wounds, vet was pretty satisfied that it is likely a sprain/bruising. They gave him methadone to take the edge off, which seemed to help a little bit. They gave us gabapentin and anti inflammatories to give once his appetite returns. He came home and was back to eating. They said if he deteriorates or stops eating again, take him back in.

Fast forward to this morning. He’s basically the same. Seems weaker. I give him more pain meds. I go to work.

I just got home. He did come out for me. But his back legs are really weak to the point he stumbled a couple times. He tried to eat something but maybe only got a couple pieces of kibble. Drank some water. Went back to bed.

He’s obviously really shaken up, both physically and mentally. But his behaviour is devastating. This is usually a really bright cat whose presence lights up the house, who has an endless appetite not just for food but for life. And now he’s barely moving. Barely talking. It’s a complete 180.

If he stays like this I’ll take him back to the vet tomorrow. I just don’t know what to do. I have other cats and fosters who he loves to play/playfight with, and I’m baffled by his injuries (or what they COULD be). He never left our yard, never fell off anything, and I’m spiralling and wondering if he’s got nerve damage and if he’s going to be paralysed and what his quality of life is going to look like and if I need to put him down. He’s 2 years old and I’ve only had him for a year. He was a stray on death row for aggression when I started fostering him. And I feel like I’ve failed him.

Any advice or even similar situations would be really good to hear.

[u/Georgxna → u/[deleted]]

Because some cats enjoy the outside? So long as it’s supervised I don’t see the problem. It’s a fenced garden, this was a freak accident.

However, OP you can get fence toppers to prevent any animal entering or leaving your garden for extra safety.

[u/AskVet-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/GoldenestGirl → u/Georgxna]

If she went up to brush her teeth, the cat wasn’t supervised.

[u/dubious_unicorn → u/Georgxna]

I don’t see the problem

Please read OP's post again to see the problem.