[jetsmom]

There is an old feral female cat at my barn that I feed along with the other barn cats. I've seen her for the last 7 yrs since I started boarding there. She started coming in to eat with the barn cats about 2 yrs ago. I have been able to lightly rub her neck recently, although she doesn't allow it for very long.

She looks really old. Hair looks in rougher shape, and missing some claws. She eats, but not as much as she did last yr. Weight seems ok. About a week ago I noticed dried blood around one nostril. It looked like she had been scratched. So I ignored it. Next day it looked fresh, so I thought she had scratched the scab off. Today, I got a better look at it, as it was fresh blood, and I think she might have a nosebleed from that nostril.

Any thoughts on what would cause a nosebleed in a cat? I'm hesitant to trap her, as I think she would really freak out, and I'm not sure if it would give her a heart attack or stress her too much. But if it was something that meant something really bad, I'd rather catch her and give her a kind end rather than have her suffer and just end up dying a slow lingering death.

[bird4416]

Last year, one of my cats started getting random nosebleeds. Took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with a nasal tumor. It progressed rapidly and I ended up putting her down a few months later. She did ok for a while but hit a point where she quit eating and seemed in pain so that was when I had her put down.
It could be that the cat just bumped her nose but she probably should be seen by a vet.

[witherbee]

I dread that with one of my ferals. They are friendly enough to meow at me and follow me around, and one of them even gets on my lap, but none can be picked up or treated at a "normal" vet. I'd have to trap them and bring them to the Sheltering Hands vet if she was available.

I've never seen anything like that with a cat, but the fact that she is not eating as well would make me think that she might be sick. I'd watch her for a few more days and call my vet to see make arrangements ahead of time...

[jetsmom]

That's what I'm afraid of. It would really bother me if she got so sick that she just went somewhere and curled up and was suffering. But I worry that trapping her to get a vet to look at her would be so stressful for her that it would be worse, or I might not be able to re-catch her later if I needed to get her to the vet.
It's not a bunch of blood. And today I didn't see any. But yesterday it was a drop below her nostril, and she had some blood on her paws from wiping her nose.

[alspharmd]

I adopted an old, sickly cat from one of the barns on the backside of the local racetrack. He gets frequent nosebleeds, runny nose, and congestion. Most of his teeth were rotten, so we had most of those removed with minimal symptom improvement. I had the vet work him up, and an x-ray showed he has multiple random holes in his skull! Without doing a biopsy or other invasive tests, the vet couldn't give an exact diagnosis, but thinks it is likely due to a tumor or a chronic sinus infection. We put him on 2 weeks of oral clindamycin and over a month of transdermal enrofloxacin. It has helped marginally. This darn cat is the happiest friendliest cat, though, and he doesn't seem to be in any distress -- just snotty and slobbery, which he loves to share with his humans.

[Hpilot]

I know how you feel,OP. We have been trapping, NR with a small colony we have here at the farm. We had one hold out, a female who was able to snatch and grab the food faster then the trap could shut. Don't ask me how, as we would hear the trap slam and she would be hightailing it.
She had one kitten who was ill, so I am raising it in the house. The mother came down ill and she finally got so lethargic that we were able to put her in a crate. She was put to sleep yesterday. RIP Shy.
They will break your heart, because we can be so helpless to help them.

ALso, if you do set a trap, use smelly food like tuna or sardines and put a towel over the trap. That will keep them much calmer.

[oliverreed]

Can't add anything to what Hpilot said except that if you do trap her and get her to the vet (keep towel over the trap the whole time) they will likely be able to sedate her through the bars of the trap to make the examination easier. Good luck and jingles!!

[macmtn]

I had an older cat who dripped, then sneezed blood...turns out she had feline leukemia. Nothing to be done but give her a kind end. I had to keep a close eye on the other cats to make sure they didn't also end up with it. Sorry your old friend is sick.

[jetsmom]

Thanks for the good wishes, and responses.
We have 2 barn cats that are officially barn cats. Both calico females, spayed and vaccinated. Then a gray manx female showed up a few yrs ago and has been living in the hay loft. She finally let me pat her last yr, and it turns out that she LOOOVVEESS being petted. Now she follows me around like a dog, but still lives in the loft when I'm not there. She must be spayed, as she's never been pregnant, and I'm sure she used to have a home at some point in her life.
Then someone dumped 2 preg cats last spring. They had the kittens before I could catch them. Got moms fixed, tested for feine leukemia (neg) and vaccinated. Each had 3 kittens. Got 2 of the kittens fixed and adopted, and got one mom adopted.
Then there is a feral really shiny black male cat that has been coming to dinner.
So I feed the whole gang daily, but this old orange and white one, really touches me. She's so obviously a feral, and she's been there at least 7 yrs, since I got there. It took me about 6 months before she let me touch her, once she started coming in to eat. And about half the time she moves away if I touch her, and sometimes she actually seems to enjoy having her neck scratched. She's pretty much completely deaf now, and seems to eat only if I stand near her. I think she feels somewhat safer then.