Bruiser update #2

I finally caught the little fella this morning. I was surprised it was so easy after the problems I'd had trying to get him over the past couple of days. I looked out the front door and he was sitting in the sun on the porch. I got some food for him and while he was licking that I went back into the house and got the cat carrier. The carrier has a hinged top as well as a regular door, so I opened the top since I figured it might be easier to put him in that way than to try to shove him in the door. Then I opened up the towel I had in the carrier, draped it over the cat and picked him up and put him in the cage. He didn't resist at all. He was stressed -- his little pink nose turned bright red and his eyes were worried and kind of confused -- but he was very good and very calm. He gave a couple low growls and tried to find a way out of the carrier, but mostly he was very sweet.

I called my vet right away, but they were booked solid today and the earliest they could schedule me was tomorrow at 11 am. I took that because I figured if he seemed in acute pain I could take him to the emergency vet any time (they are open 24/7). I want to avoid the emergency vet if I can help it though, because it's hugely expensive. They tell you upfront their charges are two to three times what your regular vet would charge. As much as I want to get this cat help asap, I just can't afford that. I can barely afford my regular vet right now. Good thing I have credit cards.

At least part of the ooze is from an abscess he has over his hips. He's an unneutered male cat, so he gets into a lot of fights, so he's always coming around with new scratches and bites. Another thing I worry about (especially with him being a free roaming kitty) is that he might have one of the infectious cat illnesses -- I'm particularly worried about Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) because his abdomen is so swollen. It also seems to me that his kidneys are huge. I'd like to think he has something which can be cured or at least treated and controlled, but I fear that's not going to happen. That makes me very sad, but at least I know if he can't be helped at least he won't suffer any more.

I've been careful to keep him away from the other cats. He's in the basement (none of the other animals are allowed down there) in a cage with a bed, litter pan, and food and water dish. All except the cage can be tossed if need be. And the cage can be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.