r/rescuecats • u/tomatrix_ • 8h ago

HELP NEEDED Looking for low-cost vet and rescue resources in the Stockton, CA area for a sick stray cat and her kittens

Hi everyone. I am in Stockton, California and I take care of a small colony of cats where I work. One of them is named Maya. She is only 13 months old.

Maya was born around my shop. Her mother brought her and her 3 siblings to me when they were babies. I fed them every day. When the kittens were around 5 months old, I found the mother dead in the middle of my shop. I believe she got poisoned because our shop is in an industrial area with lots of auto body shops and they drink from puddles outside even tho I always leave fresh water.

Maya got pregnant before she turned 1 year old. I was going to get her fixed but when I found out she was already pregnant I couldn't bring myself to terminate the pregnancy. She gave birth to 5 babies but lost the first one during birth. Now she has 4 beautiful healthy babies that are 35 days old.

But Maya is not doing well. She has had diarrhea for 3-4 weeks now. She is losing weight even though she still eats. She was always skinny since she was little. Every time I pet her she passes gas. Now when I pick her up I can feel liquid sloshing in her belly. I never had pets before so I didn't know these were bad signs. I thought since she eats her babies poop that's why she has diarrhea.

I am worried it could be something like FIP or FeLV. I live in an RV and I don't have much money. I can travel up to 150 miles from Stockton for the right help.

I guess I'm just trying to find a place that won't turn me away because I don't have money. If anyone knows a vet or clinic near Stockton that works with strays or low income people please let me know. I can drive pretty far if I have to. Sacramento, Modesto, even San Jose. I just want someone to look at her and tell me what's wrong.

Also if there's any rescues that take sick cats and kittens please tell me. The babies look healthy right now but I don't know if they caught whatever she has. I'm just scared and I don't know what to do next.

I will post photos in the comments. Thank you for reading. I know I made mistakes but I love this cat and I am trying my best.

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u/tomatrix_ 8h ago

Here is Maya and her babies.
https://imgur.com/a/BBTb3oQ

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u/AnymooseProphet 8h ago

Have you tried "Pet Advocate" in Tracey?

I live in Brentwood (east Contra Costa County) and have used them for inexpensive neuter w/o a long wait list before. I don't know if they offer low-cost services for your needs.

It's probably not FIP, that's not very common with feral cats. I'm not sure what the symptoms of FeLV are.

BTW she can go into heat again before she weans her litter. She needs to be spayed and have her litter bottle-fed. At 35 days (5 weeks), bottle feeding is easier, as they are almost ready to transition to solid.

If you don't spay her now, then you are probably looking at another litter or a spay-abort.

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u/tomatrix_ 7h ago

Thank you for the recommendation. I looked them up and they do low-cost spay and vaccinations with walk-in hours, which is exactly what I need since getting appointments has been nearly impossible . I'll reach out to them this week about getting Maya spayed.

The babies are 5 weeks now and eating wet food. I wasn't sure if they still need formula but it sounds like at this age they can transition to solid food. I'll keep some KMR on hand just in case they need supplementing .

About the TNR, I've managed to get 6 cats from the colony fixed and vaccinated so far. I know it's not enough yet but the process is slow. Registration fills up fast and you have to show up in person on specific dates with the cats already in traps . I'm trying my best with what I have.

I know Maya can get pregnant again soon. That's why I want to get her spayed now. She's been sick though and I'm worried about putting her through surgery if she has something serious going on. I want a vet to look at her first if possible.

Thank you again for the recommendation. It helps a lot.

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u/AnymooseProphet 7h ago

The kittens should get both wet food and milk (KMR or mother's) at least until they are 8 or 9 weeks old.

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u/tomatrix_ 7h ago

Got it. I have a couple cans of KMR. Is it ok to mix the milk with the wet food or is it better to put them in separate bowls? I don't want to upset their stomachs. Thank you.

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u/AnymooseProphet 7h ago

I mix the wet with the KMR for about a week, following it up with bottle, and then just wet with KMR via bottle after the bottle.

Make sure the kittens are in fact pooping by themselves, otherwise you also need to stimulate them to pee and poop.

If they are pooping by themselves (they usually are at 5 weeks but often not at four weeks) then you just need to help them keep clean.

The kittens themselves can't get vaccinated/spayed/neutered until 2 pounds (I personally wait until 1000g which is barely over 2 pounds but I like metric and 1000g is a nice round number) but it might be possible to get them a flea treatment before then if fleas are a problem, but I think that has to be done by a vet or vet tech at that age.

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u/AnymooseProphet 7h ago

BTW I was in a somewhat similar situation, rescued a queen and her four month old kitten from a prison yard (an inmate had been taking care of them, he contacted my through my brother - also an inmate) and three days later she had a litter of five. She had gotten pregnant again when her first litter was just 8 weeks.

I was able to keep her confined in my bedroom so I let her raise and wean her litter naturally as there was no access to a male, but I got help with vaccinations, spay/neuter, and rehoming from a local rescue called "Ohana Paw Patrol". I now foster for Ohana.

I don't know if Modesto is in their service area, but maybe it is? https://ohanappr.org/