So there's a family of kittens that has been living in my yard for a few months now. I've been feeding them daily and they recognize me, but they won't let me touch them or get too close.
Last week I noticed one of them was not using his front paw at all, lifting it up while he walked. I waited for a few days and it started to swell, so I tricked him into getting into a cage and took him to the vet to check him out. The vet noticed he had a puncture wound leaking pus, which she drained, and cleaned. The vet recommended I give him antibiotics lest the infection come back. I tried putting the antibiotic in his food, even mixing it with smelly things like sardines, but he can smell it and simply opts to eat his siblings food instead. I tried to capture him again to take him to the vet for boarding, so he can get an injectable antibiotic for a few days, but ever since that one time I caught him he's been very wary of me. He does not let me get any closer than 2 meters, and runs away to a neighbor's yard if I try to!
He still comes by to eat, and his paw, though he still doesn't bear weight on it, has not swollen anymore since the first vet visit, and he has started using it a little more for digging.
What are the odds this just clears up on it's own without antibiotics? I'm really struggling to capture him and I'm starting to think that if I keep trying to and failing it's just gonna drive him away!
