feral pregnant cat in trouble

Question
I have been feeding a feral cat in my yard for two years - she is now pregnant again since I have no means to trap and spay her..She eats very little and then gags and drools from the mouth. Is this normal or is she very sick. I have a heated house for her and feed her very well but that is all I can do. I have contacted many different agencies to trap and neuter her, even offered to pay but to no avail. Is there something I could give her to make her feel better? Feel so bad for her. I cannot let her in as I have a very jealous Siamese cat myself and two dogs.

Answer
Hi Barbara.  The poor little thing.  Thank you for your efforts to help her.  I'm afraid there's little else you can do.  I'm not a vet, so I'm only taking a guess, but to me it seems as if the symptoms could indicate she's either seriously nauseated or that she's got extreme mouth pain making it difficult to eat.

You can try mixing some Panacur into her food in case it's nausea being caused by gastrointestinal parasites.  I'm not sure where you're located, but this is labeled for use in cats in most countries (except the US for whatever reason, but it's the same medication).  You can buy it online without a prescription.  It will be difficult to get the treatment into her if she's not eating much, but it's worth a shot.  Or, you can apply Revolution, which will kill many parasitic worms.  Depending on where you live, you may need a prescription from a vet for this (again, US requires a prescription, many other countries do not).

But other reasons for such serious nausea may include chronic kidney failure, liver disease and pancreatitis.  Blood tests would be needed to diagnose these, and they are difficult to manage.

As for mouth problems, there is a wide range of possibilities.  It might include viral illnesses including calici, which causes sores throughout the mouth, or broken teeth, or periodontal disease, or a baffling condition called eosinophilic granuloma complex, or perhaps polyps or squamous cell carcinomas in the mouth or throat that make eating or swallowing painful.  The only real way to treat these things is to go in and remove the source of the pain when possible.

I wish I could go and set my own trap for her personally!  I know that our own trap-neuter-return org often takes a few months to catch up with phone calls because there is such high demand and so few volunteers.  I would encourage you to continue to make calls even if it seems like you're getting nowhere.  

Best wishes,
Jessica