There are at least two types of flea control that can be given
orally. One kills the current fleas for a day. The other one lasts
for a month and sterilizes any fleas that suck your cat's blood.

I sympathize with taking care of outdoor cats, but please don't
feed cats that aren't neutered. Give it fresh water (making sure
any wild animals in the area that carry rabies like skunks and
raccoons don't have access to that water, so they are less likely
to stick around). Take care of it. Take it to the vet. Provide a
comfortable place for it to die. But don't feed it. Please think
ahead when you feed stray cats that are not neutered. They have
jillions of kittens and almost all of those kittens die horrible
deaths. If it can't feed itself, it can't feed its kittens either.
Sad but true.

--

"AL_n" fgdfgdfg fghfghfg.com wrote:

I've been feeding a feral cat that has been coming into my house via my
late cat's cat flap.

This small black cat is extremely cautious, however he now lets me stroke
him while he's eating, and sometimes beforehand.

He seems to have something wrong with his fur on the rear 3/4 of his body
(from his shoulders backwards, getting progressively more noticeable
towards his buttocks). The affected fur seems short and dull, and uneven in
thickness. I'm wondering if he has been chewing it, because of some kind of
irritation or something. However, I've never seen him doing so, and I've
never seen him scratching.

The cat is far too timid to be picked up and taken to a vet without causing
him fear and distress,and I don;t want to betray the trust we have
painstakingly built up. I could probably grab hold of him long enough to
apply some Spot-on flea drops to the back of his neck, but I don't know if
fleas are the problem. It could be some other kind of parasite or skin
problem, couldn't it?

Can anyone advise?

Thank you,

Al