Advice needed for a starving cat

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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:09 am

So as of now. We took in another cat. We noticed a brownish grey cat hanging around the house. Not unusual since other cats come around often to see if we leave food out or to play with our other cats.

Usually, other people's cats run away but this one was around so often I thought I'd make friends. She is skin and bones. We brought her inside and she immediately made himself at home. Very friendly and likes to cuddle.

We inspected her and noticed her front claws were removed. I think that is a horrible thing to do. Buy a scratching post. I figured that's why she was unable to hunt and feed herself. We tried to feed her but she'd take a bite, shake her head and spit it out. She wouldn't even drink water.

So my wife took her to the the vet. Not ours since the doctor was in surgery all day. It turns out she has and ulcer in her mouth so that's why she can't eat. They found a chip and her guardians are in Redlands,Ca. That's a very long drive not that they tell us who they were. All they could do is leave a message and tell us her name is Cona. Oh and she's 10 years old.

They did blood work to see if there is any hope. They gave her pain medication and she is eating and drinking again. She doesn't like wet food even though we picked the stew kind. She likes hard food but I have to grind it to powder and mix it with warm water. She hasn't slept or used the litter box yet. She wont purr either.

The vet bill was $600 and they only gave her pain medication for four days.

Any advice? Dumping her of at the pound is out of the question.

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 6:38 pm

First, not overly qualified other than raising a few ourselves...

Yeah, the declaw thing should be outlawed, period! Ours have always been completely indoors and any damage they did with their claws was minimal and generally at an expected time in the life (i.e. when they were kittens).

Teeth/mouth problems seem to be common. We've had teeth pulled multiple times on ours and they are/were for the most part very healthy (we just never brushed their teeth, who knew it was a thing).

Try putting some of the dry bits directly into the wet food. That often softens up the dry bits and gets them in the mode of eating both kinds. We had one that was overly picky about wet food so we'd stick a couple of greenies in it and he would then migrate naturally to eating the whole bowl.

Sounds like you're no where near the IE so that probably means she was dumped.....speaking of people you want to hunt down and injure.

Best of luck and thanks for taking her in and given her some care!

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:37 pm

I cannot turn away an animal that is suffering. It's in my DNA. My wife is the same way. She is at Petco now to see if they have anything that will help.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try it. If anyone else has advice please speak up. She's in horrible condition.

Baiting Guru Joined: 25 Jul 2017 Posts: 2107

No advice beyond what you have already done, just commending you for what you have done for this cat. Irritating someone would dump a pet. We had a neutered male tuxedo cat dumped here in the middle of a Canadian winter. Who the heck does that?

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:09 am

It's not the first cat we have taken in. I usually try to find homes for them but we have adopted a cat from the pound, took in a stray (it was Christmas and he was under weight), took in a cat that was left behind when a neighbor moved. We wanted to stop there but now there's this one. We are willing to keep her if her guardians don't claim her and have one hell of a good story. I have a feeling though her vet bills are going to be expensive.

Two other cats were left behind after neighbors moved but I found homes for them. One right next door so he comes and visits. Actually, he comes to eat. He's a bit of a fat cat. Just a bit. Another cat was dumped here but we got a very nice family a few door up to take her in.

No commendation necessary but thank you. It's just not in my nature to turn an animal away.

When I was on the job, I'd find homes for obvious stray cats and dogs. I was suppose to call animal control but lucky I had connections with the humane society. Especially for pits because animal control wouldn't even try to get them adopted. It was straight to death row.

Anyway, we got Cona some easier food. Food that she only has to lick it eat. She's eating a bit more but it still very hard for her. She can only take one or two licks at a time. Well, I'm of to cuddle.

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:51 pm

Get some kitten formula. Put it in a bowl for her. At least she can get some nutrition from drinking that. Anyone who would dump a poor defenseless cat after removing its claws is a special kind of evil. Hope she starts doing better soon.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:48 am

She wont drink kitten formula. Sniffs it and walks away.

I got something called velvet mousse (Tiki Cat). If I warm water that up she will drink it and I stir it up so she takes in the food as well. Other foods, I have to bone broth it up and stir while she is drinking. We bought so much food. Anything that was made to be licked.

She seems to favor chowder style cat food (likable treat for senior cats) and creamy bisque over stew. But I still have to broth, warm water it down and stir. She real good at letting me stir while she drinks.

At least shes eating and peeing again. The vet called and she her condition is manageable. We found her in time. She's anemic but hell I figured that with her being emaciated. My wife or I are going to pick up some meds tomorrow to help with the ulcer. The doctor called right at closing. If she doesn't start pooping it's off to get an ultra sound to make sure there is no blockage.

She's settling in. I think she is beginning to realize she has a home again.

I don't know if she was dumped. Her chip puts her home a very long way off. Maybe they moved down here and some of the wild fires scared her off and she got lost. She's obviously an indoor cat. I haven't seen any missing posters though.

Master Baiter Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 117

My goodness, she sounds like quite the picky eater.
If she will only eat hard food, try sticking with the kitten food to help her gain weight.
I use cosaquin capsules to sprinkle on my cat's food (she's 14), and she loves it. I don't know if your picky girl will tolerate it, but you could try getting some to sprinkle in her food and adding some warm water to soften the kernels. You can soften the kernels with salmon oil as well, or find a flavored powder supplement to add some warm water to and soften the food that way. Is she able to eat the hard food pain free at this point? Poor girl. Bless your heart for taking her in. Crying or Very sad

419Eater is my life Joined: 18 Jan 2010 Posts: 357

After all your care and the $600+ at the vet I would say forget about the previous "owners" because she's your cat now.
I have 3 myself: 1 from the humane society, 1 from a local vet, and 1 that was a feral we adopted. My wife is currently taming 2 more ferals she wants to take in. We're quickly becoming those cat people.
Anyways, cats tend to act like you describe when they don't feel good, so just keep at it, and as she feels better she'll start to eat more, be less finicky, etc.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:59 pm

We had to put down our eldest one earlier in the year after a lifetime battle with IBD. It was a continual battle to keep his weight up all of his life. One of the last times we had him at the vet, after struggling even harder with keeping him eating, they gave him a can of Fancy Feast. He basically inhaled it like he'd never been fed. We had to reassure the vet that we had indeed been trying everything we knew to keep him eating (multiple wet foods, tuna, etc). The vet just laughed and said that Fancy Feast is like "kitty crack". Might be worth a try...

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 7:46 am

Quote:

If she will only eat hard food

She's eating the Tiki Cat velvet mousse now. Tuna and mackerel, I just have to broth it up so she can drink it. The ulcer makes it hurt to swallow too. I got some kitten food. I'll try adding that. Ty

If I told you guys how much food we got in hope to find something she will eat, you'd probably think we are crazy.

Quote:

After all your care and the $600+

My bad about the cost. When my wife took her the vet estimated the bill at about $400 so she had to put that down. Before she left they gave her another bill for $275. When she went in today to pick up the ulcer medicine they explained to her that the total bill was $275 not additionally $275 (they cut us some slack since it wasn't our cat and we were willing to help her) so they credited us back the difference. The ulcer medication was only $25. It soothes and heals.

With the pain and ulcer medication she stretches out on the bed and raises her butt in the air when you pet her. She hasn't done that before.

Editing to add when we took her to the vet she weighed 2.2 kilograms. So what's that, about 4.8 lbs? She ate more today. Almost two bowls and I mixed in some hi calorie nutritional gel. She is also cleaning herself a little. She cry's also but stops when she is held. She is very sweet.

Quote:

After all your care and the $600+ at the vet I would say forget about the previous "owners" because she's your cat now.

I don't really care so much about the money. I don't like that she was declawed and I haven't seen any missing posters up. As far as her being our cat, I'm all for it but I don't know if it would be out of our hands since she was chipped. I'm not going to put up any found cat posters though. There's a large park near my house with coyotes. I'm grateful she didn't end up being prey. On the next door neighbor app someone posted a video of a coyote carrying off a large black cat. The cat had a collar on. She won't go outside so I'm not too worried about that right now.

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:45 pm

No advice to give Ghost, but just wanted to say good on you and Mrs Ghost for taking her in and not considering the pound as an option.

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:35 pm

Ghost wrote:

So what's that, about 4.8 lbs?

Sheesh, that's emaciated! Glad to hear things seem to be looking better for her!

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 7:05 pm

I dont know the laws there but here if you have spent significant money on a found animal ike vet bills or even if its just food for a long period of time before the owner claims it they can be held liable for the expenses or forfiet the animal.

Quote:

vet just laughed and said that Fancy Feast is like "kitty crack".

I thought tuna was kitty crack lol. I swear they have a whole network of tuna dealers out there among stray cats... "hey man that house down there has tuna..." Sheesh when I run out of food for the strays and use tuna all of a sudden there are five or six new ones that show up lol.

419Eater is my life Joined: 18 Jan 2010 Posts: 357

Yeah declawing is not my favorite thing either; none of my cats are declawed. We just yell their name when they try to scratch the furniture and they stop. Wink

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 9:16 pm

You are a good person Ghost.

When our cats needed nutrition I would start with a few jars of baby food. I would mix up either beef or chicken with about an equal amount of water.

I have taken whole frozen Norwegian mackerel and cooked them submerged in water for about 20 minutes in the pressure cooker. When the bones are soft and crumbly, its ready to be mashed down into a goo that no cat can resist.

Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:10 am

^^the vet did advise baby food if she was unable to eat anything else. She hates taking her ulcer medicine.

ETA: She pooped so hopefully no blockage.

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 5:57 pm

Ask if her medication can be sprinkled on the food she will eat.

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 6:05 am

Thought of that since she sometimes screams when you give it to her. She doesn't like her mouth touched. Then she hides for hours after. I can get her to take the medication without screaming but she still hides after.

I told my wife to call and ask but she thought it best to take Cona back to the vet. They want to put a scope down her throat and do some other tests under sedation tomorrow. My wife thought she stopped eating but I told her she eats at night. About two bowls. Anyway, this time they cut us zero slack. $1,500.00 plus what ever they are going to charge us tomorrow. That's only to figure out what the problem(s) is. Then they have to treat it.

I'd set up a go fund me page if I knew how but I hear they don't work anyway. The only other option is to put her down and we can't do that just to save money.

Oh and I was wrong about the location of her original guardians. They are merely in the next county so maybe she was dumped.

Master Baiter Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 117

Oh my goodness. Sad

Poor kitty!!!
My kitty had some sort of weird abscess in his nasal cavity that required antibiotics, but it certainly didn't cost me that much to get him evaluated and treated. Sad

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this, but you are such angels to help this sweet kitty.

Maybe you could send out a shit ton of emails promising millions of dollars to people if they send you a few hundred for attorney fees and paperwork via Western Union. I hear it works for some people. Razz

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 1:23 am

I can't add to anything that was already said. However, I do appreciate all of the suggestions that Ghost got -- I may be able to apply some of them to my 16 year old female tuxedo whom I brought back from Korea. She almost stopped eating completely and lost about half of her body weight (14.5 lbs to about 7.5 lbs). The vet gave her an internal scan and found inflammation in her digestive tract. She is now on a steroid and is starting to eat regularly, but not back to what was normal.

Hope your new addition recovers quickly, Ghost. I'm sure she will find a way to reward you.

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 8:54 am

She had to spend the night at the vet. It's a 24 hour place so there's always a doctor there. She's home now. No more in the mouth ulcer medication. We have to give she injections subcutaneously. Pain meds still go in the mouth but she doesn't mind that. It's only 2 cc.

Her appetite back. She ate so much (watered+broth'd) down food then got all doped up she fell asleep and peed in her cat bed. We gave her a warn bath which she didn't really mind. She's had been bathed before, probably starting when she was a kitten. She didn't cry or try to escape. She didn't not like the hair dryer though so towel dry only. Also, she looks so sad, like she's giving up so I wanted to see if she'd play. I broke out the feathers attached to the string toy. She immediately started to play and knew she had to get the feathers under her body and lie on in since she has no front claws. So she is no stranger to that toy. I would only play with her for a few seconds because I didn't want to waste her energy but she hasn't given up.

I'd attach some pictures but they are sad to look at. She looks like a cat that has been ran over.

We tried calling and Emailing her original guardian but told wrong phone number and no Email reply. I am going to send a friend request via facebook, if I get refused then I tried my best. I don't know this lady and I don't think I care for her very much but if one our cats got lost and was found by someone, I want them to contact us. The only other thing I can do is drive to her house and knock on the door but I don't have the most friendliest face in the world and I normally scare people.

Don't get me wrong, we are happy to keep her but I can't help but to wonder if there is a lady out there wondering what happened to her cat.

I'm glad this thread has helped others.

@lakeside77 - Have you tried mixing in some hi caloric gel into your cat's food? Is she an indoor cat?

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:09 pm

Glad to hear Cona is eating and not feeling too ill to play. That is a good sign. Hopefully her full bellies will soon show a change in her weight. I just wonder, has she been wormed? That can make them awfully thin on top of everything else that she has had to contend with.

I once had to give injections to my rabbit - it made me feel like a monster tho she didn't bat an eyelid! We are currently feeding 4 drop ins/strays, who we have named The Lodger, Fluffy, Scruffy and Ginger. You just have to do your best, don't you. Keep up the good work.

ETA. I buy vacuum packed mackerel loins for Scruffy because she looks like a real stray - she loves them. We're hoping to get near enough eventually to bathe her although she's skittish at the mo. She absolutely stinks. We have smuggled wormer into her food however which she ate.

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:13 pm

Pm me I can help you with the gofundme.
The catch is posting it here would be risky.
You have to use your real name and connect it to your fb account.

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 5:34 pm

Ghost wrote:

@lakeside77 - Have you tried mixing in some hi caloric gel into your cat's food? Is she an indoor cat?

The vet suggested I add warm chicken broth to her dry food. That seems to work, especially since she is missing a couple of teeth. She is a fervent indoor cat. I have had for 16 years and I doubt if she has spent more than four hours outdoors in that time. She wants nothing to do with the world beyond the front door.

Ghost wrote:

I broke out the feathers attached to the string toy.

I recommend a laser pointer.

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