starving cat moaning after eating

I took in a starving stray cat on Wednesday night (I've never before met a cat with no body fat!). He's got an infected hind foot, for which I got Clavamox, but he seems to be declining anyway.

When he eats or drinks something - whether willingly or from a syringe - within a minute, he'll start an awful moaning which goes on for a couple of minutes. He's not strong enough to walk, but he'll totter to a more hidden spot and collapse.

Has anyone seen this before?

For future reference, this cat is Honey-Pie because he was so affectionate the first day, and his fur is a honey-cream color.

Bless you a thousand times for taking this poor baby in!!! I am sure that it probably is because his stomach is not used to food or water. Perhaps you can call a vet and request information on how best to help him. You also realize that feedings need to be small and frequent.

Bless you again. There will be others coming around who are better able to help than I am. Loving headbuts and sweet, calming, healing licks to you and and your new baby.

Your stray needs to be in a vet hospital, with a feeding tube and limited movement. Did the vet even indicate keeping him? Were there x-rays taken, bloodwork done?

He ate on Wednesday night with enthusiasm (my neighbor as the one who found him and gave him a bowl of dry food. His foot swelled up on Thursday evening.

I'm broke, so the vet he saw on Friday just gave me antibiotics, even though he recommended more extensive care. A local TNR organization arranged for him to be seen by another vet on Saturday, and they gave him a rabies shot, tested for FeLV/FIV (negative), wormed him, gave me antibiotics and Medicam and sent me home. I don't know what else they did - he was a charity case, and they didn't seem to want to talk with me extensively because they were busy. And of course, they're closed today.

He's well hydrated, according to the scruff-pinch test.

How does his mouth look, or can you get that close? I would keep him on a soft food diet, hopefully a vet gave you some A/D to feed him? Because he is so skinny and you do not have a true history on him, he could already be anorexic which means his liver is in trouble. Are the insides of his ears, or his gums yellow?

Is there heat coming off his swollen paw? If you hold your hand over the top of the swelling with your palm down, does heat rise up to meet it? He more than likely needs a stronger antibiotic than clavamox. The wound can trap bacteria and may need to be drained and kept open if the wound can be located. The swelling may be an abscess and those need to be treated, drained, cleansed and watched.

Sounds like you have your hands full and I wish you luck

Not yellow, more like white.

The first vet (Friday) mentioned abcess, the second vet (Saturday) mentioned cellulitis (I think). The paw is not hot. We have been soaking it and using warm compresses, but the swelling is not going down.

I'll be getting some A/D tonight from the rescue person. Meantime, we've been feeding Nutrical with a syringe and he's shown interest in eating Figaro Tuna.

His gums are white? That could be a sign of anemia. When he eats on his own, does he do the moaning thing? When I syringe fed Spot, I apparently did so incorrectly and ended up giving my poor baby gas. As a result, he was in pain whenever I tried to touch him.

He moans after eating on his own too, but I may be force-feeding incorrectly. How should it be done?

You want to squirt the food across the tongue. The idea is that they should be swallowing the food rather than squirting the food directly into the throat. Actually squirting the food into the throat can be very dangerous as it can end up in the lungs. The key is to go slowly so that they have time swallow the food without gulping bunches of air.

Thanks for the help and support.

I'm sorry to say that he died a couple of hours ago.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...es/bawling.gif

Godspeed over Rainbow Bridge, HoneyPie. I am so, so sorry that you were rescued too late - may all those beautiful people here on earth be especially blessed for the care and affection that they gave you during your last hours here. Our Beloved Savior has one special kitty for a Christmas present tonight; bless you FanBeltCat, thanks to your neighbor and you, HoneyPie crossed knowing that he had a name, that there were so many who cared about him, and plenty of love to light the pathway over to the other side. It sounds like he was a lost cat; I hope that you can find out who lost him, so that they can have closure. Condolences to you all. Susan

You did a kind thing for this poor cat and tried to make him happy and well. He probably had an underlying condition that caused him the pain. I am sorry to hear of his passing. He had a friend with him and love and food again at the end. If he was a lost cat, his owners will be sad--but if he was abandoned, his owners should be ashamed.

Heartbroken headbuts and tearful, sad, sorry licks from KittenKiya's Clan. You did all you could, you went the extra two miles for your baby. Bless you.