Kitty in my bathroom

I have a VERY skinny, filthy brown tabby in my bathroom. I got him from my neighbor's house. (This is one of Eden's former housemates, for those of you who've seen White Cat Lover's threads about her.) He looks to be a youngish adult tom, and the sweetest thing you could ever hope to meet. He is all bones though - I can easily wrap my hands completely around his belly. I gave him about 6oz of canned Innova, and he inhaled it, then gulped down about half the dish of water. He's used the litter box like a good boy, and just can't get enough loves. I can't keep him, but I am hoping to get him vetted and adopted through a rescue.

Questions: Should I keep letting him eat as much as he wants? He pooped as soon as I showed him the litter box, and it looked fairly normal, but his tummy feels taught now after he gorged himself, and I can hear the air bubbles moving around in there. Will it make him sick if he keeps eating like that, or should I just let him decide how much he wants? (I have a dish of dry regular Innova down for him now, which he's been picking at.)

He is VERY dirty. He is a DMH, but his body is partly clipped so the tangles aren't too bad. He does have lots of tiny little leaves and burrs and things that need to come out, though. Should I try to give him an actual bath, or would it be better for now to just wipe him down with a bath wipe or something?

The only Frontline Plus I have in the house right now is the dog formula. Do you think it would be okay if I used a bit of it on this kitty?

How paranoid do I need to be about transmitting disease to my other cats, until this boy gets to a vet? What precautions should I take? I've kept him in a seperate room for now, and washed my hands after leaving him. Could my kitties contract FeLV from my clothes or something like that?

Lots of questions! Thanks for reading.

He sounds wonderful and probably very easy going. First I would not let him around your other pets, he could have worms, fleas, or diseases that can pass from one animal to the other. Keep him in his own room and do wash your hands after you handle him. DO NOT use dog formula frontline, it is too strong for a cat especially since he is underweight. You might keep a bowl of the dry food and some water so he can pick at it when he wants some and then feed him wet once or twice a day. See if he will let you brush him to get the big stuff out and if he seems to allow that then you might try a bath. I have found that using a bowl of water instead of running the faucet is easier for the first time, I think the sound of running water freaks them out more than the actual bath. He will probably start cleaning himself on his own and being in a clean environment will help.
Get him to the vet soon so you can get him evaluated and then you will know how long you need to keep him separate from the others. When he's ready to meet them start by letting your other pets smell him by putting his blanket or towels where they can inspect them and let him have something of theirs to smell as well. This will get them all use to the new smell in the house. Good luck and hope he is healthy. He will probably put weight on quickly so don't be surprised if you have a fat boy in a couple of weeks.

He is o lucky to have you.

I wouldn't leave out the dry only because a starving will eat it all ASAP since they don't know when the next meal will be coming. IMO, you are better off feeding lots of small meals. Figure out what you think a healthy weight is for him and feed him appropiately for a couple of days, then up the total amount by 1/4th. This lets his body get used to the food and hopefully decreases the chance of diarrhea.

We needed to add some weight to my son's cat. We added kitten food as the 1/4 - good nutrition so we added muscle and not fat.

Can you work on the mats first? A comb-out and mat removal before the bath. If I bathe my Old English Sheepdogs before removing the mats or twigs, it makes it horrible to comb-out later.

Thank you so much for the advice. I didn't use any Frontline on him; I think I will just wait until he sees a vet and see what they recommend. I did leave the bowl of dry food down for him today. I had to work all day, and I didn't want him to get hungry and have nothing to eat. He certainly seems to appreciate the food. He will crawl in my lap and shower me with love, then run to the bowl and eat a few bites, then run back to me - repeat!

His coat is pretty thin and very dirty, but I really don't see any horrible mats - just some tangles and sticky little burrs. (I think he got lucky with his hair texture!) Tonight my plan is to try to clip his razor-claws, then get him cleaned up better. Then to try to plan for his future! I know my DH will not let me keep him, but it will be hard to let him go - I am in love with him already.

I posted photos in Fur Pics, if you're interested.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...56#post2364656

What a cutie!
And encourage your husband to hold him!

Originally Posted by Mom of 4

And encourage your husband to hold him!

Click to expand...

Apparently kitty bit DH on the ankle today! Not hard - he is very mouthy, so he was probably just trying to be affectionate. (He is frantic for love every time I go in there.) DH, however is being a big baby about it!

I would give him a bath and brush him out. You can use a blow drier if he will let you. Clip nails first.

He is very sweet looking and so desperate for some loves. Poor little guy.
What is the deal with these cats from your neighbors house? It sounds like a lot of cats in poor shape come from there.

Okay, bathroom kitty has graduated to bathroom/bedroom kitty, and he has a new name - "Adam"!

Originally Posted by CC12

What is the deal with these cats from your neighbors house? It sounds like a lot of cats in poor shape come from there.

Click to expand...

Yes - it is a long story. I don't know all the details of what is going on over there, but it is a pretty bad situation. Eden and Adam were the most in need of help, and it sounds like the others may have homes lined up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out.

Your DH sounds like mine lol. Two years ago I had 7 cats and the youngest was 5 the oldest was 20. Well as nature would have it, we went through a couple of deaths and as much as my DH lives by the motto "only good cat is a stuffed cat" lol he missed them. Since then I have taken in 6 kittens (2 were rehomed) and my DH personally bottle fed 3 of them every night. He still claims to not like them, but I have proof (pictures) of him loving and playing with the new ones and use the blackmail often lol. His favorite is my last baby that is very small (avg. size of a 10wker) and she's almost 10 mos old. She was very sickly and the runt of her litter. The reason I tell you this is simple, get him involved in your new cat's care. Once he takes a part in helping it is very hard to not find a small piece of his heart to continue. If this kitten is like mine, he will be drawn like a magnet to him because he claims not to like the cat. lol By the way, I have one of those bottle fed babies that is now 2 and a tortie to boot, and her "human" is my DH. He will go out of his way to share his meals with her and has full conversations with her when he is in the bathroom. lol He has his motto, but mine is "we will only keep (fill in the blank) until she/he is socialized so I can re home her/him" works like a charm. Good luck.

Yes, my brother claimed to only dogs. We grew up with them so he just thought that cats were cold and not affectionate in the least. Now he is crazy about my cats. He even has pictures on his web page.lol.
When Seldon got out I even saw tears in his eyes. Oh how the mighty fall.

Well, I gave Adam a bath last night. He was such a good boy! Scared, and he cried when I was pouring water on him, but he sat just fine for his shampoo. He smells much better now, and feels much softer! His coat is in pretty bad shape, but I imagine that will improve with a good diet and time to grow. Right now it is very thin, and clipped very short in some places. He has a strip along his backbone that is stubbly. He will be a pretty boy with some good food and some lovins.

I have not had any luck finding a rescue to take Adam in. Everyone is sooooo full with homeless kitties. However, I did find a program that offers neuters for $75, and will vet him for free, IF I am willing to keep him. Sooooo.....I made an appointment for Friday. Wish me luck convincing DH!

Good luck with DH. I know it is hard but I think the more he is around the more DH will see that he does not take up much room.

I can't get Adam into the vet until Friday, because I am starting a new job this week and I have orientation Tue/Wed/Thur all day. He seems to be doing okay though, and I think he may have gained a little weight already. I wish I had an appropriate scale to weigh him on. The first few days he mostly just ate, slept, and cuddled, but he is getting livelier today. He is interested in the sounds of the dog and the other cats, and he tried to get out of the bedroom when I left him today.

Yesterday I caught him and Piper peeking at each other from a distance under the bedroom door. Adam didn't react much, but I heard Piper hissing and spitting, and then she ran back down the hall. The other cats seem to be aware that there is a newcomer in there, but no one else seems too upset about it yet. Adam has also seen my dog in the hallway as I've come in and out of the room, and he seemed interested but not upset by it. Hopefully he will do okay with the other animals so I can let him out of the bedroom, assuming he tests FeLV negative on Friday. I will have to review the thread on introductions so I can hopefully make this work. I'm a little nervous about introducing an adult cat - my others have all come into the family as kittens, and Adam is intact on top of it. Do you think it would be better to wait until after I can get him neutered to introduce him to the other kitties?

One more question: I have not seen any fleas or anything on him, but I keep finding a few tiny little scabs on his skin. What could those be from? Some other kind of parasite?

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=172756

New photos posted, along with an update: Dh says that Adam gets to stay!!!!

Congrats! I'm thrilled he gets to stay. And positive vibes for a great checkup.

I think I would get him neutered first. The chances are better for the intros. Sometimes a bad intro can take forever to erase and with him intact the chances are good for bad first impressions.