On October 5, my daughter brought home a stray cat, very thin and small, you could see her entire spine. In spite of that, she was very submissive and allowed my daughter to hold her in the car on the way home and was not timid at all when she brought her inside.
I kept her away from my other cat and the next morning took her to the animal welfare clinic to be checked out. The vet tested her for FIV and FeLV and both tests were negative. He checked for ear mites, fleas and her general condition. He gave me deworming medication and gave her vaccinations.
I was advised to quarantine her for two weeks which I did. She lived in the bathroom, never coming out at all. She was quite fine with that and just slept in a little bed, but ate fine and now, three and a half weeks later, looks much better. Still thin, but not as bony. Her coat looks 100% better too.
We let her come out of the bathroom about a week or so ago. She integrated with my other pets (dog and cat) very nicely. She is not afraid of anything, seems almost oblivious. But she does hear and see fine.
She is a bit clumsy, I think, for a young cat (vet says about 1.5 to 2 years old). But what is worrisome to me is her level of lethargy.
She shows NO interest in crinkled paper, or my other cat trying to engage her in play. No interest in a cat toy, even when I drag something right in front of her.
She sleeps constantly, except when eating. In the morning she will get up and walk into the kitchen and keep walking around until I get her canned food open and into her dish. She eats it and then goes to sleep. Occasionally she will get up during the day to use the litterbox and to eat dry kibble and drink.
But the rest of the time, she is asleep. When I pick her up she mews, but doesn't struggle. She is very placid and nothing seems to phase her. She will stay in her bed unless I bring her to the living room and put her on the sofa and then she will just stay there for hours. She is like a stuffed toy.
So, my question is, of course - is this normal?? I realize she is recovering from being very emaciated, but I would think at this point she might be a little more responsive? Or am I wrong? This is the first stray I've taken in so I'm not sure what to expect.
My biggest concern being my siamese who is my baby and of course, I wouldn't want anything to happen to him, contagious disease-wise.
She doesn't vomit, eats treats readily when I offer them, sometimes seems to 'snuffle' a tiny bit when she eats, but not otherwise.
Anyone with experience with strays, please help! I am stressing about this!
KristinaM
I kept her away from my other cat and the next morning took her to the animal welfare clinic to be checked out. The vet tested her for FIV and FeLV and both tests were negative. He checked for ear mites, fleas and her general condition. He gave me deworming medication and gave her vaccinations.
I was advised to quarantine her for two weeks which I did. She lived in the bathroom, never coming out at all. She was quite fine with that and just slept in a little bed, but ate fine and now, three and a half weeks later, looks much better. Still thin, but not as bony. Her coat looks 100% better too.
We let her come out of the bathroom about a week or so ago. She integrated with my other pets (dog and cat) very nicely. She is not afraid of anything, seems almost oblivious. But she does hear and see fine.
She is a bit clumsy, I think, for a young cat (vet says about 1.5 to 2 years old). But what is worrisome to me is her level of lethargy.
She shows NO interest in crinkled paper, or my other cat trying to engage her in play. No interest in a cat toy, even when I drag something right in front of her.
She sleeps constantly, except when eating. In the morning she will get up and walk into the kitchen and keep walking around until I get her canned food open and into her dish. She eats it and then goes to sleep. Occasionally she will get up during the day to use the litterbox and to eat dry kibble and drink.
But the rest of the time, she is asleep. When I pick her up she mews, but doesn't struggle. She is very placid and nothing seems to phase her. She will stay in her bed unless I bring her to the living room and put her on the sofa and then she will just stay there for hours. She is like a stuffed toy.
So, my question is, of course - is this normal?? I realize she is recovering from being very emaciated, but I would think at this point she might be a little more responsive? Or am I wrong? This is the first stray I've taken in so I'm not sure what to expect.
My biggest concern being my siamese who is my baby and of course, I wouldn't want anything to happen to him, contagious disease-wise.
She doesn't vomit, eats treats readily when I offer them, sometimes seems to 'snuffle' a tiny bit when she eats, but not otherwise.
Anyone with experience with strays, please help! I am stressing about this!
KristinaM
