Buying a sick cat

Hello Everyone
I am Masud, I am a new member and I am very new to pet cats.

I am from Bangladesh, Dhaka. The pets shops in my country have only the local cats like the bengal cat and one other type short hair cat. I am searching for Persian cat for the last 6 months but couldnt find any.

Around 2.5 months back one of the pet shop bought a persian brown/orange colour persian which looked roughly 1 year old (my estimation, shop owner has no idea about the age).

At that time the price seemed a bit high so i did not purchased the cat. few days back i went to the pet shop and the cat was still there in a cage. But I was surprised. The cat lost its fur thickness, became skinny and on top of its right eye a small portion (1 inch by .5 inch) of fur was missing the skin was exposed. I have read some books and it think it got some sort of skin desease.

I am thinking of buying this cat because the shop keeper will just sell it at a very low price.

My plan is to fix the cat after buying.

Is this a good idea?? PLEASE SUGGEST.

Regards
Masud

I understand you want to rescue this poor kitty and this is something that gets a lot of people. However if you purchase this cat you are sending a message to the people at that petstore that they can abuse the animals there and someone will still buy them no matter how sick they look. You'll only reinforce what they're doing.

But I imagine there's probably no one you can turn to there to report them?

In the end it's your call. I hope you have a good vet already. Be prepared for the worst since you don't know how sick this kitty is.

Hello strange_wings
first of all its the only persian available and i will also save a life. But is that type of desease curable.. what else can be wrong with this cat. I described about the cat appearance.

Hello, Masud. What you described about the cat could be many problems. Not enough good food. Ringworm, which is a fungus.(This one is contagious to people!) Thyroid issues. Allergies. Kidney problems. I could sit here and make a very long list. So what I am saying is it could be simple - like needing better food - or it could be very serious, such as kidney problems.

Please understand that I am not a veterinarian. Comments from this site do not replace medical care for the cat.

It is up to you if you want to buy this cat and try to save her. How is veterinary care in Bangladesh? In most developing nations it is not very good. Even here in the US - sometimes it is not very good.

Do you have the financial resources to care for her IF she is very sick? You don't have to answer this, just asking you to think about it.

So if you do take her, be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

My heart is saying she would do better in a home than sitting in a pet shop cage. But again, this is your decision.

It could also be feline leukemia, but it could be many other things too numerous to list, basically it could be anything. Feline Leukemia is actually a virus, not cancer(though it can cause cancer eventually)it is incurable, there is no treatment for it beyond treating symptoms as they come up and fatal(not to mention contagious to other cats.) 50% of infected cats die within a year and most will die within 2 years, but others live to be 20 and die of old age, and it is impossible to know who will live and who won't. Not sure how prevalent feline leukemia is there, but in the US it is considered rare but I would never have an issue locating a leukemia positive cat to adopt if something were to happen to Attitude or Nuts(both are positive) and I felt they needed a companion.

If you want to rescue it then it is your choice but you might get a cat that can easily be fixed, you might end up with an expensive condition that has treatment or at least supportive measures(like sub-q fluids for kidney disease), you might get something untreatable and incurable but manageable(Attitude and Nuts aren't symptomatic beyond possibly Attitude's never ending eye infections but that could also just be herpes) or you could end up with a cat that is close to death and might have to be put to sleep to end it's suffering.

The pet store owner just wants to get rid of this cat, it is taking up space and he has no desire to help it. I would be wary about buying a cat like that. Then again I would have adopt a cat with an incurable, untreatable fatal virus and I would do it willingly(since FeLV cats are very hard to adopt out) so I understand wanting to rescue/adopt a cat that is sick. I can't say I wouldn't adopt a leukemia positive cat after Attitude and Nuts have passed on.

You know the cat is sick, I was blindsided by Attitude being positive, she was born to our ferals(they are all spayed now) so she was a 'free' cat(that's an oxymoron though, with vet care, food, toys and everything else the cat isn't free anymore.) I admire you wanting to help this cat and that you are asking ahead of time means you want to be prepared for it to know what you might be getting into.

It really could just be improper care/bad nutrition(most shelter cats don't look too good when they are adopted, thought not like you describe), I doubt the pet store puts much effort into care and use the cheapest crappiest food they can find and you really can't do that for a Persian and expect them to have a typical thick Persian coat.

I want to wish you luck if you adopt this cat and please keep us updated on her progress if you do, I'd love to hear how she is doing.

Taryn

Thanks Taryn, AddieBee,
the points you guys mentioned is very true, it can be simply nutritional problem or serious kidney problem. I think the shop keeper should be responsible and he is the one who should treat the cat.

Veterinary care in Bangladesh is good for Cow, goat, chicken etc. mostly all farming animals. There are few vets who deals with pets like dogs, cats etc. and I think the treatment is very limited.

Another issue is if the cat is seriously sick then I think I dont have enough time since i do a full time job, attend classes for my Masters. Also there is a risk of "(This one is contagious to people!) Thyroid issues." and I am a beginner so thinks will be tough for me.

I will visit the pet shop and see how the cat is doing, may be i will take some pics using my phone and upload it here.

Thanks for helping me out.

Regards
Masud.

I wish someone would rescue that cat....It made me really sad...

Originally Posted by skmdmasud

Thanks Taryn, AddieBee,
the points you guys mentioned is very true, it can be simply nutritional problem or serious kidney problem. I think the shop keeper should be responsible and he is the one who should treat the cat.

Veterinary care in Bangladesh is good for Cow, goat, chicken etc. mostly all farming animals. There are few vets who deals with pets like dogs, cats etc. and I think the treatment is very limited.

Another issue is if the cat is seriously sick then I think I dont have enough time since i do a full time job, attend classes for my Masters. Also there is a risk of "(This one is contagious to people!) Thyroid issues." and I am a beginner so thinks will be tough for me.

I will visit the pet shop and see how the cat is doing, may be i will take some pics using my phone and upload it here.

Thanks for helping me out.

Regards
Masud.

Click to expand...

Masud, it is not thyroid disease that is contagious. Ringworm is contagious. It is a fungus infection of the skin. It can be cleared up with the right medicine on the skin and I think also a pill by mouth. Pictures may help. But the best is a veterinary asessment.

Unfortunately in many places, pet shops do not take good care of the animals they are selling. They want to make as much money as possible and taking proper care can cost a lot, especially if the animal is sick.

It also sounds like you love her already. At least a little. It is very easy to have happen.

Hi Masud - Welcome to the board... I think it's wonderful that you are so concerned for this poor kitty. I have 2 persians and they are quite lovely. As others have said it could be a number of things. From what you have described it sounds like maybe some type of skin condition. It's possible this could be easily treated and clear up once the cat is in a good home with the proper care.

Please keep us posted.

I will check the pet store and see current situation of the cat. If there are signs of improvement then i will consider to buy it. Thank you everybody for helping.

Regards
Masud.

If you do buy her, make sure to post pictures not just of the skin issue, but of the cat - because we love pictures here on The Cat Site.