Found a cat/kitten outside house

hey there really could do some help. me and my wife found a kitten or cat we aren't really sure what to call her. she looks bigger than a kitten but smaller than a cat if that makes any sense. she has been hanging round the house for a couple of days.

anyways we finally got her in the house and she is very skinny. we have been trying to get her to feed on everything we can think of. the only thing we got her to eat today is some wet cat food and some milk from a kitten bottle as she won't drink from a saucer.

according to my wife she was doing pretty good yesterday drinking and eating pretty well. today she wouldnt have anything until i went in and i managed to get some food and milk in her as i said. she seems very disoriented as she just keeps circling and she just seems to want to sleep when i try to feed her. shes been asleep now for about 4 hours now and i keep checking in on her and her breathing is normal im just worried that she might not last too much.

anyone who has any tips to get some more liquid in her would be a big help as right now she hasn't got much strength in her right now

If she's that weak, a vet visit might be her best chance to get some IV fluids pumped into her. If she looks like an inbetween stage, she's probably a 'teen', 5 months or older- so she could also be spayed during the vet visit if you wanted to set it up (or she could already be pregnant.. so definitely get that checked out)

There is also a chance that she could have one of the many feline diseases, since she has been outside. Best to take her in and get her tested for FELK, etc. and get her her shots!

As for food, try some really stinky tuna or some boiled chicken, usually does the trick. You can try some pedialyte if you haven't and see if she'll drink that! She's probably also pretty scared right now from the change in her surroundings, and some cats refuse to eat/drink/use the litterbox for the first few days after being transitioned inside.

Thank you and your wife so much for saving the sweet baby!

well I'm thinking she probably didn't get much sleep last night being in new surroundings so I'm gonna just let her sleep for now. will try some tuna tomorrow as i love the stuff so have plenty in lol.

if all else fails then we will defo try to take it to a vet just not sure we can afford any big bills as horrible as it sounds.

you can thank my wife more than me. i wasn't interested in her until today and she has took such a shine to me she seems to trust me more than anyone else. thank you for all the advice will keep you posted and sorry for posting this in the wrong section i was just in a rush to get some advice

Where do you live? I mean, you may perhaps find some cheap vet clinic at your place. You can also try contact shelters around and ask for their advice about a cheap but still good vet.

As it sounds as a vet check up is in place yes.

Do you know how to forcefeed? The key is in the side of the mouth, a little at a time.  NOT down into the neck.  Wet cat food sounds good, proceed with it. You can water it down and forcefeed if necessary.

Dont bother with dry food if she ates wet food.    You can of course try with these smelly foods as suggested by the others.

If you can get goat milk it is good. Otherwise kitten substitute milk is OK for such a weakling.

We dont recommend cow milk unless you are really sure she does manage! Some cats are OK with cow milk, but many not.

If you dont have problems with salomonella at your place, so raw egg yolk together with that milk, or together with raw minced meat, is good...

Home made pedialyte is  1 litre water, 1 soup spoon of dextrose sugar (=wine grape sugar) or honey or white caro syrup, 1 tea spoon kitchen salt....  Blend up, perhaps be warming up. cool down to body temp... Adminster.

The same dextrose sugar or caro syrup can be used for giving a quick energy booster, if gets very weak. Set in the gum, or even just around her teeth.

Good luck!!!  *vibes*

clynn11 said:

 If she looks like an inbetween stage, she's probably a 'teen', 5 months or older- so she could also be spayed during the vet visit

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If she is that weakish as it sounds, spaying now will be highly dangerously. Her strengh must be first build up some.

Age? "Teenage as you say. She could even be adult, some female are small.

Ace630 said:

well I'm thinking she probably didn't get much sleep last night being in new surroundings so I'm gonna just let her sleep for now. will try some tuna tomorrow as i love the stuff so have plenty in lol.

if all else fails then we will defo try to take it to a vet just not sure we can afford any big bills as horrible as it sounds.

you can thank my wife more than me. i wasn't interested in her until today and she has took such a shine to me she seems to trust me more than anyone else. thank you for all the advice will keep you posted and sorry for posting this in the wrong section i was just in a rush to get some advice

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She needs to be seen by a vet - if nothing else she should be wormed and checked for fleas, and spayed (neutered).  The vet will be able to advise if she's well enough for the op now or if you need to wait.  Cow's milk is bad for her  Goat's milk is OK, but can be hard to find.

What she certainly needs is plenty of good-quality food.

Also check her for dehydration - lift the scruff of her neck, it should ping straight back down.  If not again a vet visit is advisable, and you can give her a little oral rehydration fluid (you can make it yourself, lots of info if you Google it).  Just a couple of teaspoonfuls poured into the side of her mouth every hour will make a big difference.  Of course check her scruff each time - no point in doing that once she's well-hydrated.  Dunno if it happens with cats, but when I got dehydrated hill-walking I felt very ill the next day until I'd drunk quite a lot of water.