Picked up extremely skinny stray

I picked up a cat last night as i was walking to the store. I saw how skinny she/he was. So i cannot handle seeing animals this way. :'( so i picked her up and put her in my gfs backpack. Because i didnt wanna hurt her by holding her since she is too skinny. I brought her home fed her canned food. Not too much since i know its not good. I am feeding her portions and she is also drinking water every hour or so. And she already used the restroom. BUT she has diaherra and that is my concern. Does anuone know why? Its not alot either. She is up and about. She was really hungry though! And looks very tired. I will try everything to keep her alive...

Well first of all Hi Josie welcome. Now lets get to the issue, diarrhea can be from a number of things. Being a stray worms is first on the list also the richness of food she's not use to eating.
But unless seen by s vet this is a guessing game. I applaud you for not walking away from these defenseless creatures but are. you taking precautions not to expose your other 12 from catching something that could be highly contagious and deadly?
I know you're young and may not of considered that. I'm not scolding you. I just want to educate you. Please keep an eye on her. In my experience I've rescued kitties who when they had diarrhea they had worms or were getting use to the diet.
Please have her checked by a vet and get her spayed also. I personally thank you for helping her.

JosieMeow said:

I picked up a cat last night as i was walking to the store. I saw how skinny she/he was. So i cannot handle seeing animals this way. :'( so i picked her up and put her in my gfs backpack. Because i didnt wanna hurt her by holding her since she is too skinny. I brought her home fed her canned food. Not too much since i know its not good. I am feeding her portions

and she is also drinking water every hour or so. And she already used the restroom. BUT she has diaherra and that is my concern. Does anuone know why? Its not alot either. She is up and about. She was really hungry though! And looks very tired. I will try everything to keep her alive... <3 i am already so attatched to her.. :/ i have 12 cats and they all have been recued by me.. last summer i recued a cat aswell she was skinny and shes now a little chubby ball

i love animals !! And go out of my way for them. I save lives

im 19

)

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Hi there and welcome to our great cat site!

Now without seeing her I can only go by what you have said and will try to help you according to this.

First of all, she was obviously an owned cat and dumped/abandoned, or she would not allow you to pick her up and handle her.

Which likely means, she is not good and experienced in finding her own food, which means she is skinny from starving.

Having a small amt of diarrhea says that she didn't have alot of food to digest, and canned food IS INFACT, what is best for her, much, much better than dry food.

It will help her get hydrated again, as canned has lots of water content over dry, which actually takes water away from their bodies, absorbs it.

Once she has eaten a couple times then you can increase the amt you give her, she needs it now.

Losing weight due to starving causes their fur coats to become ragged and scruffy, unhealthy. It is also from dehydration, caused by loss of fluids from diarrhea.

She needs medication to treat the diarrhea, as she likely has worms and parasites.

You haven't mentioned if you are able to take her to the vet, which is what she really needs now. 

If money is an issue there are some vets out there who will help cut the costs for a stray cat who needs help.

Does she have her inner eye lids out? Can you also de-flea her with advantage or any other?

Pate canned food is best btw.

catwoman707 Thank you alot! This means so much from my cat and i! I do not know how to post a picture here. But she is starved skinny all of her bones. I mean ALL are showing. U can feel every single part of her rib. Her hips. Everything. Her hair is very messy. I know for a fact this isnt normal. I have one thin cat and he is a healthy muscle cat. And eats well.. but her.. she is seriously horrible condition. She has no muscle.. wait i think i might know.how to add a picture ..

thank you

Oh my gosh.....okay she is extremely emaciated and needs a vet asap.

Very, very saddened seeing this photo. Heartbreaking....

On another note, I am so very glad she has you now, at least she now knows and can feel she is cared for and loved, has a safe place to live.

She may very well have more than just starvation going on, as you may already know by the looks of her.

She may have felv, kidney failure, cancer, etc.

Are you able to get her to a vet?

catwoman707 i know its terrible. Right now she is taking a nap and is very cuddly! I havent reallt been working alot.. but im getting some money today so i am taking her to a hospital. I dont want her to die. Its going to break me apart because im doing everything i can. Im glad i didnt just walk away from her.

You are truly a hero for helping her, and any others you have and will help, great big hugs!!!   

Now, she may NOT have something else going on, it depends.

Cats don't normally get that extremely emaciated without having other underlying causes to get THAT skinny.

However, I am going to post a picture of one of my rescues a few years back, and this is all due to having uncontrolled diarrhea, and he looked JUST like her.



I know the second pic is hard to look at, but his diarrhea caused his butt to swell so much.......

Vets recommended I euthanize this cat.

No way was I going to do that, I needed to try my best to get him well again. Let him feel good and healthy, loved and wanted. Cared for . Safe.

It took many months to get him right. It was all so worth it. The daily baths, oh I won't even go into it all, but he was alot of work.

Here is his picture 10 months later. FAT boy I just adored him!


Just goes to show you, diarrhea can do alot of damage!! 

JosieMeow said:

@catwoman707 i know its terrible. Right now she is taking a nap and is very cuddly! I havent reallt been working alot.. but im getting some money today so i am taking her to a hospital. I dont want her to die. Its going to break me apart because im doing everything i can. Im glad i didnt just walk away from her.

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No, you are not ever going to walk away, it's not in you, just as it is not in me.

I could not imagine how anyone ever could, but LOTS of people out there do all the time. 

People I wouldn't ever want to know. That in my opinion speaks loud and clear on what type of person they are. 

I am so happy you will get her help!! Be sure now, that you tell the vet that you just found her, surely they will cut the costs down, vets have hearts too, some are more hearts of charity, some less, but I can't imagine anyone becoming a vet if they have no compassion for what they do, help animals.

Her current state will surely tug at some hearts.

catwoman707 OH MY GOODNESS. That tightend my stomach up.. i thought i was going to read something devasting after. I am so happy! Like i do not know how to.explain it. I am truly happy that your cat is so chubby and looks so darn happy! I am glad you did not.give up on him. Thats beautiful! Truly.. ive named her pixie now! And well her diaherra isnt that bad. Its honestlt just a little bit nothing really.. oh and also right now she went to the litter box by herself and pee'd. And jumped back on my bed and went on top of my gf and layed on her so i hope those are good signs!

Just wanted to add about the kitty I saved, I took his pictures of before (when the vet recommended euthanizing) and after to this particular vet, and he was shocked but so happy he had them blown up and are still to this day, posted on his wall in the waiting room !!

JosieMeow said:

@catwoman707 OH MY GOODNESS. That tightend my stomach up.. i thought i was going to read something devasting after. I am so happy! Like i do not know how to.explain it. I am truly happy that your cat is so chubby and looks so darn happy! I am glad you did not.give up on him. Thats beautiful! Truly..

ive named her pixie now! And well her diaherra isnt that bad. Its honestlt just a little bit nothing really.. oh and also right now she went to the litter box by herself and pee'd. And jumped back on my bed and went on top of my gf and layed on her so i hope those are good signs!

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She surely sounds very grateful and in love with you already. There's nothing like it She desperately needed you to come along, and honestly, I believe you were meant to cross paths with her.

Even if she has something bigger wrong that can't be fixed, you have given her something that can't be described in words already. 

OMG, she looks like she is skin and bones! Bless you for taking her in, especially with so many other cats, maybe it would be possible to find her a forever home if you can't keep her. My heart goes out to her. I think you are doing everything right, small meals often and lots of water. It just makes me so mad when I hear people say they can dump cats because they can catch food, obviously some can't! I'm feeding several across the street right now that people have dumped, it's heartbreaking. Good luck with all your babies and God bless!

Thank you so much! Made my day alot better. Made me look at her and smile and have motivation that she will be okay :heart4:

Thank you so much you!! Im glad i came across this site!! Someone who finally understands me.. nobody around me seems to care so much about animals like me. They think im.silly

JosieMeow said:

Thank you so much! Made my day alot better. Made me look at her and smile and have motivation that she will be okay

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That's what we are here for

She does need a vet visit though, you must know what has caused her to be so extremely thin, because if there is more than it may be treatable.

I adore you for your huge heart and compassion, the world needs more people like you in it, imagine how much better we would all be.

JosieMeow said:

Thank you so much you!! Im glad i came across this site!! Someone who finally understands me.. nobody around me seems to care so much about animals like me. They think im.silly

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I'm so glad you did too!

There is nothing silly ever, about caring for a living/suffering animal? PUHLEEZE....you ignore that negativity and just know, you have a much bigger, superior heart. 

At your young age, 19? 

You will have a wonderful life, stay positive, focused, and motivated.

NEVER allow anyone to get in your way, never doubt yourself or your motives and ambitions.

You should get back in school and become a vet!!  Hmmm.....make ya think?

You have just what it takes my dear.  

Both of you are awesome. This picture breaks my heart. My babies have all been rescues and I did have one who weighed only 5 pounds and was pregnant. She went on to live to be 17 3/4 yrs old. She crossed over a few months ago.
I LOVE people who rescues defenseless creatures. Matter of fact animal lovers ARE the most compassionate people..
Josie you saved her life. From looking at her she probably would of only lasted a couple of days.

Thank you so much for rescuing this sweet soul.  I hope you are able to get her to a vet soon.  Keep us updated on her progress.

Hi Josie,

Thank you for helping this poor little cat. She's soooooo skinny, she wouldn't have made it without you.

I hope everything goes OK at the vets. Keep us posted.

Fingers crossed that she just needs a few good meals.