Stray who refuses cat food but drinks milk only

oyster

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I have had a stray cat for the last 2 months. He comes twice daily. Both times, he stands on my porch and waits. I jump at his unspoken command and get the wet and dry food out. He doesn't touch it at all. He will drink a whole bowl of milk and now, he won't touch the cat food. I even bought him some raw meat but he nibbled it and left it. He is very skinny and I am afraid the milk is not doing him favors but he will only drink milk. Any suggestions to change his diet to a carnivore's diet? He looks to be about 1-2 years old. 
 

msaimee

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I wouldn't give the cat raw meat because if the cat isn't used to eating it, he could get parasites or tummy upset. You might want to try to give him some canned food moistened with the milk and see if he'll eat it. Try a few different flavors. I've noticed that cats prefer the "pate" kinds of canned food over the other types. There's a good possibility that he has parasites, which is very common among strays and ferals. When a cat has parasites, no matter how much they eat, they will be hungry and skinny. Can you get him to a vet to get checked out? Have you asked around your neighborhood to see if the cat belongs to someone? It could be that he's eating elsewhere and coming to you for "dessert."  At any rate, if you've been feeding him for 2 months and he's still skinny, he probably needs a de-wormer pill which you can get from a vet and put in his food.
 

Columbine

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It's also possible his mouth is sore and he physically can't eat. If you're able to get him to a vet, that would be the best course of action - you need to know what you're dealing with.

In the meantime, see if he'll drink goat's milk - raw if possible, but normal full far is fine too. Goat's milk is much more digestible than cows milk, and is often used as a KMR alternative.

Bone broth might be worth a go too:-
[VIDEO][/VIDEO]
 
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