Stray nearly starved to death

Just agreed to take a new foster.   This poor boy is very thin.   Several people who have been in rescue for many years have commented that they have never seen a cat this thin who was still alive.   The vet who works with our rescue refused to vaccinate him because his condition was so poor.  ( He was already neutered.)

  He is a large cat who should weigh 12-13 lbs.  but now weighs 6 lbs.  The vet thinks be is about 5 years old.  He is good boy and likes attention and wants to be petted.   He readily eats canned food and will eat dry but definitely prefers canned,

My goal is to put some weight on him in the next month so he can be vetted.   He will be quite adoptable;   once he is in good health he will be quite handsome and he is lovable.

Would appreciate advice from anyone who has dealt with a cat with this problem.

This kitty is surely lucky to have fallen into your care!

My only advice would be to go slow with the feedings. There is something called Refeeding Syndrome that you need to be aware of.

Here is a good explanation:
http://www.wisconsinfederatedhs.org/feeding-skinny-animals-helpful-or-harmful.html

I, too, had a kitten that became sick and had every bone visible. He was a stray and refused to come near. I tried enticing him with everything, but he flat refused to eat. I truly didn't think he would make it.  He finally became so weak we caught him, cleaned his nose and eyes out and gave him a pinch of Felisafe from PetALive. It claims to control vomiting and fever in cats and kittens. He was eating by the end of the day! Start out with small amounts given often then after 3 days, increase the amount. I just gave him as much canned food as he would eat, and within a month he was back to normal weight, he ate almost constantly. Bless you for helping this beautiful little soul, I pray he finds a forever home soon!

CatPack said:

This kitty is surely lucky to have fallen into your care!

My only advice would be to go slow with the feedings. There is something called Refeeding Syndrome that you need to be aware of.

Here is a good explanation:
http://www.wisconsinfederatedhs.org/feeding-skinny-animals-helpful-or-harmful.html

Click to expand...

I am a bit of a history buff and I heard of this when the concentration camps were liberated.  I hadn't heard a specific name for it before though.  The first ones there were soldiers and they naturally gave the people there all the food they had.  Some people that might have survived didn't because of what the soldiers did by letting them have all the food that they had to give them.  Of course the soldiers didn't know, they were just doing what anyone with normal human emotions but no medical knowledge would do.

So sad. I thank you for rescue the dog.

bless you for helping this kitty 

Thank you for the link.    I'll surely  watch for the signs.   

God Bless you for helping this little creature out! I hope that he responds well for you, I'm sure that he will, and he will be forever grateful that you took him in and nursed him back to health! Please keep us updated on his progress!

Years ago, we saw a stray in our back yard crying, and when he ran he his belly was so low to the ground and his ribs were showing and I thought and said to my wife "that is a very sick cat". Well, he stuck around and the colony that was in our backyard accepted him into their fold, that was about 4 or 5 years ago and he has been living inside with the rest of them for years, and "Simba" is one of the happiest cats in the world, so it goes to show you what at first appears sad and hopeless can turn into something wonderful!

St. Francis is smiling down on you too......

Thank you all for your encouraging words and advice.   It gives me hope when I hear the success stories. 

After reading the linked article I'm thinking of getting him some Evo canned and dry food as it is high in fat and protein and low carb.   Right now I'm feeding Merrick grain free dry and FF canned classic pate as that's what I had on hand when I got the call from the vet's office asking that I foster him.  Evo has always seemed to help strengthen cats I've had before with issues.   Of course, once they are better they refuse to eat it esp. the canned.

Thoughts?