Rescued Thin and Anaemic Stray

erings

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Hello everyone, this week as been a little crazy. Let me introduce myself first, I'm a college student who lives with my parents. We care for 4 indoor kitties, ages ranging from 8-19.

On Monday, I noticed a cat in our yard so I went to check him out. After hiding from me, he came out and that's when I saw how skinny he was. I got my mom to bring me some cat treats, and eventually convinced her to let me take to a nearby vet.

The vet did an FIV test (which was negative) and scanned him for a microchip (which also was negative). He is a neutered male and has fleas and anaemia. The vet gave him a dewormer and a vitamin paste.

We've named him Harley and because he has fleas we're keeping him in the garage. He is doing well, and is even using a litterbox. Though he is extremely constipated, he pooped once today for the first time and the stool was hard.

Harley also puked up some food today, so I fed him some tuna to encourage him to eat and later today I'm going to make a tuna-rice-hard boiled egg mix. I know tuna should not be a staple, but I just wanted jump-start his weight. Any advice is welcome!
 

Mamanyt1953

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You will want to take care of those fleas IMMEDIATELY!  They are adding to the anemia, and if he's in rough shape, can cause real problems.

I imagine that the vomiting is from the sudden availability of a rich food source that he isn't used to.  Try several (4-5) small meals a day till his tummy adjusts.  A tiny bit of olive oil in his food will ease the constipation...just keep watch and cut it back as things get easier for him.

Keep us posted on how  he is doing!  Best of luck with your new cat!  He is lucky to have found you.
 
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erings

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Mamanyt1953- How do you recommend getting rid of fleas? So far we are using a generic flea treatment brand, but it doesn't seem to be working so I'm going to go to the store and get Advantage. We're also combing him daily.

My dad wasn't so happy when he found a cat in the garage, but after interacting with him, he muttered, "maybe we can keep him." Now it's just up to the other cats!

Primula- Harley is super docile so he definitely would let us, I'm just worried about stressing him out when he's already in poor condition. We made a ground beef (instead of tuna), hard boiled egg, and rice mix for him, which he seems to be enjoying
 

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Right. I hear you. We use Revolution, which really works well. You need a prescription for it. It will get rid of fleas & ear mites. Maybe a bath when he's been with you a while. A bath is super-effective & can be done quickly, but it can be scary for some cats.
 
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erings

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We plan on taking him to the vet once he's gained a bit more weight, so maybe I could ask them for a prescription. A couple years ago, our 4 cats had fleas and bathing them was an interesting situation, lol. I think once he used to us we will definitely think about doing so.
 

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If you bathe him, try to do it in the kitchen sink. You could put a towel in the sink so it's not slippery for him underfoot. Put a TINY dab of dish detergent on his fur & soap it in. Everyone says Dawn, but I only have Palmolive in the house. Work quickly & thoroughly rinse to get rid of all the soap. Then quickly towel him dry or as dry as you can do it. Don't try to do a perfect job - the entire ordeal should be over in minutes. A 2nd bath may be necessary, but this 1st bath can possibly get all the fleas or most of them at least.
 
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erings

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I think that's a great idea! I'm just worried that if we take him into the house, a flea might jump off and find it's way to one of other cats, starting another infestation. What are the chances of that happening, do you think?
 

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That would be a concern, since they've been known to come in on pants legs after someone walked through the grass.  Fleas are sneaky like that.  Generic flea products rarely work, and are sometimes actively dangerous to some pets. 

I went through an infestation a while back, and started a thread.  This is the link...it has LOTS of good stuff on it...I'll try to use the "link" button, but sometimes it doesn't like my browser.  You may need to cut and paste.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/310291/aaaargggggggggggg-its-fleas

There's a LOT of good info there!
 
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erings

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Thank you so much for that helpful link! I stopped by the store and got Advantage 2, and 10 hours in fleas are starting to surface and fall off. Hopefully than and some combing will do them all in.

Harley gas not pooped today, but is peeing consistently in the litterbox. He is being such a good sport through all this, he even laid in my lap today!
 

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I think that's a great idea! I'm just worried that if we take him into the house, a flea might jump off and find it's way to one of other cats, starting another infestation. What are the chances of that happening, do you think?
I suppose it could happen, but it has never happened to me.
 

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Thank you so much for that helpful link! I stopped by the store and got Advantage 2, and 10 hours in fleas are starting to surface and fall off. Hopefully than and some combing will do them all in.

Harley gas not pooped today, but is peeing consistently in the litterbox. He is being such a good sport through all this, he even laid in my lap today!
Don't forget that olive oil in his food!  That should get things moving.  Only a little bit, though...
 
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erings

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We did add olive oil, but Harley still hasn't pooped again. The fleas are nearly gone, so I'm going to ask my dad make a vet appointment.

This was his silhouette the second day we had him:
This is his silhouette today:

I think I see improvement, his ribs don't seem as defined.
 
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Mamanyt1953

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Keep us posted.  He does need a vet trip, as he may have a bit of a blockage, not unheard of after weeks or months of eating God knows what, and very little drinking water available. 

Bless you, Darlin.  He does look a bit better.  He's going to be a gorgeous boy.
 
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erings

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Harley is eating really well, and he finally pooped today. He's been sleeping a lot more than usual lately, I'm thinking it's from the anaemia. The fleas are all gone though, so he should be ready to roll soon.

I'm so glad he wandered into the yard when he did, honestly he might have died within the week.
 

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I am so thankful that he did, as well.  This boy deserved a chance to be someone's lovekitten.  They all do.  Hugs to both of you! 
 
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erings

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A love kitten he is!

Harley hasn't pooped in the past 2 days, but he had a vet checkup today. His gut isn't filled with poop, so he doesn't have a blockage. Unfortunately they did find a couple live fleas on him, so I gave him one little drop of Advantage 2 (I don't want to overdose him). He has been given medication to treat the anaemia. He might also have the beginnings of hyperthyroidism, which isn't a big deal since our other 2 cats have it as well.

He's also estimated to be about 8 years old, he's an old man!
 

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A love kitten he is!


He's also estimated to be about 8 years old, he's an old man!
My Hekitty just said, "HEY!  Watch your mouf with that old stuff!"  She turned eight on April 1st of this year.
 
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