Need advice skinny cat

plehemos

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I go for walks around my neighborhood to get some exercise and I always walk by a certin group of homes and a very small/very skinny/friendly cat always pops out looking for some affection.

At first I just pet the cat until he started to get skinnier and skinnier. I then fed him small pieces of chicken everytime I walked by but recently he seems to be getting sick. Last week he seemed to have injured his leg somehow as he was sitting on the side of the road when I walking by he tryed to get up and had trouble standing and fell down on his head/back, he got up and seemed eager to be fed the chicken. After that incident he seemed to be more energetic the following days[still had a slight limp though] until today, he saw me coming up the street and seemed to be very weak to the point he had trouble standing and had to sit. Taking a further look there was some puss or some kind of fluid around his eyes. I wiped the puss off, he ate the chicken I gave him, after some thought his condition worried me so I came looking for some advice.

Any help would be appreciated.

PS- This cat is very skinny especially around his hips by his back legs. I pretty sure he is owned by a elderly couple in one of the said homes. I noticed yesterday someone put a cup of milk and water by the place I usually see him[which is 2 doors down from his home]. His body/chest vibrates quite a bit when picking him up.
 

gardenandcats

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This is a hard call. if he has a owner I would talk with them about his condition.If they feel they can't afford to or don't want to get him to a vet. Maybe they will let you take him to a no kill shelter .Get him the medical help he needs and a new home!
 
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plehemos

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I was interested in taking the cat to try and have him checked out by a vet but the time that I see him is mostly quite late so it somewhat difficult to find the time[$ also]. As far as talking to the owners they seem to be home rarely and somewhat unfriendly. I also don't want to be seen as kidnapping him.

The thing I am most surprised about is that he seemed so weak in his legs similar to last week. As I stated he was very energetic the following day of hitting his head that he would see me coming down the sidewalk and run toward me and follow me step for step until I stopped to feed him.

Also if anyone can give me an expalnation of possible reason there could be for
the liquid to run from his eyes.[Not sure if it was puss or if his eyes were watering. It seemed when I cleaned it with my finger to be like slime or snot] Is it possible that his weak legs could be a result of lacking nutrition? I give a handful of white chicken meat everyday but if that is all he is eating it might be lacking.[I tried to give catfood before but he seemed disinterested]

PS- I provided the info about the of cup milk because it pointed to the fact one of the other neighbors was concerned about his weight. This cat has lived in this particular area for years and most people who walk by comment on the fact that he is so friendly.
 

tnr1

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It's great you care.....I would definately approach his owners since it is apparrent he needs medical attention. You could even offer to assist in the costs. My concern is that he may have an Upper Resp. Infection which is highly contagious to other cats....so it really is important for him to be seen.

Katie
 
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plehemos

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If I see the cat's owners I will try to talk to them about the situation. I was checking up on some of the possible issues that could be affecting him such as the Upper Resp. Infection which he seems to have some of those symptoms. I looked at weight loss problems and came across Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) which has alot of symptoms that look to be quite close to what could be bothering him.

The symptoms of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) often include lack of appetite, lethargy, rough coat, weight loss, jaundice, labored breathing and fever. With the wet form, there may be visible enlargement of the abdominal area.
Hopefully his eager attitude to eat the chicken is a sign this is not the case with his health. Hopefully the issue rather be the Upper Resp. Infection as opposed to this as the possible swelling of the joints could be a reason he has trouble standing/walking.

Could anyone give me an idea what I might be looking[$ wise] at in having him checked up on at a vet? Also someone gave me some advice that I should give feed some penicillin, that seems somewhat risky to me though. [Good idea/bad idea?]
 

tnr1

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Unfortunately there is no way to give you a $$ for a vet visit as the $$ is set by the location and the vet. You can certainly call around and see what the costs could be.

Katie
 

trouts mom

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I wouldn't give him any kind of meds without the vets recommendation..Can't you sneak him to the vet since you said his owners aren't home alot maybe they won't notice.
 

momof3rugratz

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Originally Posted by Trouts mom

I wouldn't give him any kind of meds without the vets recommendation..Can't you sneak him to the vet since you said his owners aren't home alot maybe they won't notice.
True... Heck just ask they might be feeding out of obligation waiting for some help... If it si older couple maybe funds are the problem
 

katkisses

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It's wortha try to talk to them, if that doesn't go to great I personally would... for the lack of better words 'repo' the cat and take him to the vet, and just keep him. If they arn't going to take care of it, then they don't need it. If you couldn't keep him, you can just foster him until you find him a home.

It is very important that, if you have cats, you immeadiatly wash your hands and change clothes, anythig he has you could give it to your cats.

If you do decide to take him to the vet, and it earlier when he's not out like you said, just snatch him up the night before the visit, and let him stay with you beforehand. After the visit you can let him back out, if that's what you choose, but I bet there is a 98% chance that if you go the the vet the vet will prescride some daily meds. This cat sound VERY sick, and should see a vet ASAP!

I hope you can figure something out!
 
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plehemos

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I'll try calling around to see their prices for a checkup. I mainly asked what would be a good estimate for a routine checkup so I might find the appropriate pricing scale.[Ex- What someone here paid for their cat's last checkup] Yeah I'm really not sure about giving him any meds that could potentially harm[Better to be safe], I decided earlier that I was going to take him and try to bring him back at a later time hoping that nobody would notice. Sadly he was not anywhere to be seen today, hopefully his owners noticed the issue with his eyes yesterday and are taking the proper measures in noticing that he might be sick and needs treament rather than just putting him inside.

Heck just ask they might be feeding out of obligation waiting for some help... If it si older couple maybe funds are the problem
Looking at their house it would seem they would be in a better position than myself to look after their own cat. One thought I had was that maybe they already took him to the vet and he might need some expensive help and they just don't/can't think of him as worth it.

It is very important that, if you have cats, you immeadiatly wash your hands and change clothes, anythig he has you could give it to your cats.
This is another worry of mine is that I could have spread something to other cats that come to my home. There are 2 cats that regulary hang out at my house that are not mine, another up the street that acts similiar to the skinny cat alway running up looking for some food but on that note is also chubby[This cat seems to have an injured front paw to the far right and seems bent to the side] I'll have to check over the next couple days to make sure they don't come with any symptoms. Hopefully their is still something I can do for the skinny cat if its already not too late.
 

junior67

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I have an estimate from my vets office but every state is different. I am in MA. and a check up (just the visit) is between $40-$50 then blood test, stool sample any shots are extra....... I can give you the estimate that I got from my vet if you would like. but if you call a vet near you they can give an estimate over the phone. The vet I took my cat too (my "normal" vet is extremely expensive so trying some others in my area) the first visit you go there was free for the office visit which was nice.
 

ktlynn

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Seems to me this poor kitty has no one to care for him. I'm not sure when exactly it was you realized he was becoming sick, but from your posts it seems to have been at least 1-2 weeks ago, plenty of time for his family, if he has one, to take care of him. He's also been skinny since you've first seen him. My guess is that he is an abandoned cat, and the people in the houses where you see him feed him occasionally which would account for him staying in that area.

I agree with KatKisses advice to take him to the vet ASAP. The symptoms you describe aren't good, especially the weakness he's experiencing. I also wouldn't worry at this point about whether or not he's actually someone's cat. If he is, he's being badly neglected. As I mentioned, they've had more than enough time to notice he's sick -you can tell he's ill and you're only walking by. Take him to the vet. Sorry to say, I don't think anyone will even notice he's gone when you do.

Thanks very much for caring for this poor little guy. I hope you'll soon see him again and get him the help he needs.
 
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plehemos

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Unfortunately I have not seen the cat since I first posted this message. I think it is quite clear what has become of my litle friend


I have not seen any symptoms of the other cats being sick so thats a positive. Thanks for lending me some advice on these situations.
 
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