Random Stray/possible Outdoor Cat Came Up Randomly To Door. Help?

[litterbox]

Heard meows from inside and there was a cat shivering right outside my door. I live in a private home. Opened the door and she came right in meowing. Gave her some dry food but then switched to canned as I read online it's better for a starving cat. Also drank lots of water.

For all of you that might know, NY got hit by a major storm so that might be reason why she got caught outside.

She's very thin and I can feel her spine as I pet her. Light, too, compared to my house cat. She's also not afraid of people at all and came right up to me, against my legs and even pawed at my pants standing upright.

What should I do? Last 2 hours I gave her 2 cans and lots of water. I put her inside the cat bed my cat doesn't sleep in with a blanket... I put her in the basement bathroom and left her with water/food and a litter box. She's lying down relaxing. Meows whenever I come to her and tries to follow me around everywhere.

I am afraid she has something because she's a stray... What should I do? Right now she's relaxing.

I already have a house cat (stray kitty from years ago)... She accidentally came up on us as I was feeding her. Forgot to close the door... I let them face off for a second but the stray kept looking away and was completely non-confrontational. My house cat is usually a scaredy cat, so she did her hissing for a minute and looked curiously at the stray, then ran away.

Anyway, should I keep her? How much would a vet visit cost? I honestly can't afford anything atm...

Is there a way to get insurance on the spot and possibly pay for all the shots.

Hmm not sure if the stray was abandoned or anything like that. I've never seen her around before.

 

[CaliCatCharlie]

I got my Charlie the same way...he just came in and made himself at home. Like you, I set him up with the basics and then I took some pics of him.

Make a Found Cat poster and hit the spots like grocery store, neighborhood, those big, mailboxes at the end of streets, etc. Also go to the local shelter and post the flyer. Most shelters will also scan the cat for free to see if it has a chip.

Then you wait...I waited two weeks before investing in the vet visit. But if your stray kitty has worms, leaky eyes or respiratory issues-you may want to go sooner.

You can call around to local vets. Some have new cat deals. I don’t have insurance and can’t answer that but I am certain another here will know.

Good luck! My life changed the day Charlie walked in my home...for the very best

 

[shadowsrescue]

Look for a low cost spay/neuter clinic. In my area, they do vaccines for around $10. You also want to see if she is microchipped. Maybe someone is looking for her.

Thank you for letting her inside to be warm. Keep her away from your cats until you can get the funds to get her tested.

 

[litterbox]

Thanks for helpful advice.

Seems to be a bengal cat of some sort. Longer hind legs, spots, very talkative and athletic figure. Now that she's not freezing, she talks constantly and follows me around rubbing against me.

No leaky eyes, but no idea if she has worms. When she first came in, she sounded sick and was breathing extremely heavy. Now after 3 hours or so, her breathing is back to normal. Gave her a 3rd can and she demolished it.

 

[Kieka]

It could be a house cat that got out, with the storm it went looking for safety. For now keep the cats separate just in case but if the cat is friendly it is probably a low risk for for illness (assuming it's a pet with positive human interaction it likely had it's kitten shot). I'd ask a vet or shelter check to see if there is a microchip. I know my vet does free microchip scans for found cats even if you aren't a client.

If there is a microchip try to contact the owner or turn it over to the shelter to hold until the owner can be contacted. If no microchip, make a choice about if you want to keep it. If you do, put up signs in a mile radius and post to social media/online ads to attempt to find the owner. After two weeks if no owner comes forward THEN I would pay for a vet exam, testing, shots and spay/neuter if needed. If you don't want to keep it, you usually have to turn it over to a shelter because most no kills will only take pets. But you can keep an eye on it or talk to a no kill to pull the cat if someone doesn't adopt it.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I would really try to get her to a vet to see if they can just scan her. Someone might be looking for her. I am so glad that you were able to help her.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Keep us updated please. Bless you for saving this poor kitty.

 

[litterbox]

She's a lot better now but still loving the canned food. Since yesterday she's eaten a good 7 cans all evenly spaced out so she doesn't get digestive issues. Seems to have used the litter box at least once.

One eye does seem to have some reddish discharge now that I look really close so she must have a respiratory infection when you take into account the breathing and some light sneezing yesterday. So far just eating a lot of food and sleeping. Every time I go downstairs and open the door she gets up and meows a lot so she's still hungry and still friendly.

Got a free voucher for a vet visit on Monday so will update more as time progresses.

Not many shelters around my area and the only one I do see that's close is very high kill according to reviews so not sure if I wanna take that chance.

 

[dustydiamond1]

What a sweetheart! (you AND the kitty)

 

[dustydiamond1]

Just curious. Is the kitty you already have the little stray you found in 2013? The one you found behind a dumpster?

 

[litterbox]

Just curious. Is the kitty you already have the little stray you found in 2013? The one you found behind a dumpster?

Unfortunately, my first kitten grew up but he was a mix of outdoor/indoor, and was attacked by raccoons outside my backyard one day. I found his body later on after he never came back home. He'd always come back at the same time daily to eat and go to sleep and never wandered far. If I ever wanted him to come back I'd do a special whistle he knew and he'd greet me while playing with his cat buddies. Tried to introduce me to them one day, but they were too afraid of me and ran away. lol I do miss him as he was very special and had a great personality.

My 2nd kitty is another stray we found underneath a friend's car engine and my 2nd cat to this day. Strictly indoor as it's dangerous around here and I learned my lesson even though it pains me as I see her look out the window, with yearning in her eyes for the birds and grass. I haven't seen many cats at all around my neighborhood ever since my 1st cat's untimely end. I do believe they've all been scared away or taken advantage of by these gigantic raccoons we have around here.

1st stray kitty was a domestic shorthair I'd guess from what I now know of cats.
2nd stray kitty (current) is a maine coon mix. Very fluffy but she's shy yet talkative and playful.

 

[ashade1]

Thank you for taking this cat in! I feel so bad for all of the homeless cats outside in this frigid weather! Hope she gets an all clear from your vet and you can start introducing her to your other cat! You could look and see if you have any of these clinics near you Find a VIP Petcare community vet clinic near you they do low cost vaccines/combo test and things.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Unfortunately, my first kitten grew up but he was a mix of outdoor/indoor, and was attacked by raccoons outside my backyard one day. I found his body later on after he never came back home. He'd always come back at the same time daily to eat and go to sleep and never wandered far. If I ever wanted him to come back I'd do a special whistle he knew and he'd greet me while playing with his cat buddies. Tried to introduce me to them one day, but they were too afraid of me and ran away. lol I do miss him as he was very special and had a great personality.

My 2nd kitty is another stray we found underneath a friend's car engine and my 2nd cat to this day. Strictly indoor as it's dangerous around here and I learned my lesson even though it pains me as I see her look out the window, with yearning in her eyes for the birds and grass. I haven't seen many cats at all around my neighborhood ever since my 1st cat's untimely end. I do believe they've all been scared away or taken advantage of by these gigantic raccoons we have around here.

1st stray kitty was a domestic shorthair I'd guess from what I now know of cats.
2nd stray kitty (current) is a maine coon mix. Very fluffy but she's shy yet talkative and playful.

Yikes! How terrible! Do the raccoons ever attack anything besides poor strays? I know you feel bad keeping your kitty inside but you sure are correct in doing so! Even though our neighborhood is very safe we keep our little ex stray Gypsy inside except for walkies in her jacket on a leash with us. She has perches in every window where she can keep an eye-level watch on the squirrels & birds (we are on the 2nd floor) There are photos of her adventures in albums on our profile page also the story of how she adopted us under our information. What is your maine coon mix called? Love to see some photos of both.

 

[litterbox]

Thank you for taking this cat in! I feel so bad for all of the homeless cats outside in this frigid weather! Hope she gets an all clear from your vet and you can start introducing her to your other cat! You could look and see if you have any of these clinics near you Find a VIP Petcare community vet clinic near you they do low cost vaccines/combo test and things.

Yep, there are some near me. Thank you, this should help out a lot.

Yikes! How terrible! Do the raccoons ever attack anything besides poor strays? I know you feel bad keeping your kitty inside but you sure are correct in doing so! Even though our neighborhood is very safe we keep our little ex stray Gypsy inside except for walkies in her jacket on a leash with us. She has perches in every window where she can keep an eye-level watch on the squirrels & birds (we are on the 2nd floor) There are photos of her adventures in albums on our profile page also the story of how she adopted us under our information. What is your maine coon mix called? Love to see some photos of both.

Bella. I don't really use her name, she just follows me around all the time. Plus my whistle does a much better job of getting her attention.

I took this pic a long time ago when she first came to our home. Was still small here.

 

[litterbox]

Just an update, the cat is much better now.

Read online about supplementing some fish oil or similar for starving cats to regain their energy and fat stores.

Yesterday she couldn't really meow at all and sounded gargled but today after 24 hours of fish oil supps on her food, she's the best I've seen her yet. Energetic just now when I went to feed her. Got off the catbed instantly and her meows are strong. Isn't shaky anymore, where before she'd almost slip and fall sideways probably due to exhaustion. When I was preparing the food on the table, she even tried to reach for it, so complete recovery compared to past 2 days.