After being hit with hurricane Irma, a lot of strays have been turning up around my neighborhood- mostly cats. Yesterday my sister was lucky enough to save a little cat that looks like he hasn't had a solid meal in a week. He looks to be older than 4 months but younger than a year old. As much as we want to, we cannot afford to keep him, but my mother is willing to help nurture him for about a week until we find someone who can give him all the love and attention he deserves. As much as I hate to say this, a vet is not an option at the moment as I am a college student with a tight budget. For now, though, I was wondering if there are any steps I should do to care for him? He has fleas and someone suggested to bathe him in dawn dish detergent to get rid of them. Even though he's pretty calm about being in an unfamiliar place, I don't want to put him through that stress from a bath. That and because he is so skinny (like feel every bone skinny) I don't want to pick him up for fear of hurting him. He has a wound on his paw and from closer observation, it looks like a bite wound that he kept licking at. Any idea how I could clean that up? Despite his condition, he is eating normally, wants to cuddle, is pretty vocal when you stop petting him and is trying to jump onto anything he can. Mind you, it has only been a day since we've had him. I'm guessing this is a good sign? We have the basic necessities for him like dry food, water, a litter box, and a little bed. Is there anything else we can do to help bring him back to a healthy state until we find him a good home?
P.s. I attached some photos of the little guy. It's a bit blurry because the cutie just doesn't sit still at all when he wants to be pet.
P.s. I attached some photos of the little guy. It's a bit blurry because the cutie just doesn't sit still at all when he wants to be pet.
You are true cat guardian - bless you for taking him in. I know that money is tight, but if you can give him some canned food, it will be easier for him to digest. Sometimes they get sores in their mouth from dehydration so you can also try soaking a bit of the dry food and see if he likes that. Boiled chicken works, too. The fleas might have made him anemic so just feeding him probably saved his life. If you look at the "Hurricane Irma Is Headed Our Way!" Thread in The Cat Lounge, you can see who some of our FL members are, in case you need local advice, maybe send them a Private Message. Again, bless you and your mom for rescuing that dear boy!
So far we have canned food made for kittens his age as well as some high-calorie gel that was recommended. Took him a little bit of time to get used to it because he really liked his dry food, but he's fine with it now! I am definitely going to visit that thread thanks so much!!
