13 Month Old Cat Weights 3.5 Lbs?

[JJ Hochberg]

My roommate's Persian cat has been ill for several months now. She hasn't grown an inch since when she was eight months old, and even before that, she was a relatively small cat. She throws up everything she eats, which isn't that much food to begin with. She also has health issues that are related to her breed, such as sneezing and watery eyes. (And man, are those eyes watery. Her face is soaked and swollen all the time.) Now I can feel all the bones and muscles below her long fur coat. Her tummy is thinner than her spine. I think my own cat weighted more than she does now when he was 4 months old.
The last blood test she had turned up normal. The vet couldn't find anything wrong via palpation and stuff, either. I'm suspecting digestive tract obstruction, but nothing has come up after my roommate fed her hairball gel. My roommate, who has already spend more than $2,000 for her medical bills and unable to afford more, just told me that she was hoping to rehome the poor thing.
I don't know if she could find anyone would take on a cat in such horrible shape as she is, but I'm unable to help financially, either. It would be really helpful if anyone can answer some of our questions.
1, If she surrenders the cat to a no-kill shelter, will they treat the cat, or do they just keep her until she gets adopted?
2, We live in Puget Sound, where vet services can cost a fortune. Is there a place where it cost a little less in Washington State?
3, Most importantly, is it likely that she can survive a surgery at all, given how malnourished she is now?
Any help would be really appreciated.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
It would need to be a true no-kill shelter, or the outcome won't be good.

Has the vet said anything about her eyes? Can you find a different vet?

Is there anything here that might help?
No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

Financial Aid for Pets

Also, maybe there's something here that might help;

How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again

Sit with your cat and scoop some food on your finger or a spoon and hopefully your kitty will lick it. Or gently tuck some food inside the cheek. Try everything, because there might be something she can keep down.

If necessary, syringe feed, there are YouTube videos.

(You might want to double-check with your vet just to be sure these things below are ok for your kitty).

Try some raw egg yolk. Egg white must always be cooked, and some people cook the white and make a slurry of sorts by adding in the raw yolk.

You could try some Nutri-cal, cat cal or similar product.

Try making these recipes - they're just as viable for an adult cat;
Kitten-Rescue.com

These below can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave.

Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored (pureed) baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up, lettuce, applesauce, mashed chickpeas, black olives
• whipped topping such as reddiwhip
• dry pasta

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables, Only Natural Pet, Primal

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese, string cheese

 

[GalaxyGirl]

What is your roommate feeding this cat? Brands and type of food would really help. Thanks

 

[lisahe]

What is your roommate feeding this cat? Brands and type of food would really help. Thanks

This was the first thing I wondered, too: sometimes cats, even kittens, can have pretty serious sensitivities to food that make them vomit and have diarrhea. Lots of ingredients -- like corn, wheat, potato, and even chicken or fish -- can cause problems but sometimes feeding a really simple diet can help. Sometimes just switching from dry food to a very basic canned food helps because the problem is with one of the fillers in the dry food. Unfortunately, not all vets are very aware of how to handle cat illnesses that are rooted in food.

(Lots of us have learned about this the hard way, with cat who either come to us with food issues or get sick after being fed inappropriate food for years.)

Also, where did the cat come from? The runny nose and eyes sound like they could be leftover symptoms from a respiratory infection, which is very common among shelter cats. (Our previous cat had a respiratory infection shortly after we brought her home and she occasionally got runny eyes and a sneezy nose during the rest of her life -- she was with us for twelve years. The vet assumed she had a herpes infection.)

Also, here's an article about financial help for vet care: No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

I hope there's something there that might help you!

Good luck to you, your roommate, and the cat. What is the cat's name?

 

[JJ Hochberg]

This was the first thing I wondered, too: sometimes cats, even kittens, can have pretty serious sensitivities to food that make them vomit and have diarrhea. Lots of ingredients -- like corn, wheat, potato, and even chicken or fish -- can cause problems but sometimes feeding a really simple diet can help. Sometimes just switching from dry food to a very basic canned food helps because the problem is with one of the fillers in the dry food. Unfortunately, not all vets are very aware of how to handle cat illnesses that are rooted in food.

(Lots of us have learned about this the hard way, with cat who either come to us with food issues or get sick after being fed inappropriate food for years.)

Also, where did the cat come from? The runny nose and eyes sound like they could be leftover symptoms from a respiratory infection, which is very common among shelter cats. (Our previous cat had a respiratory infection shortly after we brought her home and she occasionally got runny eyes and a sneezy nose during the rest of her life -- she was with us for twelve years. The vet assumed she had a herpes infection.)

Also, here's an article about financial help for vet care: No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

I hope there's something there that might help you!

Good luck to you, your roommate, and the cat. What is the cat's name?

Thank all of you for your kind help.
The cat’s name is Mimi, short for something in a foreign language I think. My roommate has bought at least five different kinds of food for her. I think she’s keeping the prescribed wet food down, but she only eats like 2 ounces each day.
After sleeping on it I think I should tell the whole story. I didn’t want to because it’s too complicated, but I really need some advise now. Truth is, Mimi’s owner, lets call her T, is just a horrible cat parent. That’s why me and the other roommates are left with the dilemma.
Mimi has never been allowed in T’s bedroom in her whole life. Which is T’s choice and it’s okay, I guess. Problem being T never comes out of her room besides to get her food delivery, when she checks on the cat briefly. She gets every single meal delivered to her; she claims she’s living in proverty now, as she can’t afford three deliveries a day anymore, wtf. There’s a high end grocery store with a fine deli just down the block. I guess saving at least 500 bucks a month to get Mimi properly diagnosed by walking five minutes a day is too much for T. She takes expensive trips during every break, too. She gets mad when the litter box has any feces at all when she comes back, but she never cleans the box when she’s here.
T seems to expect Mimi being magically heal as long as she takes her to the vet. She takes her there, buys prescribed stuff, and brings her home and that’s it. She doesn’t even put the food in the bowl, but she becomes hysterical when one of us feeds Mimi the wrong food. She doesn’t even tell us which one is the right one, for God’s sake.
Mimi has ran away couple of times. One time she wound up in a shelter, but the shelter read her chip and sent her back. In hindsight, how much do I wish she was kept there. She was in a much better form then.
I’m a graduate student myself, who is naturally both busy and broke. I tried to help Mimi within my ability, but T would flip the house upside down if she believed I wronged Mimi. The cat is nasty, with a tear soaked face and litter stained paws, but T won’t let anyone bathe her. She doesn’t want me to syringe feed Mimi, either.
If T could just admit she doesn’t give two shit about the poor kitty, one of us roommates would probably adopt her or at least take care of her for the time being, but T insists that she loves Mimi so much. We wanted to report her for animal neglect, but she said she would rehome the cat soon, so we didn’t. But up until now, she still hasn’t started looking yet. She refuses to take her to a shelter, either. I thought about taking Mimi there myself, but again, she’s chipped.
I’m still holding on to the hope that T will come to her senses if we could find a cheaper place to get Mimi treated, but I know that’s not likely. At this moment, I really don’t know what to do anymore. I really can’t watch the poor thing starve herself to death.

 

[Furballsmom]

If you can report her for abuse and neglect, it would be good but be sure you do it in such a way that T doesn't know until right up until the last moment, and be sure the case is as airtight as possible.

Take pictures of the cat, get video of T's behavior as much as you can, make notes.

My personal opinion is that as much as you dear, wonderful people want positive things to happen, T is the type that simply won't lift much of a finger. It's possible that she actually does love the cat as much as she is able, but that's not translating into actions on behalf of the cat. It hasn't, and it won't.

You don't want her catching wind of this and moving out with the cat and out of your reach. Hang in there!!

 

[lisahe]

JJ Hochberg, thank you for describing the situation with Mimi, T, and you and your other roommate (whom I'll call S). It leaves me at something of a loss for words because it's so sad. Poor Mimi!

First off, as strange as it sounds, I think Furballsmom may be right that it's possible T truly does love Mimi: sometimes people can really go into serious denial when a cat is very sick and they feel powerless. They just don't -- even can't -- see how bad things are. I know because I've been there; based on some of (even many) the posts I've seen on this site, I think it happens quite a bit. You really hit on something by writing "magically heal" -- I think that's what all of we want when our cats are sick, particularly since cats can't talk. None of that means it's right not to take action, though, so it's good you and S have been helping Mimi because T isn't.

Since you mentioned that you're in grad school, I wonder if there's someone somewhere at your university -- someone at a counseling office maybe? -- that you could ask for help in speaking with T, to try to get her to see the reality of Mimi's condition. And that she, T, should take more responsibility for Mimi's health. On the positive side, there's common ground (crucial for conflict resolution) that you could focus on: T does claim (at least on some levels) to care for the cat, both in terms of caring that she gets better and caring for her by taking her to the vet so she can get better. The weak links in that care are pretty obvious, given what you've written, but maybe forcing (in a nice way) a conversation with T can help her see that it's now or never, she needs to contribute more to Mimi's care. Or agree to let someone else take Mimi so she's not neglected.

In short since I've basically been thinking into the computer: maybe there's someone at the university who could help by mediating a conversation with you, S, and T, so you can find a solution, be it rehoming, the shelter, or figuring out a way to keep Mimi with proper care. Sometimes a town's animal control office (which is usually or at least often part of the police department) can help with things like this, too, almost in a counseling role.

Good luck!

 

[JJ Hochberg]

Furballsmom lisahe
After being reminded, T finally posted somewhere to get Mimi rehomed. Apparently, Persians are of high demand, so Mimi got picked up only a few hours later. I got home when Mimi's new parent was about to leave, so I didn't hear much of their conversation, but T did suggest the lady take her to the vet asap.
Just when I (secretly) started feeling happy for Mimi, T told me that people were asking her if Mimi was sick because there were no rehome fee, and that she told the lady that the doctor didn't find anything wrong with her besides .... But "didn't find anything wrong" is not equivalent to "couldn't find anything wrong, further testing required"! T then said she told the lady that Mimi lost all the weight when she was at a cat hotel over the Christmas (that stay was only for 7 days!!! no cat can become that malnourished over 7 days!!!), and that feeding her more food will turn things around (she probably left the vomit part out?). She deceived the new parent, who, by the way, does not have any prior experience with a cat, and might therefore not know what kind of urgent situation Mimi is in. She even repeated the lie she told to me, without any guilt in her voice.
I'm so afraid that the lady may not take Mimi to see a doctor soon, or that she might try to return or abandon her once she finds out how ill. Also, it's not fair to her at all.
I honestly think that she does not love the cat a bit. She just claims that she does so she won't sound heartless. She just wanted a toy, without giving any thought to the obligation that comes with the joy of having a cat. She did not even show any sign of sadness after the cat was gone, and started talking about a video game immediately. She wouldn't even give me the new parent's contact info.

 

[Furballsmom]

All we can hope for is that common sense and a good vet will rule and win the day for that cat.

I don't know if there would be someone else who could get the lady's contact info from T?

Thank you for the update, hang in there, and we will have to trust that Mimi's new person figures it out.

 

[lisahe]

Thank you for posting, JJ Hochberg . It's hard to say if the rehoming sounds like good news or bad news. I guess Furballsmom is right that all we can do is hope for the best: it sounds like New Catmom was a bit suspicious to begin with so let's keep our fingers crossed that a) she gets Mimi right to the vet and b) the new vet is more up on nutrition and digestive issues than the previous one was. Sometimes digestive and food issues do clear up pretty quickly with an easy change of diet.

No matter what, you and S did all the right things in a difficult situation.

 

[GalaxyGirl]

Such a sad story. Giving a cat away free is bad. A lot of people who are into dog fighting use kittens as bait. I can only hope this is t the case.

 

[Boosalyn]

Omg this story is heartbreaking and seriously infuriates me .jj, Your lazy friend needs to have some sense slapped into her as well as b slapped with a felony for animal abuse/ neglect . That’s what needs to happen. I live in Texas , and I don’t know of many vets who would let a 13 month old cat (weighing only 3.5 lbs) leave a facility that was So grossly malnourished, under the care, or lack of care and neglect/ abuse, with an owner that has not even the mental capacity to provide basic necessities such as food ,water, shelter and love for another living thing -( that is basically being held captive and severely abused/neglected ) to the point of life threatening malnourishment( and im sure dehydration) stunting normal growth and development . How the hell is a cat supposed to ever have the ability to fight off sickness and disease when it’s being held captive by someone thst can’t b bothered to care,feed,and get medical attention for it when it gets sick because she doesn’t like cleaning out the ****ing litter box ?? yet doesn’t have the decency to surrender the cat to a rescue or willing friend that does care and shows an interest in its well being. Omg I can’t imagine the hell this poor animal is living daily . I mean really . What needs to b done in this situation is animal control news to bcalled on T so she gets investigated and fined or charged for animal abuse ( a felony... at least in Texas it is) which will make it hard for T to ever b able to own another animal in the future so to prevent any other innocent animal to b Abused By such a selfish , undeserving, disgusting, disgrace of a human . I only hope karma catches he soon and dishes her a taste of her own tasteless bitter medicine . I’m sorry I have absolutely no understanding nor patience for such a sorry person . Thanks for hearing my rant . I’m done . Everyone enjoy the remainder of your evenings everyone except” T” !