A stray cat came by, and I put out some water and skim milk for it. It came back a few days later and it looks like I need to take it to a shelter. I let it inside (with a limited space in which to be in) and gave it some Starkist tuna. It ate it like it had never seen food before, probably because its bones are almost visible under its skin.
I fear that if I give it as much as it wants, it might be a shock to its system (haven’t checked the gender, hence the “its”). I plan on taking it to the cat welfare shelter tomorrow, should I limit how much tuna I give it? Tuna seems to be the only cat friendly food I have on hand.
According to this an 8 lb. active adult cat needs 30 calories per pound, per day. Look on the can and see how many calories she got.
Cats can and will overeat, and when you’re refeeding starvation victims of any species, it has to go very slowly, one meal and one day at a time, or else they’ll just puke it all up again. So if it was me, I’d just make sure she had plenty of water and then leave her alone for the rest of the night. Then offer her more tuna for breakfast.
Oh, and cats aren’t really supposed to drink milk–some of them are lactose-intolerant, just like people. So I wouldn’t offer her any more milk, either.
One of my cats develops a rapid bowel obstruction problem when given tuna - either the meat or the oil/water. We have no idea why, but it is both repeatable and fucking expensive. Beware if the cat suddenly acts like it is having bowel distress, or is straining to pass feces but nothing is happening.
On day one she (I think) had a decent amount of milk, then lots of water. I took that to mean that she needed food badly, and hydration as well.
Day two, she had a little water, no milk, and as much tuna as I could put in front of her, which was about a half cup. She stopped just shy of eating it all. No more milk for the cat, now that I’ve found the tuna.
She needs a home and affection more than anything else. I’d love to provide both, but my roommate who happens to own the condo, has no soul and hates cats (especially kittens). Bastard.
I’d love to give this cat to a doper that lives nearby, but I don’t have a lot of time or resources to keep it that long. If anyone is interested in a cat in the central Ohio area, let me know. It is very affectionate, and well tempered, and needs a good home. Email is in the profile.
My vet frowns on giving cats too much seafood, even though they like it. She says it’s the cheapest form of protein, and its purpose is to increase the profit margin of pet-food companies.
There would be, except the only digital camera in the house is my roommate’s, the aforementioned cat hater. She looks like your standard starved black cat, a top view would show her ribs, and emaciated haunches. She has yellow eyes, and seems quite scared, I hope things get better for her once I give her to cat welfare.
You really should try to get a decent (safe) dry catfood for the kitty, even though you won’t have it permanently. You can give what’s left to the people who take the cat in. They do need more nutrients than are found in tuna. (And even the shelter would be grateful to get the bag of food that the cat has become accustomed to, in order to avoid digestive upset due to a new food.)
Saw this as soon as my other post posted. Can you borrow a different friend’s camera for long enough to get some pictures? Her woebegone face might steal a Doper’s heart that lives near you. (Ok, ok, I’d really like to see pictures of the poor thing, so I can better wish it well.)
You did a good thing. If cats are lactose intolerant, you’ll know it because you’ll be dealing with diarrhoea. As for the tuna, some won’t kill the kitty. It’s probably protein-starved anyway. I’d say the main reason for seeking another cat food would be that cats can turn into tuna snobs and refuse to eat anything else whether or not too much fish is good for them.
I would ask for some samples, though - for whatever reason some cats are sensitive to some foods and will get sick on them so don’t buy a box or bag of food until you know it goes down well.
Before investing much effort in this cat, I’d advise a feline leukemia test. Nearly daily I see people who have become attached to a stray only to find it has an incurable retro virus.
Yup. Happenned to me last year, except it was my wife trying to rescue the cat, then giving it away, then the new parents telling us regretfully that we’d given them a dead cat stalking…
Feline Leukemia is a pain, but the right owner can deal with it under specific cercumstances. But, don’t be surprised if the cat is much older than you suspect and has some sort of incurable disease.
Just had a lady the other night who had become incredibly attached to an abandonded cat. It was extremely skinny. She rushed it in to the emergency service because it was suddenly crying, breathing rapidly, and unable to stand. Even I, the second year student, could feel the mass in that cat’s abdomen. The tumor had burst and the cat was bleeding out in front of us. It died right there in the waiting room. The lady was inconsolable for about 20 minutes. Very sad
I’m a little worried since your girl ate, but didn’t sound super enthusiastic. If she was suffering from simple lack of food, she would be ravenous.
I approach taking in waifs with the idea that even if they don’t make it, at least they had some moments of ease and kindness before they died. It’s somewhat easier that way.
You know for dudes like you, I like to imagine that when you die and your heart is weighed against a feather, Bast will slip her paw on the scales *just a bit *to help you out. Thanks.
No, not the expensive stuff. Buy a can of it. Extremely rich, so be careful not to overfeed at any given time.
My vets (multiple over time) have said that Tuna isn’t exactly good for cats, especially cats in distress. Salmon however, is a natural anti-inflammatory. Or so two different vets have claimed.
My ex-wife used to try to tell me that giving my cats Turkey was bad for them. Brought it up in front of the vet when we brought in a sick older cat, hoping that he’d support her. The vet practically laughed in her face. Gee, fresh BIRD meat bad for cats? Not likely. Give that sick old boy as much as he wants.
Maybe I worded it poorly, she ate like crazy, hence the question about the limit.
Looks like the cat welfare place closed at 3:30pm :rolleyes:, so I guess I attempt to take her there tomorrow. This is complicated by the fact that my roommate decided to shoo her out of the house, and now I have to find her again. I think that since she got some water, tuna, and A/C at my place, she’s more likely to come back for a look.
I hope she can live out a full life after finding a home, but even if she has feline leukemia and has to be put down, she can at least live her last days amongst people that care for her, feed her, and give her shelter.
