# Help please



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

So I found a cat by my goat pen earlier. It is very weak and all skin and bones but very friendly. Gums are white and it is very dehydrated but I got it to drink some water and gave it a choice of tuna and dry food and it ate a little of both. It will get up to eat and drink then go lay back down. Responsive to sounds but meows a lot. I will try to take it to a vet this afternoon but do you think it should be Euthanized or can it be nursed back to health? It Has to stay in the barn as I have another cat and I would like a barn cat. (I wore gloves when handling the cat)


----------



## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

If it is eating and drinking and can get up and move around. ..it can probably be saved. You'll know more after a vet visit


----------



## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I would keep it away from the other animals. Depending on what it looks like, I might be inclined to put it down, but the best thing to do would be to take it to the vet and see if malnutrition is the only problem. It could have a disease or illness that needs treatment though. Or could even have something that's not treatable. But if it's just malnutrition, then there's a chance it can make it.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

OK thats what I thought. I am checking on it every so often now so It can rest some. Euthanasia is definitely last option.


----------



## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Cats carry so many weird things. In our area, we worry about stray cats as there has been a Rabies epidemic in years past. Too many stray cats wondering the parks and other areas. I like cats but I just dont like the diseases that go with them. I would get that cat cleaned up internally, externally and keep out of house until you at least get it a rabies shot. Some of our best cats were stray cats that came and we felt sorry for them. They already figured out how to survive but I would not waste much time getting this cat disease free if you can before it poops worms or disease everywhere.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Definitely will get it shots


----------



## Rhandi74 (Dec 6, 2013)

We had the same thing happen to us and now our little cat is big and healthy. He did go to the vet and get a clean bill of health other then worms and malnutrition. His hair even changed color after about 2 months with us. We were concerned about exposing our other cats to diseases that is why we took him to the vet. Hope it all works out for you.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Thanks. After eating and drinking a little it already seems to be perking up a little but obviously it still needs a vet check. It is at that stage it's not a kitten but I don't think it is an adult yet


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds like a good chance just a vet checkup and some good care will do it.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Taking it to vet now  hopefully fluids will help and it isn't too expensive


----------



## PantoneH (Nov 21, 2013)

Electrolytes and a good dewormer....that's what it sounds like it needs.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Healthy except dehydration and malnourished no viruses and getting vaccinations when she perks up


----------



## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

That's great!


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Yep! She's in a huge dog cage full of hay and a box with warm towels in it plus unlimited kitten food and water. Vet said she is about a year old. She has to stay in barn for now but she may end up being inside eventually


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad she just needed some extra love and groceries.


----------



## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Aww, that's great  Pics??


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

I only have these 2 right now


----------



## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

She's a pretty girl! Good job, BillieJoe! :thumbup:


----------



## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Make sure to get a fecal done to check for parasites and also have her tested for FIV/FLV! Very kind of you to take care of her. She must be so comfy now.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

She was negative for FIV/FLV/HW and I'll do a fecal float once she gets some fluid in her. Right now they are really dry and I have to get some more supplies. Are there any dewormers that work and are cheap if she does have any or are they all expensive? I have had her less than 12 hours and she is already spoiled. Lol


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can use Safeguard. 1cc per 10 lbs.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Okay


----------



## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

ksalvagno said:


> You can use Safeguard. 1cc per 10 lbs.


For a cat??? I didn't know that


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What my vet told me. I used it on my barn cats. I strictly use the liquid Safeguard so it is easy to administer.


----------



## wildegoats0426 (Aug 30, 2013)

We had a cat come in work that was atleast 3 years old and she was so emaciated she only weighed 2.5 lbs. she was a bag of bones, runny eyes, not eating. The new owners nursed her back and she's now almost 7 lbs and totally acting like a kitten. It can be done I'm praying for her


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

This one is 3 pounds and about a year old. She's really sweet though and I think she will end up inside


----------



## PantoneH (Nov 21, 2013)

Btw dont give her unlimited food !!!! It could really mess her up bc you don't know how long its been since shes ate. Give her small amounts at first then gradually increase it. She could go into shock it could kill the cat... Their bodies wont know how to process a sudden large amount of food after going without it and they'll get diarrhea vomiting their organs and brain could start shuttin down. i didn't see the post about how much food you put out til now. The vet should have told you that. Its the same thing with a starving person. You cant give them free choice food. I would imagine its the same for all animals it could kill them.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

The vet told me since she doesn't eat a lot at a time it is ok


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

She was starting to do a little better today and then I came home a few hours later and she had died. We aren't sure why she died and it wasn't the food as she hadn't eaten much at all. I didn't know I was so attached to her until tonight even though we had her less than 2 days. At least she was loved and taken care of for her final days. Rest in peace little one. I love you.


----------



## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Awww...I'm so sorry.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

I just can't stop crying... I wish I could have done more but I did everything I could... Bad luck just tends to follow me...


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Delete. Duplicate.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm so sorry. There must have been more going on internally. There was nothing more you could do. She got love and she was warm and in a safe place.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Thanks... Just getting that out and talking a little helped


----------



## Rhandi74 (Dec 6, 2013)

So sorry for your loss


----------



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Im so sorry honey  :hug:
It could have been something she ate before you found her. She might have consumed a bone from a bird or something she found and it got lodged somewhere and that's why she was so thin , she couldn't eat.
It might have worked its way into the intestines. The moist food was the only thing she might have been able to eat , given the fact that she was eating very little. Poor baby. It seems to me there wasn't much you could have done or the vet . Poor baby  But like you said , she died knowing what love was and she was warm and belonged to someone. She didn't die all alone unloved. Im so sorry for your loss :hug:
Bless you


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Thank you


----------



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

:hug:


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

My goats even understood I think..they were really calm last night and today which is REALLY out of character for them... I am one of those people who can't form a strong bond with a person usually but animals are my life.


----------



## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

BillieJoeHoofstrong said:


> I just can't stop crying... I wish I could have done more but I did everything I could... Bad luck just tends to follow me...


No, BillieJoe, it was absolutely nothing you did or didn't do. When an animal goes for that long without care and food and becomes that emaciated their systems start shutting down and it is virtually impossible to reverse it because electrolytes get out of balance and that almost inevitably causes death. You tried, you did everything you could for this poor cat - take comfort in the fact that she knew love, caring, and compassion in her last days. Kudos to you for taking her in and trying. :hug: I am so sorry she didn't make it.


----------



## BillieJoeHoofstrong (Mar 16, 2013)

Thank you so much.


----------



## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

:thumbup:


----------

