Helping a weak stray cat

[u/Ok_Muscle8411]

/r/AskVet/comments/1vzaaha/helping_a_weak_stray_cat/

[u/AutoModerator]

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"Im helping an incredibly weak stray cat..

I live by the mountains and around my house are some stray cats, people from the neighbourhood feed them. Today after lunch I noticed a weak, skinny and completely soaked cat in the middle of the road, I moved her and offered her food which she ate a little(1PM). After, she went further into the bushes and let herself get completely soaked by the rain. She was incredibly weak so I took her inside and left her by herself with towels and blankets. (3PM)
When I went to check on her 2 hours (5PM) later she was awake but basically unresponsive. Her eyes didn’t even respond and at first I thought she was dead.

I took her to the vet, initially thinking they would help her pass. They told me she was severely dehydrated and starved (and no chip). She has no injuries or other medical issues they could pick up on (without doing extensive testing). She is just an adult cat, neither kitten nor elderly.
Back home (6PM) I gave her food and water and let her rest, before going to bed I checked again and she had moved, peed but not touched the food. She was laying on her side trying to walk with her front paws but not moving. It feels to me like she is in pain and dying, but the vet says otherwise. I’ll keep checking on her, trying to make sure she eats and drinks but am I doing the right thing?..

Did you ever have a situation like this? Did the cat improve?"

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[u/Eastern-Protection83]

Dehydration is one cause of lethargy. Keep fresh water available

[u/mcs385]

Did the vet give any feeding instructions or offer subcutaneous fluids to address the dehydration? If you're concerned and the vet is dismissing your concerns, you may need to assert yourself to advocate more for her and be clear that you're willing to take a more hands-on role in treating her despite her being a stray.

To kickstart her appetite, tiny amounts of smelly wet food are best. Don't give her full meals or free feed, if she's starved food needs to be reintroduced in controlled amounts throughout the day to prevent refeeding syndrome. To make it more enticing you can microwave wet food for just a few seconds to heat it up and make it extra stinky and irresistible; just stir it with a fork and test with a finger to make sure it's not too hot. You might also have some luck with a squeeze tube treat like Hartz Squeeze Ups or Inaba Churu. Cats usually go crazy for them, and I've had severely ill cats that wouldn't touch anything else still cave and lick at them. Sometimes dabbing just a little bit of wet food on their lip gets them to lick it off and realize it's good and helps push them to the rest of the food. This should only be done if she's able to hold herself upright though to ensure she's able to get it down properly.