Hi Andrea.

WOW....... So many possibilities for Miss Kitty. Certainly Feline Leukemia and / or FIV may be a problem. If the kitties are sharing the food and water dishes and get within close proximity to one another the exposure has already happened. The actual result of a disease process ....time would tell.

Being a stray she may have needed to hunt bunnies, mice, and what ever and gotten a variety of intestinal parasites like coccidea, roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms. If she has fleas, tapeworms is an almost 100% guarantee. All those will cause her to have weight loss.

Maybe she just isn't a good hunter and had a tough time getting enough food but may be otherwise OK. :-)

If she has gum disease or a painful mouth because of teeth problems it just hurts to eat and she may not be able to tolerate the pain in spite of her hunger.

If she is an older kitty she may have kidney disease or an over active thyroid gland, diabetes.... Severe heart disease will eventually make them thin too. Kitties will look frighteningly emaciated because of any of these health issues. Intermittant diarrhea, generally if an older kitty, can also be a sign of something very evil like intestinal lymphoma.

Eye goo can be a result of her debilitated state or a bacterial, viral or allergic problem.

~~SIGH!!!~~ I sincerely wish I could just come by and do a house call for you! Give her a once over, check for intestinal parasites, do a FeLV/FIV test and some other blood work.

Hmmmmmmmm. Nutrical will help fill her out and is VERY easy to eat no matter how ouchy the mouth may be. Kitten food is fantastic too! LOTS of calories, small pieces, unless you are giving canned, LOTS of nutrients. The only precaution would be if she has severe systemic disease like kidney failure.

The *BEST* solution would be to snag her and have her get checked out by a vet. That can become an expensive visit though but you could always just go step by step. Exam + poop check + Felv/FIV test (and since they are drawing blood, draw a little more and set that aside incase further testing would need to be done. That way she does not need to get poked on another visit.) That would be a start and give you LOTS of answers too.

BTW .... You got mail too. :-)

Hope this helped some rather than confuse.

Kindest regards to you and your kind heart and a hug for Kitty Boy too.

C with 3Ds

C3D, you're soooo good to us!!! Thanks for helping out!

andrea, i may also add if you don't mind...by two cents. this, of course, all depends on how serious and urgent this may be.

dealing with an extremely intelligent (in a wiley way) female now of 12 years....grab her once before she is ready and you will never grab her again, or maybe several months down the road. however, that all depends on the personality of the cat.

on another note, a feral i took in happened to be of such personality that she wanted to be with people. it took a long time to be able to touch her though. she would still growl/talk when petted, thoroughly enjoy it, and eventually run from you as if "oh ****. she is touching me." she got to the point that if she heard my voice, she would come running, squalling at the top of her lungs...and she was part siamese so you can only imagine- she sounded like she was dying. she could have been 100 yards away and she would squall the whole distance. well, that busted me out since we are disciplined if we feed the strays. anyway, as thin as she was, she wouldn't eat unless i stayed there with her. then, she wouldn't eat unless i left b/c she was so afraid i was leaving. then, she was clearly pregnant.

i knew she had her kittens when she didnt' come around for about three days. when she did show up, she was more thin than she had ever been. a literal skeleton covered with skin. she didnt' even look big enough to deliver but i had checked a few days prior and she had 2-3 nipples developing. there you go, i was sure she would only have one or two which accounted for her small size. well, i finally tracked her to her kittens, which she was very cautious about, but there was no way i could get them. i got them after she moved them. i had to crawl into the extra space under a flatbed trailer, entering by the axel. then, used a scraper to scoop them. they were starting to crawl by this time. i was nervous the entire time b/c i did't quite trust her yet and she was near my face and growled occassionally. that night they all came home with me, temporarily. i now wished i kept her at my house.

now, my last one with a similar situation- my romeo boy. he was 3 months old, approximately. i took me weeks to grab him. if he so much as thought i saw him outside he was gone. i finally realized when he ran to the shed and countless times of trying to catch him in there i thought he got out through a hole in the back wall. i finally thought to shine a flashlight down the snowblower chute and there were little eyes shining. i blocked the tines with a snow shovel, reached in, felt the nape and off to my bathroom we went. he hid behind the toilet and hissed and growled while i scratched his chin (whiskers were wll forward...oh, this feels good BUT STOP TOUCHING ME.) in two days his heart was mine. but, i was not ready to put him back outside and neither was he. dh was pushing and i gave. i knew better. after going back out, he was back to disappearing if he saw me at the window, like he never knew me. it took me a few weeks to recover what i had achieved in 2 days, but he remembered eventually.

well, now. i dont' know what got into me to story tell. sorrry about that! even feral kittens will lose trust sometimes forever if you push them too soon. but, you be the judge as you have a better idea of what she will accept, etc. on the other hand, what worked for romeo and frost (well, sort of) may work for her. keeping her confined while socializing her to you. she has to make a decision that way instead of being in control and running off. she is likely a stray that has started to revert more so than true feral. that will be easier than if she were feral (or, have a personality type like shadow above.) catnip often works wonders for me when i am trying to make friends.

sometimes shapes of food get spit out more than others similar as if there is a tooth problem (good observation!). the food i have now doesnt' get spit as much as the last. the last was shaped like cat chow. boy did i have a mess. mine eat the little round ones the best (flat round) which also happens to be kitten food for higher protein. i have seen kitten food which seemed too big- nutro, as a matter of fact. or, perhaps she is so hungry she can't eat or swallow fast enough and so loses it. also, roundworms will give that full feeling and they cannot eat as much. watch and see if she throws up. i never used to see cats throw up worms when present as much as dogs, but shadow taught me different. speaking of shadow, does yours look like she may possibly be lactating? you do say 5 weeks but i have to ask.

yeesh, i just reviewed my post. someone tell me to shut up!
good luck!

LOL FTM, it's obvious that you're passionate about your kitties, and that's why they've loved you so much. :)

I sure hope you can find out more about Twiggy, Andrea! In a perfect world, we'd all have C3D as a neighbor. Wouldn't that be GREAT?

Brenda

I'm good at catching ferals but I've whimped out in my old age. TUNA IS NOT GOOD FOR CATS. There I said it. That said, it's a wonderful bait for trapping. Here's what I did when I was rounding up ferals (Trap alter release the adults and find homes for the young.) If a cat was pregnant I'd kennel her up until after the kittens were weaned. I found that even though kittens picked up some of mom's fear her milk/antibodies were too good to pass up.Easier too. (Bottle feeding every few hours is a real pain)
I'd set up the kennel,get the trap and block off any escape around the trap with cardboard "walls" Kitty doesn't know they aren't very solid and she just wants to hide. I'd put a hidey box,food and a bowl of ice in ahead(ice is much easier to clean up if she really freaks out.Ice will eventually melt for water)98% of the cats ran right for the hidey box and stayed there. I'd put the cat box in last and shut the kennel door. Sometimes I'd have to wait the cat out. Eventually they'd go to a corner or the hidey box. I put the cat box in last so I could get it out fast for cleaning and without her coming out too! Ice cubes and food went in through the bars until she calmed enough to let me open the door. They'll also use the box to have the kittens. I lined it with paper so I could clean up while the mother was still dopey from giving birth. Aside from the initial blood she'd always keep it clean after that. I also covered the whole kennel with an old sheet so the cats would feel safer all around. I did put them in a room with traffic to tame the babies better. With enough food and love I never had a feral mom that didn't eventually soften up for me.

pj, great idea on using ice! you're a genius. i agree wholeheartedly on the sheet. frost always stopped crying in the car if her carrier was covered with a beach towel.

yes, i am brenda, especially the ferals. such a challenge and spirit! there was a small malnourished kitten that i was too unprepared with and took chances. he bit me on the thumb as far as those little teeth could go. funny how puncture bites do not bleed much but this one sure did, thankfully. i am lucky he didn't have rabies. anyway, after that i wanted to keep him even more, but couldn't. weird, huh?

and, here-here! we would have our own local petting "zoo."

Thanks Fairy t!
Those lil teeth hurt like the devil don't they? PJ

why is it, it always hurts after the fact? oh yeah, my slow brain! :)

I know! I know! Because you always spot a baby in need in your favorite shirt! If you felt the bite right away you could avoid getting blood stains all over and ruining it! LOL!PJ

and light colored clothing while belly crawling on the ground to get to them!

Amen! Ok here's my story...I was wearing a sports bra...kind of like a really small halter top...right????
(nod your head in agreement now) Well, this house next door was being basically totally redone for resale(California) a feral got in and had her babies.
I was looking over the fence at the work being done and chatting about real estate in the area. I was selling to come to TX. I see a black shadow dart into a bush and get caught up in a corner. He was really little!
I had to throw SOMETHING over him to catch kitty. The machinery they were using (stump grinders etc...) had him totally panicked. He would've hurt himself in his mental state(nod you head in agreement again) So,I only had my shirt handy. Remember the sports bra? I was over the fence and caught him in about a minute. I caught his brother later in a more traditional method. The guys were so touched by my concern for animals they never said anything about me whipping off my shirt. It makes me laugh to think about it now sometimes I wonder where I left my self consciousness? LOL! PJ

lol...traditional method..lol again! pj- a feminine steve irwin!

oops, did we hijack your post andrea? what a conversation idea :)

Sorry bad about hijacking! PJ

I hope everything is ok with the new arrival AND with Da Man, Andrea! Been thinking about you all. :)

Brenda

Ok...things have gotten worse!!!! I was in Michigan on vacation and got back a couple of hours ago. Twiggy (as she has now been named, thank you Brenda) came into the back yard and looked worse than ever. She meowed at me and so I broke my neck to race into the house and bring her food. She barely ate anything and when I was looking at her I noticed she has holes in her head in 2 places....like big tooth marks. It's getting infected and one eye is swelling near where one toothmark is.

I followed her down the street and she laid on another porch at the end of the street. A lady from next door came out and said an old lady in the apartment feeds her, Kitty Boy and a couple of the other strays also. I told her that Twiggy looked really bad and she said that a big dog from down the street cornered her and got her ...he must've had her head in his mouth. She said a man in the apartment building came out and got the dog off of the cat and got it to leave.

The dog is my stupid neighbors. It's German Shepherd and Mastiff mixed and is HUGE. It's tried to kill KB several times. The people have 4 kids and are very lackadaisical about keeping the door latched. Every day I see the dog out in the neighborhood running all over, through my plants, trying to rip through the screen door while KB is UP the screen, etc, etc.

They're on vacation now but I'm so angry I can't see straight.

Chickadeedeedee, I don't think this little girl is going to make it. When she was on the porch down the street, I pet her on the head and she closed her eyes...then on her neck while I tried to look at her. Then she looked at me and hissed so I backed off. She's a little wobbly on her feet and I can see that one of the holes in her head is ringed in red and looks yellowish inside.

i don't know what to do!!!!!

I am just sick.

:-(

Andrea .... I am SO SORRY to read what I have just read! :-(

It is summer now and open wounds are an invitation for flies to lay their eggs and maggots may soon infest the wounds. They produce toxins that may soon finish off dearest Twiggy.

I am sad to say that it would be best to catch her, being very careful that you DO NOT get bitten, and bring her either to a vet for evaluation and possible treatment or to a humane society / city kennel and have her put down. The police should also be notified that a dog(s) were / are at large and injured Twiggy. If she was hurt then other animals (or children) likely have been hurt before or will be hurt in the future.

:-(

UGH. THat's what I was afraid of. I thought maggots helped to clean the wound...no?

I think I'm going to take a pet cage down there tomorrow or Wednesday and catch her w/ some tuna. I'm going to take her to the vet to see if he can help her and place her in a home. If not, I'll ask that she be put down. I don't want her to suffer and she is NOT doing well.

My DH just got home and told me that he had to rescue the neighbors cat from this dog the other day. He had him trapped in a corner and the little guy was fighting for his life. He slashed that dog but good. Josh grabbed the dog by the nape of the neck and dragged him off of the cat.

This is the same cat that slashed Josh's face open 2 years ago and he had to get 3 stitches in his top lip. roflol It's a love/hate relationship.

andrea i am so sorry! drastic measures to be taken....good luck!

Some forms of maggots will clean a wound but more than likely Twiggy will attract flesh flies and those burrow deep into the muscle or where ever. They exude an enzyme that dissolves flesh and the maggots eat that emulsion. This is a very toxic process and no doubt painful.

It is a horrible way to die. :-(

I know many of you have experienced these same type of things and I've come to a definite conclusion. I think that God brings animals that need help to people that will help them. It doesn't matter where I am or what I do...this always happens. Wild, domestic...doesn't matter. I guess it's a responsibility that I've been given or something...dunno. Anyway, it's been interesting to see over the years how it always happens.

Ok, that's gross and no WAY am I letting her go down like that. I only hope the vet will have mercy on me and take care of her (one way or another) for cheap.

I agree that Twiggy found you so that she would get the help she needs. Somehow they are guided to the right people aren't they?

Kindest regards.

C3D

This will probably be an unpopular post. I'd beg a trap off someone,somewhere. I'd catch her and have her put down if I couldn't afford the vet bill. Even if I had to take her to the pound to have them do it.
Meanwhile, you have my sympathy. How awful.
RE loose,aggresive dog. There was an aggressive German Shepard Dog that the owners couldn't/wouldn't keep contained in my old neighborhood. I kept calling animal control over and over. Finally, on their last visit out, the (unkind word)woman got a whoppin 800.00 fine. Magically she finally figured out how to keep the dog up! This was in Los Angeles County. I don't know what the laws are where you live.Word of caution 800.00 fines make people angry. Fortunalty, I'm was more aggressive than she was. PJ

PJ, I understand what you're saying. The bottom line is that whatever is best for the cat will happen. If she can be rehabbed and placed in a home, then so be it. If not, I'm not going to let her suffer!

Thank you Ademink for caring for that furr ball.... I have a neighbor with ump-teen cats that he won't care for so I kinda know how you feel. Do whatever is best for Miss Twiggy.

Awww, Andrea, I'm so sorry! *sob* You're such an angel for helping out everyone (human or otherwise) the way you do.

PLEASE write if you need anything! I MEAN it. In fact, no worries. I know where to reach you. :)

Hang in there!

Brenda

Well............today I went down to take a looksee at her and she promptly got up and walked out from under the van she was laying under. She sat about 3 feet from me and started yowling and meowing like "WHERE'S MY FOOD, WOMAN????". LOL Like an obedient human, I *sprinted* 5 houses down the block, got her fresh food and sprinted back. She proceeded to snarf almost the whole thing down and then laid down and cleaned herself.

.......????

Now I really don't know what to do. She seems much better today! She definitely has a tooth issue on one side. I watched her eat the dry food (I gave her both wet/dry) and she shifts it to one side of her mouth and avoids the other.

She still needs a vet visit, I can see that. I'm kind of thinking about giving her a couple of days to get her strength back though. I don't want to traumatize her and stress her the freakin' heck out.

Is that dumb?

No, it's not dumb to feel that way, Andrea. I hate the thought of stressing out my OWN kitty by taking her to the vet, but...yeah, sometimes, I just need to do it.

I think a Twiggy Fund is going to be started soon. Just a hunch. ;)

Brenda

I'd get her in ASAP if I could. Bites are bad news.Those maggots are bad news. They may be able to smother them in time if she goes in now.(They put stuff on it that smothers them)The breeding cycle is very short for these nasty things.If she doesn't have them(pray) you can keep her crated away from flies until those bites heal(hopefully). There are home remedies and ways to get it cleaned up if there are no insect larve.Thanks for helping her! PJ

Thank God we are maggot-free for now and it's actually scabbing. I'm definitely going to get her in. I'm sooooooo freakin' busy right now I can't even think straight. Gotta figure out the "when" to do this ordeal. She's pretty funny - she meows at me but then growls like crazy as if to say, "don't pet me, you crazy lady!".

yep, sounds like a cat! don't let her resilience give you a false sense of security though, andrea. i am not trying to scare you or make you more anxious! just be very watchful.

did you ever notice if she was lactating or has kittens somewhere? being me, i'd worry about that if she is gone for any length of time. who knows, maybe she had been spayed!

Sometimes, the fortitude of those little strays just amazes me! I so wish that I could take her in for you, Andrea! I feel really helpless over here.

If there's a vet you feel really good about, maybe you can call them and explain the situation. There may be someone who works there that lives nearby to maybe collect Twiggy on the way to work or something. Or possibly, they have volunteers.

Brenda