Abandoned Cat Too Hungry To Be Picky....

[Kyer]

...Decide to adopt a family of vegans.

So we know she/he/it? is not the smartest of felines. :P

Yes, the cat is abandoned. Different neighbors have affirmed it has bee roaming the neighborhood. Not a stray, not feral. Looks young to me but not a kitten.
I could count all the 'starvation' areas on its body. Some people have put out food, but it clearly isn't enough so we've thrown our hat in the ring with some hastily purchased best quality kibble we could find. Apparently that kibble is way better than what the neighbors were doing because we seem to be the main stop now.

We are not adopting the cat all the way. Just feeding and giving a bit of affection when time allows.
My main problem is I have not had a cat to care for in decades.

Is kibble enough? Is it okay to put coconut oil on the food?


Lastly...

What kind of moron abandons a cat like this?! Are they brain dead? Cat's clearly been suffering for over a month.
I'm not so strident a vegan I'm going to let a cat die, so any advice on what if any meat should be added and now often?

[Osiris-Rex]

...Decide to adopt a family of vegans.

So we know she/he/it? is not the smartest of felines. :P

Yes, the cat is abandoned. Different neighbors have affirmed it has bee roaming the neighborhood. Not a stray, not feral. Looks young to me but not a kitten.
I could count all the 'starvation' areas on its body. Some people have put out food, but it clearly isn't enough so we've thrown our hat in the ring with some hastily purchased best quality kibble we could find. Apparently that kibble is way better than what the neighbors were doing because we seem to be the main stop now.

We are not adopting the cat all the way. Just feeding and giving a bit of affection when time allows.
My main problem is I have not had a cat to care for in decades.

Is kibble enough? Is it okay to put coconut oil on the food?


Lastly...

What kind of moron abandons a cat like this?! Are they brain dead? Cat's clearly been suffering for over a month.
I'm not so strident a vegan I'm going to let a cat die, so any advice on what if any meat should be added and now often?

You should stick with a good quality kibble, preferably grain free. Some canned food would be even better. I would advise against giving raw meat or fish as it could contain parasites and other diseases.
And cooking meat destroys taurine, which cats need. (commercial foods have taurine added after cooking). Canned tuna is also bad for cats. I don't think coconut oil would be a good idea, fats and oils
can give a cat diarrhea leading to dehydration. Avoid anything with onions, garlic, chocolate, or grapes in it. Those are deadly to cats. Don't give a cat dog food either. It doesn't have the right nutrician
mix for a cat. Basically feed people people food and cats cat food.

[Joker]

Kibble is fine. At least for now. Any food is better than now food.

However, if this is a starving animal, don't over feed it. It will eat all you put out, and too much can make it throw up, which means it got none of those nutrients. feed it small amounts in regular intervals. Also, google will be much more helpful than any one here, most likely.

Good on you for taking care of an abandoned animal.

[Kyer]

Kibble is fine. At least for now. Any food is better than now food.

However, if this is a starving animal, don't over feed it. It will eat all you put out, and too much can make it throw up, which means it got none of those nutrients. feed it small amounts in regular intervals. Also, google will be much more helpful than any one here, most likely.

Good on you for taking care of an abandoned animal.

Thanks for the tips....especially on the tuna. I knew about taurine, but thought human tuna canned food was okay. I was ready to check out the human fish section for canned tuna or other seafood.

The kibble we got was Iams because the price of the better stuff was just too expensive while the cheap stuff was obviously gunk. (sticker shock!) Even Iams is pushing it a little so we are checking out stores with sales.

Came here because I loathe signing into social forums, but I guess lurking at one or two is a good idea.

Thanks!

[Joker]

The forum is great, but I, as well meaning as I am, don't know a lot about cats. I could tell you about dogs for days, though.

The internet is full of far better advice than I can give, so definitely look into it.

[Osiris-Rex]

I've had my current cat for over seven years now and raised her from a tiny kitten that was about 5 weeks old which I found in my back yard and took in
after her mother took off with the rest of the kittens and left her behind. I feed her Blue Buffalo kibble and as a treat Fancy Feast canned food. She doesn't
even want any of my food. She is healthy and still playful so I guess I am doing something right .

[abulafia]

i adopted hunter two months ago.
his former canopener has cancer and a friend of mine is her doctor and asked me if would take the cat cause she would not go into hospital without someone taking care of him.
was a real nightmare at the start. he hid under the sofa all the time and was very afraid of my other cats and wouldn´t eat or drink.
not even tuna! which i´ve never seen a cat reject that.
so the third day i went to a doctor and he had fever and that was the reason why he wouldn´t eat or drink.
since the antibioticas kicked in we are living happily ever since.
from
https://imgur.com/a/N5MAk
to
https://imgur.com/a/MjZgc

can´t get by veggie felines without popculture reference

[anyajenkins]

I'll give my cat tuna occasionally as a treat (it is 'human' tuna so no parasites) but it's not good as a steady diet. Your kibble is probably the best choice. If you do leave out table scraps or human food no chicken on the bone, the bones will splinter and they'll choke.

[abulafia]

what is "human" tuna? never heard of that before

[Osiris-Rex]

what is "human" tuna? never heard of that before

Tuna meant for human consumption. Cat food that has tuna in it has other things mixed in good for cats like liver and mineral and especially taurine, which gets damaged in cooking and isn't in human tuna.

[Star_Jammer]

Kibble is fine, and likely way better than anything the cat would be eating otherwise.

Are you able to supervise the feedings? Just putting out food can attract other cats, which can lead to fighting. We have this issue with our neighbor. She started feeding a few cats by putting out food, and now a bunch more hang around outside.

If you're feeling extra generous, you could get the cat a round of shots and de-wormer. The de-wormer would likely have to be done every so often, since it's a continuous problem for outside (roaming) animals.

We fully adopted a kitten in a similar situation about a year ago. She's been a wonderful addition to our home, if a bit fiesty with the two male cats still (they kinda just let her beat them up, despite her being half their size as an adult).

[Kyer]

Cat update.

The Cat (my genius naming skills) is doing much better. As I pet her/him I can feel less 'valleys' and the fur looks like a housecats.
As for meat.... Well, let's just say I'm practicing daily forgiveness over the recent dearth of my former friends the lizards. ..sob..
Oh... And the patio seat cushions as a clean place to sit.

We are still leaving out fresh water and kibble twice a day. I go outside and 'meow, meows back until we have this echolocation back and forth.

I am dreading April when the local ferals like to fight outside my bedroom window.

What have we gotten into?

Oh yes. My dementia-hit dad loves the cat. The man who now has the flu leaving me with all the charity duties.

[Carabas]

...Decide to adopt a family of vegans.

So we know she/he/it? is not the smartest of felines. :P

Yes, the cat is abandoned. Different neighbors have affirmed it has bee roaming the neighborhood. Not a stray, not feral. Looks young to me but not a kitten.
I could count all the 'starvation' areas on its body. Some people have put out food, but it clearly isn't enough so we've thrown our hat in the ring with some hastily purchased best quality kibble we could find. Apparently that kibble is way better than what the neighbors were doing because we seem to be the main stop now.

We are not adopting the cat all the way. Just feeding and giving a bit of affection when time allows.
My main problem is I have not had a cat to care for in decades.

Is kibble enough? Is it okay to put coconut oil on the food?

You can't feed a cat on a strictly vegan diet.
Its digestive system requires other stuff.
Cats can grow fat on vegetarian stuff and still starve because they're not getting what they need from it.

[Kyer]

You can't feed a cat on a strictly vegan diet.
Its digestive system requires other stuff.
Cats can grow fat on vegetarian stuff and still starve because they're not getting what they need from it.

Absolutely. Hence my opening thread since my usual fabulous protein kaniwa breakfast just wont do for The Cat. It's just perverse happenstance that this feline chose possibly the worst neighborhood house it could for survival. A dog? A dog I can do. I can cook meals a dog would love. Abandoned lovebirds in the trees overhead dining away and some hummingbirds get their own freebie meals from my hands even if I'm personally against white sugar.

We're a regular wildlife catering service especially during the cold-snap months.

Feline cuisine cooking though....not so much.

But anyway, so far The Cat is doing fine scarying up its own source of taurine. (dang it all.) Giving me time to research wet food.

[Tendrin]

Absolutely. Hence my opening thread since my usual fabulous protein kaniwa breakfast just wont do for The Cat. It's just perverse happenstance that this feline chose possibly the worst neighborhood house it could for survival. A dog? A dog I can do. I can cook meals a dog would love. Abandoned lovebirds in the trees overhead dining away and some hummingbirds get their own freebie meals from my hands even if I'm personally against white sugar.

We're a regular wildlife catering service especially during the cold-snap months.

Feline cuisine cooking though....not so much.

But anyway, so far The Cat is doing fine scarying up its own source of taurine. (dang it all.) Giving me time to research wet food.

I just need to point out that even a well fed cat /will/ hunt and kill. Outdoor cats are highly destructive to the environment in the numbers they exist, killing countless animals unnecessarily. You can reduce this somewhat by arranging for active play with the cat, providing cat toys, and so on. This will reduce its need to hunt, if you can't actually adopt the cat and keep him inside.