Tell me I did the right thing (or that I didn't...)?

[pootlebug]

I was walking down my road today and came across a burmese cat miaowing and looking for attention and stopped to stroke her. She was really thin (thigh bones and back bone popping out, big hollows in front of her thigh bones etc) and no collar....so looks like she is lost.

I took her home...have given her food and water, bought some cat litter. If the local vet is open tomorrow will go down then and get them to check for microchip and if not will take her tuesday morning.

I am 99% sure she was hungry and lost - she is all skin-and-bones, her fur lacks normal burmese lustre, bald patches on backs of her back legs etc. But there's a bit of me stressing that I'm maybe just used to big fat moggies, that there's nothing wrong with her, and someone stressing about where their cat has gone today. In the end I figured better that and she goes back home as soon as I find her owner, than that I left her out to survive as best she could if she was indeed lost.

Do you think it is worth doing 'Found' posters for local area now, or waiting to see what happens at vets re Microchip if she has one?

Could you knock on the doors of everyone in the vicinity? Old cats can look poorly but maybe it was just lost. I probably would have done the same as you tbh.

Poorly cat already under vet supervision? Hope it is chipped.

I'd knock on doors near where you found her, though its a bit late at night now for that. Do posters if the cat is not chipped once checked at the vet.

Also, I'd probably only feed her a bare minimum plus water. If she belongs to a neighbour they probably won't want her to go back to you looking for food. Also her run down condition might actually just be old age, or a health issue which requires a special diet. If its the result of starvation then she needs to be refed slowly and carefully.

I would have done the same as you OP. The facts that she is a pedigree, has no collar and is in the condition you describe all indicate a possible lost cat. Hopefully she is micro-chipped and she will be reunited with her owner.

I would also have done the same thing and hope for a microchip. Failing that I would try posters, but I definitely wouldn't just have left her there.

Is she eating?

Hmm, tricky. If you'd met my old boy in the street you might have assumed he was a stray too. He's sixteen, has a malabsorption problem (that's getting treated) that's left him very skinny and the steroids that treat it make him hungry all the time, so he gives a very good impression of a starving moggy. He also doesn't wear a collar any more as they irritate his skin. If I were you, OP, I'd put up posters, maybe knock on a few doors: you may have inadvertently catnapped someone's beloved pet!

I am putting up posters later today. Here on my own with 3 small children so couldn't go out and do it last night. Knocking on doors isn't that feasible as there are several lots of flats on my road so would end up knocking on 100 doors just to cover a small area....not that feasible with 3 kids in tow either.

I realise I may have catnapped someone's beloved pet and that's why I'm keen to sort it asap. Unfortunately vets is closed for bank hol so will have to be tomorrow for checking microchip. But the only alternative is to boot him/her back out of the door and assume will find its own way home and if it is lost I don't want to do that either - hence why I brought it home in the first place.

Fluffycloudland yes she is eating. I am feeding a bit but not overfeeding iyswim. She drunk a whole bowl of water yesterday which I have never seen a cat do normally which did suggest to me she was thirsty as well as hungry but I haven't owned a cat for several years so maybe I am just remembering wrong.

Drinking that much isn't normal.

I wouldn't be surprised if she'd been put out for being old/ill, people can be vile.

Pets at home vets might be open, mine is. They could scan for a chip.

Hi Pootlebug, you did the right thing and I do hope she is microchipped!

She sounds a lot my own dear old boy, who is little more than skin and bone now thanks to old age and kidney failure - and also has quite large bald patches on the backs of his back legs.

I think posters are a good idea but I wouldn't give a full description of the cat or say that she's Burmese. Leave some details out that can be confirmed to you by the cat's owner, should they contact you. Catchat has some more advice here and places to check for missing and found cats www.catchat.org/lost.html#found

Drinking a lot, possibly hyperthyroidism then. Unfortunately what Fluffycloudland said about someone dumping her could be right

Poole, I wasn't having a go, just suggesting alternative reasons why the cat might look skinny and out of condition. Excessive thirst could be kidney issues, commoner in older cats; it does sound unwell so maybe that explains how it looks. However, if it's got a caring owner I'm sure they'll appreciate you were trying to do the right thing, not stealing their cat: hopefully posters will track them down quickly. A neighbour of mine acquired a cat for a few days when it turned up and seemed to want to adopt them - she had a similar dilemma to you; didn't want to just turf it out but was worried it already had a home. The rightful owner came forward after she'd put posters up so all was well in the end.

I'd have taken her in and sheltered her, pootle - then tried to vet her and all those good things. I wouldn't have left her on the street in a state - however caused.

If she was that thirsty she wasn't going to get a drink easily in this weather.

Maybe she got lost and you'll be able to reunite her with her owner.

Thank you to the poster who suggested Pets at Home - I'd forgotten all about the fact they have vets there and would be open today.

He (for it is a he!) has chip. They didn't really tell me any more - their policy is to keep cats there that have a chip and then contact owners. I said that I thought the cat was very undernourished and they said yes, that he was well under weight and in need of other veterinary treatment and it wasn't clear whether that was because he had been lost or neglected or what at this stage. He is not elderly.

I left my details just in case his owner doesn't want him or is struggling to look after him or anything (as subject to negotiations with DH we would give him a home)

Thank you all for your help.

Well done, pootle.

I hope he's lost and not unwanted. Well done op. You did a good thing there.

Have you heard back from them to say if he's a stray op?

What happened pootle?