Very tortie stray, can anyone advise please

[elephantoverthehill]

A very skinny stray arrived in my kitchen this afternoon, she was laid down on the floor when I found her. I gave her some water and then eventually she had some food and laid down again. After a while she left and slept on the neighbour's path. She is now back and pathetic as ever. Elephant cat is not phased by this at all. After the first visit I did try to ring 'Cats Protection and then the RSPCA. No joy from either, any ideas?

No idea why 'Very tortie'.

What do you mean by pathetic, is she unwell, injured, bleeding, panting, having trouble breathing, not moving much, if so she needs a vet. If she's hot tired and hungry keep her overnight, give her some food and water and go to vet or rescue tomorrow, check if she's chipped.

Skinny, watering eyes, looks arthritic. And again she has wandered out.

Poor little soul, she needs help. Can you put something in the garden for her to sleep in, a box with a blanket, some food and water and try and get her a vet or rescue tomorrow, the rspca take forever so c.p. blue cross or a local charity might be quicker.

My old girl was skinny and arthritic. Didn't mean she wasn't loved. Print a paper collar and ask owner to contact you?

Wolfiefan thank you but what do you mean by print a paper collar?

This is the cat

Take her to the vets to check her chip . Or see if anyone nearby has a scanner . A lot of dog rescue peeps have them.

I will put something in the garden, water, box, towel etc but I really do not expect her last the night. But cats have nine lives, so who knows?

RSPCA and others do a paper collar you can print out and attach. Alerts owners to the fact cat has wandered and you suspect a stray.

Thanks Wolfie. I will do that tomorrow at work if I see this little individual again.

I have my cats chipped. It's a fine line between a stray and someone taking a cat in that does have a home. Local Daily Fail sad face story is a woman whose cat was rehomed after being handed in as a stray. And she can't get it back.

My cat is a complete bully. I would never encourage another cat across our threshold.

In the photo it looks like she has a collar on?

No, unfortunately no collar.

If you think she is suffering and likely to die overnight please would you think about calling an overnight vet and try to,catch her and keep her somewhere safe.

I hope you did something for her last night if she was that unwell?
It would have been cruel not to

You can tell if a cat is lost , I had one in my garden a few ears ago . I didn't let it in but made it a little shelter outside with a hot water bottle without food at first to see if it would go . It's didn't so I fed it after a day , it was fit and well and I presumed if it wasn't lost it would go home . After a few days I called someone in to scan it , no chip so I took ot to the vets who passed it on to the cats protection who keep them 3 weeks before they re home . Luckily it turned out well as the owners came forward . It was indeed lost but from only a mile away . I hope she is ok .

How is she today OP? I hope you’ve seen her again. I would take her to the vet, she could be suffering from dehydration in this heat.

Ask neighbours as a first step, elderly cats are never long-time strays (because strays don't live to old age...), usually they live nearby. Then a microchip check at vet's.

If she is unwell, any vet should keep her in.

Cat rescues can rarely help immediately because everywhere is absolutely full but most vet's have a couple of rescues they work with and can liaise to arrange a space ASAP. The RSPCA is at best useless and often puts cats with health problems down anyway so best avoided...

Hi OP @Elephantsoverthehill if you take her to your nearest vet, they will scan her and see if she is microchipped and keep her in , vets have a duty of care. If the cat is not claimed after 7 days they will get a rescue to take her in.

Rescues might not answer as they will more than likely be inundated with kitten season, the vet would be your best option to help her out.

I would ring my local medivet and say I’ve found a stray can u scan I’ll bring her in. Any vet will do that for you surely. I know mine would examine and everything before money was even mentioned

Hi thank for all your replies. I have just got back from work, no cat around. Ds1 says he was looking out for her today but no sign. I think she probably was very dehydrated, as pp suggested, as she did arrive twice and drank quite a bit each time and slept. I think that is why she looked so poorly. I left water and a rug out last night in the garden. The water was touched but that could have been any night visitor. Hopefully after stopping off with us she had enough energy to get back home safely.