# new member, new cat, needs advice



## Azurah (Jun 29, 2006)

Hello everyone. Sorry that this is so long, but I'd really like some input.

I recently adopted a cat from the animal shelter, a female Siamese/Calico mix stray that the shelter estimated to be around 3 or 4 yrs old. I picked her out on Sunday (June 11) and signed her adoption papers and the following Monday morning they spayed her and I picked her up late that afternoon. Additionally, I was told that she had a bald patch above her eye and the Wood's lamp test showed that it was ringworm. I was given a small tube of miconazole and instructions to apply it to the spot on her head twice daily for two weeks.

Since she's been home we've had a number of problems. First off, she's extremely malnourished. She's only 5lbs and you can feel nothing but bone when petting her. She was seemingly starving and ate dry food and a bit of Friskies wet food the first night, but since then she refuses to touch any brand of dry food (we tried Purina cat food, some Costco brand, and Science Diet). She'll eat a bit of wet food (she seems to prefer Friskies and will barely touch Science Diet savory chicken or the beef cuts).

I brought her to the vet that Friday for a checkup and we discussed her ringworm, weight and lack of interest in food. The vet said that she may have had kittens recently or may have endured some other means of stress because a cat her age normally wouldn't get ringworm unless something stressful lowered their immune system. 

She had blood tests done for FIV and Feline leukemia, both came back negative. The vet prescribed some Lamisil to be taken orally to treat her ringworm infection and encouraged me to continue trying the Science Diet foods because she's obviously not healthy and the cheaper foods aren't as nutritious. 

So here we are, almost a week later, still no luck with dry food at all and she will eat maybe a can or can and a half of wet food in a whole day. Some days she'll eat a bit of Science Diet, but she prefers the Friskies. We use a fresh paper plate each time we feed her wet food because it's easier to clean up and avoid the old food smell. We offer about a 1/4 can of wet food in the morning, lunch time, then again around 5pm and once more around bedtime. If she eats everything on the plate I try another 1/4, but half the time she doesn't even finish the first 1/4 and sometimes won't eat any at all.

I don't know what to do! I have spent all of my money on buying different brands of food, her medicine, her tests and I'm out until next paycheck. I want her to get better, I want a healthy, happy cat. I don't want her to starve herself, she's already so thin.

My boyfriend has joined the effort and bought some Iams wet food to try. No luck with that either. She acts like a hungry cat (meowing constantly and rubbing our legs), but then doesn't eat. I'm really worried about her. Any advice?

Edit: her name is Momo, forgot to mention that.

Edit again: After delving into the Health & Nutrition forum, I read that a diet of canned only is actually a good thing so now I'm not worried about Momo not touching the dry food. So I guess what I want to know is, how much wet food should she be eating in a day? What is a healthy weight for a cat her age?


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## Azurah (Jun 29, 2006)

Here are some pictures I took of her at the shelter with my cell phone:

The patch of pink above her eye is ringworm, it's actually much worse now and has spread to other parts of her head, on her ears and around her mouth.


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## PrimoBabe (Feb 23, 2006)

Momo's gorgeous. I'm so glad she's found a good, loving home.

Between starvation and ringworm, Momo's probably not feeling very well these days. If you continue to feed her with wet food and medicate the ringworm, she'll probably be fine very soon. After she's no longer sick and malnourished, you might be surprised by her energy and by how she responds to you.


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## Azurah (Jun 29, 2006)

Thanks for your positive words. 

She's such a sweetie, that's why I picked her out. I wanted an adult cat because so many people would rather get a kitten and adult cats don't have as much of a chance of being adopted. She was also the first cat to come over and hop right into my lap. She adores affection and purrs everytime she's touched. It's just such a shame that she's not doing well health wise and I have no idea what she went through before I adopted her.

The poor thing has fleas and ear mites too. We are treating so many things at once so I don't doubt that she's not herself. She's worth it though!


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## roseeden (May 18, 2005)

PrimoBabe said:


> Momo's gorgeous. I'm so glad she's found a good, loving home.
> 
> Between starvation and ringworm, Momo's probably not feeling very well these days. If you continue to feed her with wet food and medicate the ringworm, she'll probably be fine very soon. After she's no longer sick and malnourished, you might be surprised by her energy and by how she responds to you.


I agree!!!

Azurah is such a cool-sounding username. What does it mean?


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## Azurah (Jun 29, 2006)

Years ago I signed up for an account for an online role playing game called Ragnarok Online. I wanted to name my character Azure, but that was taken, so I tried Azura which was taken as well. I added on the h and thought it still sounded cool so I stuck with it. I'm not sure if it has any meaning, but I googled it and apparently I'm not the only one who uses the name. 

Now I wish I had a more fascinating story behind my username!


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## Jimmyness (Dec 31, 2005)

Welcome to the forum :kittyturn


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

Welcome to the forum!  I hope your baby gets well soon!   
Go to this website to compare the ingredients in food: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=home-tab
The more natural foods are better than Science Diet and Friskies, like Innova, Wellness, Natural Balance, Nutro, etc. Yes, wet food is better too.


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## Azurah (Jun 29, 2006)

Thanks Des, I'll check out the link. This island has only a handful of pet shops with a very limited selection of canned cat foods. I'm not sure if they have any of those brands, but I will definitely keep an eye out for them and ask around. The vet's office might know so I'll check in with them as well.


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

You're welcome, I hope they have them


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## Lori (Jun 8, 2003)

Momo is beautiful! I am so glad she has you to care for her.


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## kitkat (Sep 22, 2003)

Welcome to the forum! I hope Momo gets well soon. Sometimes they get a little worse before they get better. Good luck


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