Feline (General)

[Tiger's Mom]

A sweet stray recently adopted our family as her own. She approached me with seriously matted fur, bald spots, jutting bones as she seems terribly emaciated, a tick protruding from her neck, and one broken incisor, and yet she has a tolerant and friendly disposition. I don't have the heart to call animal control, as I am afraid they will see her as a lost cost and euthanize her immediately. We don't have a no-kill shelter, and the few organizations in our rural area are already full. I cannot keep her, as we are already strapped with our indoor cat who is forever on a prescription diet. He would strongly prefer that we did away with our new feline friend.
Since arriving, I have cut-out most of her substantial clumps of matted fur, and I have been feeding her slightly more food than is appropriate for her approximate weight. I'm hoping that she will gain a healthy amount of weight before I have to make that impending decision about her fate. Her grooming has improved, and she is beginning to look like a typical outdoor cat. She even has a spring in her step!
A vet-tech friend suggested that she might have feline leukemia however, I can't find any reason to substantiate that opinion based on the information I have found. The only correlating symptom is the low weight, which makes perfect sense being that she has probably wandered for a while before finding us. If she has leukemia, would she gain weight and begin showing signs of overall improvement with regular feedings? Does anyone have any other suggestions on what illnesses she might have that would cause her bald spots or low weight? I cannot take her to the vet to find out this information, and I am not sure where to turn at this point. My only options will be to run an ad in our local paper for a "free cat", or turn her over to animal control. I would like for her to be as healthy as possible (within MY means) before I have to make this decision. She is truly a sweet cat and wonderful with my children, and it would be such a waste of a wonderful pet to allow her to be euthanized. I am trying to create the best possible outcome for this darling. I would appreciate any suggestions... Thanks and God Bless!

[bhtl818]

It has been a while since this was posted so my reply might be coming too late. But if your stray cat does have feline leukemia, she should have some more symptoms because she should have a weak immune system. And a feline leukemia positive cat should be able to gain weight and live a healthy life. They are more prone to sickness and have a harder time fighting off bacteria and viruses, which shortens the overall life expectancy for these cats because we can't protect them from the air they breathe (feline leukemia is sometimes called feline AIDS). The low weight could just be from being a stray and not having quality food to eat. As for the bald spots, this could possibly be from some type of parasite or fungus. A common one to look for is ringworm, which can be treated on your own with some de-wormer from your local pet store.

This information is just some random facts floating around in my head that I have picked up doing online research for my own cats. I'm not an expert nor do I have any other experience with cats other than just being an owner so I don't know how much this will help. Hope everything works out okay for you!