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Last night at 10pm, an owner (sort of) showed up. We had posted all over the neighborhood, at the pound, and on Craigslist all day on Sunday. We were wondering if perhaps someone had let their cat with a chronic condition outside to enjoy the nicest weather we've had in months to give him a good time before he dies, and he just jaunted over to this neighbor. Sure enough, he had been at home that very morning. This is the story:

He belongs to someone who has been out of the country for months. This person has a housesitter staying at the house and taking care of this cat (who is actually "Felix") who is supposed to (according to the owner's directions) stay outside. He also went away over Christmas and when left the cat in the care of a third person, his girlfriend, who actually did break the rules and let him stay in the house. She noticed him getting sick and lethargic. When the housesitter came back to the country 3 weeks later, he found the cat skinny. So he began feeding him a "box of Friskies" every day to try to fatten him up, and he would eat all of it. He kept losing weight, but not knowing much about cats he just decided to try to keep feeding what he considered "fatty food" and figured that since the cat is 14, his problem is he's just getting old. The housesitter agrees he does not think the cat should be outside in this condition, but was following directions from the owner.

Anyway, he came by to pick up the cat last night at 10:30pm. Of course I was very reluctant to send the cat off... I tried to talk him gently into letting me keep the cat over night for the vet tomorrow, but he seemed sincere that would take the cat to the vet first thing in the morning. Combined with the fact that I'd be stealing a cat if I didn't hand him over, as well as the fact that I really can't afford to be charging another huge vet bill at this point, I sent him off. He (and the girlfriend) were very concerned about the cat, carried him out in a blanket, etc. They have money. It's just general inexperience with cats, I think.

Got a call just now from them at the vet - he just got the blood taken and the vet is perplexed about what is wrong but the blood panel should give us the answer I hope. I'm glad he at least made it through the day and is still alive. I was so worried all day that I'd have a message on my machine that he'd died. We'll see what happens... I don't know if the wound got addressed yet or not.

Keep Silas/Felix in your thoughts. He's a lovely old man. I'll update again when I get the blood panel results.

Test results back today - severe anemia, liver "problems", and infection. Still don't know how he got into this state. The owners out of the country want to do everything to keep him alive so the housesitter has gotten the sub-q fluids, a/d, and antibiotics to do what he can.

However, he's out of town all day tomorrow due to work and so I'm babysitting Felix until tomorrow night.

He just arrived and he looks awful. Really, really weak, peeing on himself, can't stand up, etc.. I don't know what I'm going to find in the crate when I get up in the morning. I've given him his a/d and now I'm going to stop bugging him and let him rest for the night.

If it was my cat I'd euthanize at this point... but on the other hand, I have seen some amazing recoveries. We'll see what the morning brings.

I'm pretty impressed that the housesitter has taken on this fluids, force-feeding thing. I do hope Felix can rally through the next 24 hours and let his antibiotics take effect.