We were walking back through our subdivision when Murray started wagging his tail and trying to dive in to the hedges. I saw a flash of little green eyes and knew he had found the little stray cat we see hanging around the neighbourhood occasionally.
Taking pity on the poor thing, I brought the dogs home, fed them dinner and then ran outside with a container of cat food and one with icy cold water. When I found her in the bushes however, I knew something wasn't right. Not only was she panting, she seemed unresponsive and couldn't keep her focus on me. I put down the dishes and gently picked her up. She seemed hesitant but didn't have the energy to fight me so I carried her back to the house.
Since she's a stray I couldn't bring her inside in case she was carrying a disease that could easily spread to our pets but our garage was significantly cooler than being out in the heat so I shut her in there. I brought down a spare fan we weren't using and turned it on to keep the air moving. Then I brought her more food and water. I didn't have an ice pack so I brought down a frozen pack of freezies wrapped in a dishtowel and set her on it. She didn't even budge. I tried to get her to drink some water but she wouldn't, so I resorted to syringing it down her mouth. I also soaked her with cold water from a spray bottle I keep around for my bird. I didn't know if what I was doing was right but I didn't have time to go browsing the internet in fear that I might lose her and figured anything would be better than just leaving her in that hedge.
After about an hour she started coming around. This is about the time Hubby came home from work and agreed we could keep her in the garage overnight, then let her go in the morning. The first thing she did was drink half of the water in the bowl I had out and then she finished off the food! The poor thing was thirsty, starving and skin and bones. However she didn't seem infested with fleas or mites and also didn't have any wounds or anything to be concerned about. That being said we still made sure to wash our hands and change clothes before going back in the house.
I continued to fill up her food and water dish throughout the evening and spent some time with her. She seemed to realize we were there to help and even hopped in my lap purring. When I took the dogs out before bedtime we let her choose whether or not she wanted to leave the garage. She initially left but hung around our front door so we ended up putting her back inside for the night like we had originally planned. With the humidity they had also been calling for thunderstorms and I didn't think I'd be able to sleep knowing she was out in that.
I let her out this morning and she was happy to be outdoors again although she spent all day hanging around our front yard. We've put food and water down the side of our house for her so we know she's getting the nourishment she needs and are hoping to find a home for her as she is a beautiful and sweet little thing.
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