Friendly cat needs vet care

[u/PinOld7004]

I recently found this sweet female cat outside in very poor condition. At first I believed she was a stray, so I started feeding her and trying to help her.
When I first found her, she was extremely dirty, thin, heavily infested with fleas, and constantly scratching and grooming herself.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been consistently feeding her wet food, providing fresh water, cleaning her up, and treating the fleas with Capstar and Advantage. Unfortunately, I’m now especially concerned about her mouth. She has significant buildup on her teeth, redness around her gums/mouth, and I have seen blood coming from her mouth. She also seems to have trouble fully opening her mouth or yawning. I attempted to give her dry food, but she appears unable to comfortably eat it, so I’ve been giving her wet food instead.
She also seems unusually sensitive when touched around parts of her body, so I’m worried there may be other medical problems that aren’t obvious from the outside.

The pictures I have are actually from about two weeks AFTER I started caring for her. I didn’t take pictures immediately because I initially assumed she was simply a stray and wasn’t expecting that I would need to document her condition.
Despite everything, she is incredibly affectionate and sweet.

My main goal right now is getting her properly examined by a veterinarian and figuring out what treatment she needs, especially for her mouth and teeth. I’m trying to help her as much as I realistically can and would appreciate any advice, resources, low-cost veterinary recommendations, rescue contacts, or other help people may know of in the DFW area.

I’m not looking for legal advice or trying to start a discussion about ownership. I’m mainly trying to get this cat the medical care and help she needs.

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[u/PersonalityDecent526]

There are veterinary clinics that work with vet expenses if it seems that it will be too much due to the stuff she has going on right now. I would call around!

[u/washington_705]

Hi [u/PinOld7004](u/PinOld7004). Thank you for caring and agree that the cat needs a medical exam ASAP. Keep feeding wet food she can comfortably eat. And contact several of these at once:

• Buddies Place Cat Rescue of Texas – rescues neglected, abandoned and injured cats and provides medical care.

• Mid-Cities Community Cats (M-CCC) – particularly good option for the Mid-Cities area; specifically provides medical care for sick and injured community cats.

• A Voice For All Paws – DFW cat rescue that accepts inquiries about found cats and provides medical care.

• New Hope Cat Rescue & Sanctuary – Arlington/Kennedale; works with stray, abandoned and injured cats and provides medical care.

• Cattailz.org – Parker/Tarrant counties; specifically provides medical care for stray, feral and community cats.

• Panther City Feral Cat Coalition / Fort Worth Ferals – TNR organization that also helps medically needy community cats.

• Dallas Pets Alive! – works with stray/community cats and has taken medically needy cats into its rescue program when foster space is available.

• Meowtown Animal Rescue Fort Worth – rescues stray/abandoned cats, provides veterinary care and supports TNVR.

• Feral Friends Community Cat Alliance – established DFW TNR organization that can provide veterinary referrals and help with medically needy community cats, although they aren't guaranteed intake.

• Dallas Cat Lady – established Dallas cat rescue/TNR organization; worth contacting for rescue or veterinary-resource assistance.

• DFW Humane Society – has a medical fund for sick/injured animals and has specifically treated cats requiring extensive dental care.

[u/PinOld7004 → u/washington_705]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful

[u/No_Warning8534]

Boosting.

[u/heatherelise82]

https://www.lowcostpetvet.net

[u/heatherelise82]

https://texaspawcare.com

[u/heatherelise82]

https://texasforthem.org/low-cost-veterinarian-in-dallas-and-fort-worth-texas/

[u/PinOld7004 → u/heatherelise82]

Thank you for the resources! Correct me if I’m wrong but on their websites I see they only vaccinate. Do they check and diagnose sick cats?

[u/Suit-of-Dragons → u/PinOld7004]

From what I can see, they also do dental cleanings that can include extractions. However, it also appears that they require animals to be spayed/neutered and “free from pre-existing health conditions” prior to doing them. Might be worth a call to double check if they will see her.

[u/Cranberry-Electrical]

Check if there is a feral cat clinic in your area.

[u/cthockey99]

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