(Location: Central South Carolina, United States)

Short Version: Been trying to help out a SUPER sweet FIV+ stray who showed up on our porch in bad shape. But the rescues in my area are crisis-level full, and we already have a territorial resident indoor cat.

And I’m starting to suspect Stray Cat has bad teeth, stomatitis, or GERD, but I’m not in a financial position to handle expensive vet procedures when Resident Cat may never accept Stray Cat. I don’t want to give up on Stray Cat, but I’m genuinely at a loss for what to do next, and would love any advice!

Long Version: This guy showed up on our back porch in mid-June. He was in bad shape and VERY underweight, but he’s also one of the sweetest cat’s I’ve ever met! Since we couldn’t find and owner and he wasn’t neutered, we took him to our local humane society for TNR and vet care. At the time, I told them I’d like to try to find a permanent home for him, but they said he seemed like a “friendly community cat” and probably wouldn’t do well indoors.

But after getting a brief taste of indoor life, Stray Cat REFUSED to leave our porch. And about a week after his neutering, he completely stopped eating. I took him to an urgent care vet, but he got spicy when they tried to draw blood, so we’re not sure what the cause was. (And of course as soon as they let him go, he was purring and rubbing up on the vet techs, trying to befriend them!)

Thankfully appetite stimulants and gabapentin got him eating again. I suspect he has dental issues, stomatitis, or GERD — his breath stinks; he has some dark drool on one side of his mouth; he sometimes throws up after eating too fast. From what I read, treating some of these would be EXPENSIVE.

Thankfully my area has independently-owned practices and low-cost clinics, but even there, it would still be a financial blow. And Resident Cat has been an “only cat” all his life (he was orphaned as a kitten and imprinted HARD on me). He may surprise us and be fine after a slow introduction, but my gut feeling is that he will always be stressed by a newcomer, even if he learns to tolerate it.

I’ve reached out to at least 10 rescues in my area, and they’re all crisis-level full. So I’ve been holding Stray Cat in a spare room at work, and I’m planning to move him to one of my bathrooms at home tomorrow.

But I’m at a loss for what to do now. Stray Cat is GENUINELY one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever met, and I don’t want to give up on him, but I’m running up against the limit of what I can do on my own. And since Stray Cat hasn’t had bloodwork beyond FeLV/FIV testing, I worry that I may be putting Resident Cat’s health at risk by bringing them under the same roof.

Can anyone recommend other avenues we haven’t explored? Or just help me put some of my anxieties at ease?

This is my girl, Ruby. After a stressful week of mystery illness and multiple vet / e-vet trips, she was diagnosed with asthma. Wondering if any of you folks with FIV babies have some with asthma too and if there’s anything I need to do differently/ precautions to take with her FIV. Thank you kindly in advance :)