I need advice on what to do about this stray cat.

Okay, I'm going to throw tons of info at you, but I'll surmise it here:

1. I think I know who the owner is and they literally don't care about their cat any more.

2. The only two shelters here will kill him unless he's healthy, which he is not.

3. I do not have the ability to allow it in my apartment for any amount of time.

Okay, so now that I'm sick and on quarantine, I've spent a lot of time talking to the neighborhood cats. Today I saw this sweet, long-haired cat and gave it some food (the neighbor who said she would care for it is in jail sooooo. . .). While I had it near me, I noticed it looked a little dirty. Not lives-on-the-street dirty but not-cleaning-myself dirty. It was also very skinny. Eyes and nose were clear though.

I resolved to take it to the vet after I'm off quarantine. I'm going to get it looked at and see if it's just malnourished/dehydrated or if it's sick. If it's something I can fix with some meds in a few weeks I'm going to hide it somewhere safe and do the thing. If it has feline leukemia or something similar that's incurable, I'll pay to have it put down.

Here's the rough part though: I can't have him in my apartment. My dog can and will tear him to shreds. Maybe, possibly, I could keep him in my bathroom but there's still a chance he'll get injured. I'm not down for that. Another possibility is to hide him in my apartments laundry room, but that would mean trusting my shitty neighbor not to let him out or report me.

I could also ask the person who's cat I think it is if they're going to take him to the vet, but it seems clear that they're not going to give one shit. It also may not even be their cat in the first place. I found a release letter for them to sign so I can take this cat to the vet IF they are the owner. But then I'M the owner of this cat!

I've reached out to one of the only cat rescues in my county but they're always swamped. More likely than not I'm going to just have to deal with this on my own.

It's all a big mess, but I'll be damned if I don't get this cat some help. It was outside all winter and I've had it with my godforsaken neighbors. I get that not everyone values animals the way I do but this is NEGLECT. If I thought the animal control people would do anything I'd have already called them. I am ANNOYED, I am SCARED, and I just want this cat to be okay, damnit.

Anyway, please let me know if you have any ideas on what I can do. I feel stuck and I know there has got to be SOMETHING.

submitted by /u/Cgaunvy
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/fm938d/i_need_advice_on_what_to_do_about_this_stray_cat/