About ten years ago, I rescued a kitten (feral) and brought him home. I worked with him, socialized him, fell in love in him and decided to keep him. Seven years ago last November, he escaped from the house and we looked for him all over but could never find him. A year later, I stopped putting food outside in the feral feeders because the skunks and coons had moved in and I figured at that point, this was all I was feeding.

Last night I came home, to find Alex on the freezer eating! He is pencil- thin and has fresh wounds on him that are not bleeding- a matter of grave concern as this means he is anemic. He has no flesh on him at all, but he is eating and drinking, so the feline specialist feels that keeping him quiet and watching him is preferable to stressing him out and running him to the vet. I can’t even get him fluid as he has no fat anywhere! He isn’t hiding from me- he was matted and smelly and I took my clippers to him this morning and removed all the mats.

Tomorrow, I will worm him, and then I will just watch him carefully and try and get some weight on him. But oh my gosh! He came back home after all these years! I am encouraged that he has an appetite- because this means that wherever he was, he was finding food or being fed and feline hepatic lipidosis hadn’t set in. I don’t know if he will make it or not- but time will tell. I have him on antibiotics and nutritional supplements. I am sad because I do not know what he went through the entire time he was gone, but I am so elated to have him back with us!