malnourished kitty

Question
I live rural and have several pet cats & dogs already and have all my life so yesterday when a bony, 1 eared dusty colored cat walked IN my house and started eating dog food I knew he/she had to be DESPERATE. Right now a vet visit is out of the question--I hope my own pets have no emergencies--and I would like suggestions on the best type of diet for him/her to start with so he can regain some weight/strength. I have him/her quarantined for now--for his safety and also because my toddler grandchildren are here weekdays. I keep Frontline and antibiotics but want to get some weight on him first.
Thank You,
Amie

Answer
Just feed him what your other cats are eating. Quarantining him is a good idea because you don't know if he has leukemia (which your cats can get from him) or has ever been vaccinated for rabies (which all of your pets should be, including cats).

Get him some wet cat food like friskies of you want him to gain weight faster. Once he is stronger get him neutered for sure. If his/her ear is clipped off across the top it could be that this cat was a feral cat that was trapped and neutered. Vets will clip off their ear tip so that if the cat is re-trapped it won't be opened up again for spaying.

Many of these once feral cats calm down and seek out a home months after they were trapped and neutered. Happens a lot.