Another question about my stray lol

Question

Sorry, I've never found a cat this skinny before, and it worries me. Again, he has a vet appointment, yadda yadda

Anyway, he looks bigger! But it's only in his tummy region. His hindquarters and chest area are still really boney. I know it's been under a week, but how long should it take for him to start looking better? His coat is already getting shiny and soft, I was shocked to see how much better it got within a couple days.

Answer 1

It will take a couple of weeks for him to fill out. The vet will check him for worms which may be the cause of the stomach bloat. Yes, cats bounce back pretty well once they get proper treatment. Thanks for taking good care of him.

Answer 2

When you take the cat to your vet, ask your vet to test it for Feline Leukema and FIV first.  You want to make sure it doesn't have either of these diseases.  The vet can run this blood test in about 20 min.  

The cat most likely has worms.  Take a stool sample w/you when you go to the vet.  The vet can check to see what kind of worms the cat has.  Your vet can either pill it right on the spot with a de-worming pill or you can take the pill home w/you to give later.  It may take more than one treatment to completely get rid of the worms.  You can take another stool sample into the vet in about 3 weeks after the 1st treatment to make sure you got rid of the worms.  Also, after the cat's first bowel movement after de-worming, be sure to clean the litter pan thoroughly, using rubber gloves and a splash of bleach in the water.   Rinse the pan thoroughly.  This will kill any worm eggs.  You may even see the actual worms in the cat's stool after you get it de-wormed.  This is normal.

It will take the cat quite some time to gain weight.  Just give him plenty of TLC and good food.  Good luck to you.