Update on Ivor as of June 20, 2025: The sanctuary has said that he has been adopted by a long-time supporter of their work who is a big cat lover. He is now an indoor-only kitty and is recovering wonderfully. He has been neutered and vaccinated and had gained back some weight. He is the sole cat in a loving household and is getting lots of snuggles. ❤

In the off chance someone reads this and remembers it when they’re in a life threatening situation. Refeeding syndrome is not a “pet” thing, it’s an everyone thing. Humans included. Should you find yourself starving, and finally get ahold of something to eat, you must eat it in very small portions and over a gradual period of time or you will not keep it down. The same goes for water. If you’ve been deprived for days, you should first wash your face with water, and take a small sip. Waiting before drinking more.
Regardless of how unnecessary someone might believe it is to know this, it can save another person, yourself, or an animals life if you know about refeeding syndrome and how to help.
Do not dismiss this as a cat thing. It’s a crucial survival and rescue skill.

An update from the sanctuary, Ivor has been neutered and had his vaccines now. Ivor is sadly FIV+ poor boy. His anemia and WBC's were stable and he has gained 2 pounds! The TAMS sanctuary said he will be living there for rest of his days and will be a pampered indoor kitty. Ivor is only around 8 so hopefully many years of love after all he has been through.❤

I had a cat that got out and was lost for 3 and a half months. He was a 22 lb cat when he disappeared. He was found 25 miles from home by a little boy who noticed he had a collar on. The boy's mother left a note on my door and I couldn't believe it, I had given up on finding him, thinking he was dead. When I went to go get him he was down to 7 lbs! I brought him straight to the vet and he stayed there for over a week, because he had parasites cat's don't get, so they had t figure out how to kill the parasites without killing the cat along with them! That cat lived another 16 years after that! He passed at 22 years of age!

IVOR UPDATE! Our little warrior has been at his new home for 3 weeks. He went to a wonderful adopter who has always supported our rescued critters, but especially cats. She herself having previously been involved in cat rescue. He is now the single cat, of a single “cat person”. Let the spoiling ensue!!!

He loves sitting in the windows and observing his kingdom. He is content with his comfy, indoor lifestyle and has no desire to return to the streets.

He has her trained well to pick up all his toys and put them in a basket so he can run around and spread them all over the house again at 4am. She has tried to explain that their day starts at 7, however Ivor just seems to enjoy their little chats and then continues making his own rules.

His favourite thing to do is to stretch out his long legs and get ear scritches while watching you-tube with his new human. She sent us this hilarious picture!

One of my favourite things about Ivor’s rescue was watching his personality emerge as he regained health and felt safe. I had no idea the sick, skinny guy I took in was such a monkey! I love hearing that he is continuing to enjoy his new lease on life in his new home. His human enjoys his antics and wants you all to know he is safe, happy, well loved and they are having a ton of fun together

For a possible stray/runaway he was EXTREMELY well behaved. He has the gentlest little meow I've heard, he seems like such a sweetie

Also, the sanctuary says on their Instagram page that Ivor was brought to the sanctuary property by one of their rescued barn cats. 🥰

My mom rescued a cat from the papermill where she worked.   There were rodents everywhere and the cats there would help keep the rodents under control.   The workers would chip in together and trap the cats and take them for spraying or neutering.   They would also contribute to feeding the cats.   One tuxedo cat was particularly sweet and was liked by all of the workers in the area, but he was sick.   My mom took him home. He was coughing and sneezing, green snot out of his nose and sometimes I could hear wheezing.   I’m a respiratory therapist so I recognized. This was a very sick animal.   We took him to the vet and we found out. He had feline leukemia and a weak positive for FIV.   If mom hadn’t rescued him, he would’ve died at the mill and no one would’ve known what had happened to him.  He was started on an anti-barrel medication we would give him daily for alternating weeks.    Eventually, he required it all the time.    That was in April of 1999.    He recovered from his acute infection and was eventually neutered, which he tolerated well.   Eventually, though, the virus took its toll, and he became very anemic and was huffing while breathing.   His liver was enlarged.  We eventually had to say goodbye after a year and four months.   He became my cat, even though he belongs to the whole family.    That was the first cat I had to take to the vet for his last visit.   It was definitely heart wrenching, but we knew we’d done the right thing by providing a safe and loving home for that sweet boy in the all too brief time that we had.

Vanessa, could we please get an update about Ivor in a few month's time?

Oh god, imagine the former owner watched this. That he was beloved and got out. They're still grieving, and then they turn on YouTube and see them in this state. My heart would shatter.

When I was living at my last apartment, we had this cat that kept coming around that I started calling "the cat of a thousand years" because he was all scrawny like this and it seemed like he was 100 years old. One day I took him to the vet on my own dime - it wasn't my cat, but I felt bad - and the vet gave him the magic dewormer that they only use for bad cases. It killed every worm that was bothering him, and it eventually turned out that it was the next door neighbor's cat. Our house, the tattoo shop beneath out house, and the next door neighbor's house had all been feeding the poor guy, so once the worms were gone he blew up fat and suddenly looked a lot younger. Wishing this beast the same love and luck.

The money I spent chipping my cat who hates the great outdoors was best money spent on her. If I ever lost her it would break my heart.

My sister's ex-husband stole her cat and dumped him in a field. He was gone for over 3 months when he was found. He was so thin. Thankfully, the vet recognized him and called my sister. Her ex is a vindictive person and he thought doing this to the cat was getting even with her.

As she mentioned, it's not guaranteed that Ivor ran away looking for a mate, but it's a good reminder that  it's a very possible and common situation. NEUTERING IS A GOOD THING for more than just preventing unwanted kittens. It helped regulate behavior, and preventing these kinds of situations. Poor Ivor, hope the best for that sweet kitty.

I 100% think this is someone's beloved pet that got out and couldn't be found again - the lack of hesitation or timidness when somebody goes to touch him, that says a lot to me. I would expect that skittishness in an abused cat. Perhaps he was dumped, but at SOME point in his past somebody loved this cat dearly.

He has the long bunny back legs. When he stood up in the first footage, the immediate hit I got was manx because of that. What a sweet boi. I'm glad he got adopted by a trusted person.

He was starving for a long time and instead of immediately going for the food, he is enjoying your pets. What a sweet boy

Ivor seems to be short for SURV"IVOR" with this little one. I hope we get to see him again as he recovers!

My daughter had REFEEDING SYNDROME due to anorexia - she almost died from heart failure because of it. My heart breaks for this baby.