Ryder was brought to my attention by another local cat rescuer. This poor house cat was abandoned by his family, who moved out of state and decided to leave him behind. Unfortunately for Ryder, they did not bother to find a new home for him or even surrender him at the local shelter. He was literally just left to fend for himself.
This was not easy on Ryder, since it took quite awhile for someone to step up and help him. He was apparently starving for quite sometime, but able to survive possibly by digging through trash or hunting rats. Ryder could not understand why his family would leave him, and resorted to begging relentlessly at the door of his former home. When a new family moved into his former home, luck was still not on his side--as this new family despised cats. They would have nothing to do with Ryder and would rather see him euthanized than lift a finger to help him out.
After a concerned neighbor posted a video to Nextdoor of Ryder wailing outside his former home, looking ragged and completely malnourished, he was able to get some community help. First, Ryder was taken to the San Jose Animal Care Center, the local shelter, where I happen to work as an RVT. Since I was already brought up to speed on Ryder's story, I made sure to be involved in his medical treatment. Due to Ryder's poor condition, it seems he was so malnourished that he was beginning to lose muscle tone, especially in his back legs, which he had to drag around at times in order to move. X-rays and testing did not show any neurological signs or broken bones, and after he was provided with proper meals for a couple of weeks, he was able to regain normal bodily functions.
The next step in rescuing Ryder would be to find a suitable new home for him. However, due to his neglect and abandonment (apparently since 2020), he seems to have developed some more feral behavioral tendencies. Practically speaking, this leaves him only with options to live outside, perhaps in a colony with other cats or as a barn cat/mouse hunter. The important thing is that he is provided with regular meals and care.
In order to bring him to a new outdoor home, he needs to be "imprinted" to that environment. This involves him staying in a secure shelter for at least 6 weeks, with someone dedicated to feeding him, giving him water, and cleaning his litter box. After that in theory, he should be allowed to go freely into his new surroundings and return to this same spot for meals. We are still looking for this magical new place for him. Please let us know if you are willing to help us with Ryder. All supplies including a secure and temporary "catio" can be provided for the imprinting process.
Of course if some kind soul were willing to adopt him as an indoor cat and be extremely patient with him, I personally believe he would open up and acclimate to being a house cat again after some time. That would be the most ideal future for him.
