Help!!! Fish kidnapped by a cat

[Diamondra]

Hello. I just recently rescued a fish that i found in my garden that was brought to me by a cat that lives in my flat. Baically the cat likes to bring us “presents” such as dead birds, but one day as I was in the kitchen, I found the cat playing with something colorful in his mouth. I decided to take a closer look and realized that it was a goldfish. It started to move so i quickly took the first container with water that i could find as we don’t own a single fish i decided to keep the fish in a tuperware before buying a tank for him. The fish is not eating and his has a deep wound in his left side and lost most of his scales due to the attack. I have been to a pet shop to ask for advice but they just gave me salt and water conditioner, but i would like to know if someone has had a similar experience and could help me out! I don’t know what to do as it is my first fish and not expected at all. As it was still moving i wanted to give him a home, and not just let it die there in the garden. My question is will the scales regrow after this attack and will the wound heal?
Thanks

 

[Lisak1]

Awww... you are a kind soul! It's hard to say if the fish will survive. The missing scales are less important that what may have happened internally while he was in the cat's mouth. And if the cat pierced the fish's skin with it's teeth, it may also develop an infection. You can try to treat the wound with salt baths, but sometimes the kinder thing is to let the fish go...

 

[Diamondra]

So far it looks like the fish is still swimming with energy and you could not tell if have been attacked by a cat... but our concern is just the eating part. Thanks soo much for the advice though.

 

[j.w]

@Diamondra
Fish can go a long time w/o eating. He's scared and has been taken out of his home surroundings so will take a while for him to want to eat. You can't make him eat so all you can do is wait and see. Maybe check the neighbors to see if anyone has a pond around you.

 

[Lisak1]

Oh that's good - yeah, don't worry too much about the eating part. Like @j.w said - stress or any kind of change can throw them for a loop and they'll stop eating. And this poor guy has been through all the loops!

 

[Tula]

I agree, don't worry about not eating. Good clean dechlorinated water with aeration will help the fish. I hope you can find the fish owner, or someone who has a pond near by, otherwise.......you can give it a new home with you

 

[addy1]

Welcome!

So nice of you to save the fish!