<< Have just
been putting food outside the door, and waiting for the vet to reopen
post-holiday.

Any insights are greatly appreciated. >>

I'm sorry, I have no knowledge in this area.  Just wanted to say that it is
very kind of you to help him and I hope it all works out for him to have a
happier, healthier life.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

It's wonderful of you to take him in. Can you bring him inside and keep him
secluded in a room of his own, even a bathroom with food, water, litter, and
a bed?? A trip to the vet is definitely in order.
Gail

Get him checked out for feline leukemia and feline AIDS before you
allow him to so much as breathe on your other cats. It's an easy blood
test. Might set you back 75 bucks or so, but it might also spare your
other cats a slow wasting death. Just my 2 cents.

IBen

I'm not really an expert on medical matters, but since I've been going
through skin problems with my dog I have many things bookmarked and know
where to look! :) Sarcoptic mange isn't really common in cats, it's more
likely to be  notoedric mange, or feline scabies if he does have mites.
It's still a mite, and treatment is similar to s.m. The vet will need to
do a skin scraping. It is contagious, so if you bring him inside you'd
need to be *really* careful about not spreading the mites around. If the
weather is not bad there, I would probably try to set up a nice shelter
outdoors and continue to feed him yummy things until you can get him to
the vet and rule this out, or treat him. Thank you for taking care of
kitty and good luck! Here's a link:
www.marvistavet.com/html/body_notoedric_mange.html

Karen