Anyone take in a stray cat?

[Jey12]

I wouldn't declaw this kitty because he's feral. A feline leukemia test is a must since you have another cat. Make sure it's a combo test of feline leukemia and FIV, both can be common in feral cats and can be passed to your indoor kitty even through a screen. I would call local shelters and tell them about your situation. They may have a low cost program for spaying/neutering, shots and parasite testing. If not they should be able to point you in the right direction of a place that does.

If you can keep your garage open to the cat all winter I would just do this. Feral cats can learn to use a litterbox and live indoors but most times it's a lot of work. If this cat goes outside of the litter box it could cause your other cat to do so also to try and mark over that spot and you end up with a big mess on your hands. I would get all vaccines at a veterinary place. Ones bought at feed stores might work for some people, but I have seen numerous times where the product wasn't stored correctly or other issues. Cats can be sensitive to some of the vaccines and they should be administered in their rear flank area. You do not want to attempt this on a feral cat if you do not have proper training and experience. Better to just have the vaccines given while the kitty is under anestetic for surgery.

If you decide to try and introduce this cat into your home, for the first week keep it in a small room, like a bathroom, with food, water, toys, scratching post and a litter box. Once you're confident it's using the litter box then slowly allow the resident pets to get to know it a little better. Of course all of this after the cat has been leukemia and FIV tested and it's been altered. I still would not declaw at this point. You don't know if it will work out and if you need to put the cat back outside. Although I've known many a cat to bring down a full sized rabbit, climb a tree and defend itself just fine without front claws. Cats have 5 lines of defense, 4 paws and a mouth. They will use all of them. I've known several cats that I swore had a pocket full of chinese stars to add. If after a few months things are working out, great. If after a few months things are working out but kitty is trying to shred furniture and curtains, you will need to rethink the declaw. At least by this time you will know if it will get along indoors, with the other pets and use the litterbox. I'm all for avoiding declawing cats, but if it comes down to the choice of a declaw or putting a cat that otherwise is happy and healthy inside back outside, I say declaw. Just try to make this decision before the cat reaches 3-5 years of age, or goes over 10lbs. I would also suggest finding a vet that offers a laser declaw. When the laser is used there is less trauma to the tissue and healing time is much faster and it's less painful for the cat. It's more expensive, but worth it.

Honestly I would just find a low cost group and have the cat altered, leukemia/FIV tested, check for parasites and bring vaccines current. Then I would try to keep a warm dry place in the garage or somewhere for it to get shelter during the winter. If you'd really wanted to bring this cat into your house I would assume you would have when it was a kitten. You're doing a great thing and in a kitty kind of way I'm sure it really appreciates your effort. For the safety of your other cat, altering and vaccinating this kitty is a must IMO. I really don't think you should have to pay more than $200 for everything (not including the declaw.) With most rescue groups I would think this cost could be as low as $75 if you call around. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[scootch]

We took in a stray about 3 months ago. She took right to the litter box. I scratched her paws in it once, and that was it. Our vet told me if we were keeping her indoors, she did not need the leukemia shot. Our first visit was closer to $100 with a followup of about $80. I also had her spade. I have never had a cat, so was clueless... but she has been a true blessing for our family. The girls love her and they feel like they "saved her life" since she was only 4 lbs and already had adult teeth.

 

[LoriKutchey]

I would contact a local rescue organization for advice. One of our local ones works in conjuction with a vet clinic and they offer low cost vaccinations, exams & spading. I am sure the rescue groups worked with feral cats before,
but since she lets you pet her I am not so sure she is feral, probably someones discarded pet. How people do that is beyond my comprehension BTW, if your on facebook do a search there you should come up with an organization or just google.

 

[tkitty]

I've had many cats and was very happy with the 2 I had last year when my grown DD called to ask if I knew anyone who would take a kitten that someone must have dumped near her street. She already has 3 and they are enough trouble for her and I hated to mess up the perfect cats I had- I knew that my siamese would hate another cat. Well of course I ended up with her. She was not more than 6 weeks and bonded instantly with me.

All my fears were unfounded. My cats who never had any bad habits didn't start any new ones. The new kitten only needed to be shown the box and has never missed it. Took a little time but one of my cats plays with her all the time now.

As soon as she was a few months old, I found a free spay at the local shelter which I have done before, but as I got in line at 5am, I new I'd never make it but they passed out vouchers for free spay/neuter. I was able to pick a time and place and get her done for free. They checked her out and gave her shots all for a very small fee.

My kitty (Tinkerbell) is very happy and we are glad we added her to the family.

 

[SandrA9810]

Every where I've lived I've seen free or very low cost fixes for feral cats. Many places are initiating to leave feral cats feral. Key West at one time had a huge overpopulation problem of cats. So they decided to trap and kill... then started a huge rodent problem. Nature still needs feral cats, so don't feel bad if it doesn't want to become a house pet.

I had cats growing up, and they were strictly outdoors. Both were stray kittens. Since my grandparents grew up on farms... animals were meant to be outside, not inside. One of the cats always loved leaving her catch of the night on the back porch.

My bf's uncle has an adopted stray cat. He put out food for the cats that would come around, until a big fat black cat showed up. He scared away all the other cats and is now king of the throne. He got named Max, and is the biggest spoiled cat ever, but does not like to be indoors. He prefers his outdoor living quarters, but he is the biggest attention hog too.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Is the cat truly feral, or could it have been dumped? If it was dumped, then that would explain why it is friendly and let you pet it.

I took in a stray cat when I was in grad school, and he is the most loving, devoted, sweetheart of a cat that I have ever seen. I will never know if he was a true stray, or if he was dumped, but I found him in the woods behind my apartment complex. I sweat that cat took one look at me and saw the words "sucker" written across my forehead and knew I was his golden ticket to lap cat-hood.

I started off feeding him on my porch, but then one day it was raining so I brought him inside and he never left!

I never had any problems getting him to use the litter box, or spraying. He does love to shred furniture, but oh well! I use soft paws on him (the plastic nail caps) and they work fine.

If this cat was dumped, it may do just fine inside your house. I guess there is only one way to find out!

 

[mjkacmom]

My neighbor adopted a cat like this. It was a little kitten in the summer, that just roamed, so she put out food and water, but then it started to get colder. She brought him to the vet, got him fixed and vaccinated, and basically he sleeps in her house, but spends his days outdoors. I don't even know if they have a litter box, since he really just spends his nights indoors.

 

[mousey]

One of the best pets we had was a stray cat who "found" us. He showed up on our deck after Christmas one year and was at the door. He came in and never left. He loved the outdoors but enjoyed the indoors too.
Does your local SPCA have a fostering program that you could join and they basically get the cat all ready (shots, checkup, etc) for adoption and you end up adopting after fostering? Best of luck!

 

[captainjen]

When I was about 7 years old, I found a cat that was searching for food in our trash can in the back yard, it was late summer. My mother let me feed it and give it water. When the winter came, my mom reluctantly let him stay in the cellar during cold nights. That cat remained with us for almost 20 years and was a devoted companion during the last few years of my mothers life as she became sick and bed ridden. He never peed in the house, barely ever used the litter box. Although he liked to go outside, he always came back. Take a chance on the cat, find a humane society that will help with vet cost. I bet that you will not regret it!

 

[Princess_Meghan <3]

We took in a stray kitten. We had one other cat and a dog- we kept our pets seperate from the kitten until we could have him examined and got his test results in. We have a detached garage, and we kept him in there until all his results came back before we introduced him to the rest of our animals.

 

[NYCDiane]

Thank you for taking care of the kitty.

Call your vet and see if you can give a down payment on the costs it will be for the spay/neuter, shots, deworm, etc and then pay off the rest. I'm sure if you're a regular patient, they will agree.

It's so hard to find good homes for homeless animals and it's so great of you to be doing this for the cat. Maybe you can slowly make him an inside cat? When the weather gets colder, shut the garage door once he's inside. Show him the litter box, etc. He'll get the idea.

Believe me, there's a reason that cat found you. He'll probably be the best cat you ever had!

 

[2BigKIdz]

We have taken in 2 strays. The first was a female that we had for more than 10 years and she was still very skittish when she passed away. She was sweet when she would let you pet her but for the most part she hid somewhere in the house but she did enjoy curling up with our other cats. The other is a male that we have had 10 years. He is the absolute best cat ever. He has slept in the bed with us since day 1. Our 18 month old son is always hugging/laying all over this cat, and his name, Bob (he doesn't have a tail and looks like a bobcat), was actually our son's first word.

As others have suggested take him to the shelter or other organization for low cost shots/neutering.

 

[pixxi]

Update: I was able to find a place to neuter and give basic shots for about $100. Our humane society was more expensive than a clinic. I did ask this clinic if they can bath, clean ears or clip nails if we keep the cat. They said no. The cat is getting kind of stinky, I would love to be able to clean him off when he's under anesthesia or still sleepy. I can't imagine him tolerating a bath or ear cleaning, if he's skitish most the time.

Now, I need to work on my husband. I just worry with the 2 dogs and our 4 kids, that the cat will have a hard time adjusting. But, we can always place it in the closed garage if he's feeling stressed. I did put a litter box in the garage but he never touched it. We do have quite a few boxed with clothes in the garage. I just don't want him peeing on things! Is there anything that will encourage him to use the litter box. Like a powder, or scent?