Question:
A question for the vets or any others with info, links, etc.:

My husband and I are considering bringing a “found” adult cat into our home with 2 other adult cats. Our current cats are one male and one female ages 6 and 7, and the found cat is a female who appears to be a young adult.

The found cat has been living in our yard for the past two weeks. She does not appear to be leaving, and she is getting dirtier (looking more like a cat who has been living outside). However, she does appear to have been cared for. She is thin but not emaciated (we’ve been feeding her for the past week), and I believe she may have been flea-treated because she appears to be, for the most part, free of fleas. We have assumed that she wondered from her home and is lost, but we’ve placed ads in the local paper and hung
signs on area streeets and in pet stores, grocery stores, and vet offices. We’ve had no response and are now concerned that she may have been abandoned. What we are trying to determine is how to minimize risk to our current cats if we bring the found cat in to live with us.

In our nieghborhood, there are a few households who have indoor/outdoor cats (despite a leash law), but there are no strays. Because our cats have been strictly indoor and because we have a friend whose cat died of a tumor caused by vaccination, we stopped vaccinating our cats somewhere around 3 years ago. So, we’d need to know what we would need to do to bring them up-to-date. For example, because it has been a while, will they need two rounds (an initial and a booster) for any of the vaccines?

Secondly, what tests will we need to get for the new cat? And, how long would she need to be isolated and then re-tested allowing time for any new infection to show positive on a test?

Our main concern is health. We are aware of potential behavior problems and don’t want to make our cats miserable. They are very happy. My husband works at home, and they get lots of attention all day long. We actually think they might enjoy a new playmate. However, allowing time for adjustment, if they dont’ get along but the new cat was healthy enough to bring into our home, then we have resources to find her a new, good home.

Your advice is much appreciated. We will of course be consulting our vet, but we have struggled with finding an area vet who seems to stay current. For example, after several years of searching, we finally found someone willing to give the vaccinations in an area other than the scruff, and I still suffer a “disapproving” look every time I ask him to do so.

Thanks,
Jennifer

Answer:
Hi! HOw nice of you to want to give this poor girl a home.

You will need to take her right to the vet. If she is not spayed then she is probably pregnant. She may even have a litter hidden somewhere, so check and see if she is full of milk.

You should also have her tested for leukemia and FIV, and of course worms or other parasites.

I personally do not vaccinate my indoor cats.

Do you know how to introduce cats so things go as smoothly as possible? Most cats who have been living outside are pretty good with other cats, but yours may not be.

Please let us know how it goes with this girl!

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