Adopting the Alley Cat
If you have decided to let the scruffy, one-eared, homeless tom cat into your house for warmth and food this winter, take him to the vet before he settles in front of your fireplace. At our hospital, all “stray” cats are scanned for a microchip. If they have one, sometimes we can contact the former owner and have a happy reunion. Other times, the numbers are old or the former owners decline the reunion so the microchip information is updated to the new owners information. Next, we perform a physical exam to look for signs of external parasites like fleas or ear mites. We assess their body condition and the state of their teeth. A lot of these guys are undernourished and have fractured or neglected teeth.
After the exam, we draw a blood sample and test right away for their feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus status. If we think we need to clean or pull teeth right away (or neuter them), we submit a wellness profile to make sure they are healthy enough for anesthesia. After the blooddraw we give the first set of vaccines, to be boostered in 3-4 weeks, apply a dose of Revolution, trim their nails, submit a fecal sample and send them home to adjust. If they are entering a home with other animals, it is a good idea to keep them isolated from the other pets for about 2 weeks to monitor for any signs of contagious illness and to give the other pets time to adjust the scent of a newbie.
--Dr. Olson
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Dr. Olson practices small animal medicine in Denver, CO and is a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.
Old Bogus on December 31, 2008 at 05:21 PM
Been there with a frost-bitten, scared cat (It was below zero out.). Well, all but the 2 weeks thing. He stayed in our heated water house for a few days then joined the family of two dogs and two cats in the house and has been a star member of the family since. Amazing adjustment into a strange household.
We call him "Stubbs" for his frost-bite shortened ears.