Ok To Let Stray Cat Out After 1 Week?

DET_CAT_DAD

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I took in a stray male cat last Sunday and he's currently residing in one of my guest bedrooms. He had been coming around for about a year and I would leave food and fresh water out for him. He is pretty friendly but wouldn't let me get too close. I had been planning on trapping him and bringing him inside before winter. I live in the Detroit area and the temperature has been dropping the past few weeks. Then, after getting home from the grocery store last Sunday morning, a neighbor told me she saw a coyote running down the train tracks behind our condo complex. Not fifteen minutes later, he showed up on my front porch bleeding from his backside. I took that as a sign that I couldn't wait any longer. I waited and waited all day Sunday but he never showed back up. Before heading to bed around midnight, I set a trap for him on my front porch. I woke up around 3:30 and checked the trap and, sure enough, he was in it!

I will be getting him to the vet either this week or next to be neutered and vaccinated. I have three cats already, and one really bossy female, so I'm not sure I can keep him but I'm going to try. If not, I've been in contact with several local shelters about getting him placement. He cried a lot the first few days but he's settling down now and will let me pet him. He's doing pretty well, all things considered.

I guess I have a few questions. If I put my other cats in my bedroom, should I let him out to explore for an hour or so? Could he transmit any type of disease or fleas to my cats just by him walking around my condo and rubbing up against things? He doesn't scratch himself or look uncomfortable and I've checked his ears and it doesn't appear that he has any ear mites. He is the first cat I've rescued off the streets so I'm kind of uncertain as to if giving him access to the rest of the condo will cause issues for my other cats even if they don't come into direct contact with him.

My second question is while he is using the litter box now, I think he peed somewhere the first night he was in the room. I have cat urine cleaner but my problem is I have no idea where he peed. We have nasty dark blue carpet and stains are hidden relatively easily. That's part of the reason I'd like to let him out so I can get in there and clean the carpet to get rid of that smell. It's not the litter box either because I replaced all the litter last night and the smell remains.

Thanks for the help!
 

molly92

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I would not let him explore until after the vet visit and he's on dewormer and flea medication, just to be safe. If you end up with a flea infestation, it can be a huge pain to control. If you want to put him in a bathroom (easy to clean!) while you clean his room that would be fine. Thank you for taking him in, he needed you!
 

Avery

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Thank you so much for saving this handsome little guy! You are lucky he was so trap-able!!

I agree with the previous posts: keep him isolated until he gets to the vet. I recently took in two outside cats (one stray and one semi-feral) that I had taken to be neutered before and had been feeding outside and finally decided, partly weather-based, too, that it was time to bring them in.

The vet gave them Advantage Multi which takes care of the fleas very quickly and also treats for worms and ear mites. She also tested them for FIV and FeLV to be sure they are healthy. You can talk with your vet about what they suggest in your situation.

Good luck and I hope he stays with you or finds another wonderful home!
 

white shadow

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Hi DET_CAT_DAD !

Wow...just WOW ! Good on you for all this!

Just 2 quick things:
  • make sure any shelter considered is no-kill (I won't presume you already knew!)
  • rather than buying a black light, you might be able to borrow one - maybe from a shelter/rescue group
Feel (very) free to share m̶o̶r̶e̶ many more pics of this fabulous guy !
.
 
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DET_CAT_DAD

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Thank you all for your input! I will keep him in there until he goes to the vet. He will now come up to me when I enter the room and rub up on me. He is making great progress and hopefully won't put up a big fight when I take him to the vet.

The bleeding had stopped as of last Sunday when I was able to get him in the house. I tried to check for a wound but couldn't see one. I had a large pet cage that I kept him in for the first 24 hours that I had lined with towels and there was no blood when I finally let him out of the cage on Monday night. I don't know if he got caught on a bush or in a fight with another outside stray or feral (we have a bunch over here) or a coyote.

He started to come around in October of last year. I felt horrible leaving him out there but we had just adopted brother and sister Siberians from a shelter and I didn't want to cause further stress to them and my current cat Ralph. I would leave him food and water and he's returned on an almost nightly basis to eat. If I didn't have food out there for him yet, he'd sit patiently by my front door looking in and waiting for me to bring him his food. He's very polite. LOL.

I've named him Herman, after the one and only Pee Wee Herman.
 

dustydiamond1

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:heartshape:What a sweetheart. So glad it wasn't a major coyote injury:clap:There is a thread just for orange kitty photos, also one for black kittys, hope to see you all there.:wave2:
Dear Hermans last photo would look great in the 'Show US the Whiskers' thread. Sorry I don't know how to create links.:(
 
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DET_CAT_DAD

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I would really like to keep him. I feel connected to him and I've put a lot of effort into him over the past year. It will all depend on if my female cat is willing to tolerate him. My two male cats will have no problem, they love other cats. She gets very territorial when she sees other cats outside. Surprisingly, she's been pretty good this week with Herman in the guest room. I'm willing to try it and give it at least a few months to see how it goes.
 

dustydiamond1

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I would really like to keep him. I feel connected to him and I've put a lot of effort into him over the past year. It will all depend on if my female cat is willing to tolerate him. My two male cats will have no problem, they love other cats. She gets very territorial when she sees other cats outside. Surprisingly, she's been pretty good this week with Herman in the guest room. I'm willing to try it and give it at least a few months to see how it goes.
Has Prinnie stopped terrorizing Ralph?
 
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DET_CAT_DAD

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Has Prinnie stopped terrorizing Ralph?
It comes and goes. She's been pretty good the last few weeks. I think it sounds worse than it is because she sounds like a banshee when she chases him sometimes. I've actually seen him fight back recently, which is a good sign. And then other times she will go up to him out of the blue and give him a nose boop. It's a strange dynamic and I truly think it has to be territorial behavior.
 

dustydiamond1

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It comes and goes. She's been pretty good the last few weeks. I think it sounds worse than it is because she sounds like a banshee when she chases him sometimes. I've actually seen him fight back recently, which is a good sign. And then other times she will go up to him out of the blue and give him a nose boop. It's a strange dynamic and I truly think it has to be territorial behavior.
At least with him sorta fighting back she won't see him as a prey item and escalate the problem
 
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DET_CAT_DAD

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UPDATE on Herman:

I'm really surprised at well he is adapting to indoor life so quickly. I went into his room tonight and he is initiating head bumps and purring now when I pet him! He is a very good little guy.
 

Kitties R Loved

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I took in a stray male cat last Sunday and he's currently residing in one of my guest bedrooms. He had been coming around for about a year and I would leave food and fresh water out for him. He is pretty friendly but wouldn't let me get too close. I had been planning on trapping him and bringing him inside before winter. I live in the Detroit area and the temperature has been dropping the past few weeks. Then, after getting home from the grocery store last Sunday morning, a neighbor told me she saw a coyote running down the train tracks behind our condo complex. Not fifteen minutes later, he showed up on my front porch bleeding from his backside. I took that as a sign that I couldn't wait any longer. I waited and waited all day Sunday but he never showed back up. Before heading to bed around midnight, I set a trap for him on my front porch. I woke up around 3:30 and checked the trap and, sure enough, he was in it!

I will be getting him to the vet either this week or next to be neutered and vaccinated. I have three cats already, and one really bossy female, so I'm not sure I can keep him but I'm going to try. If not, I've been in contact with several local shelters about getting him placement. He cried a lot the first few days but he's settling down now and will let me pet him. He's doing pretty well, all things considered.

I guess I have a few questions. If I put my other cats in my bedroom, should I let him out to explore for an hour or so? Could he transmit any type of disease or fleas to my cats just by him walking around my condo and rubbing up against things? He doesn't scratch himself or look uncomfortable and I've checked his ears and it doesn't appear that he has any ear mites. He is the first cat I've rescued off the streets so I'm kind of uncertain as to if giving him access to the rest of the condo will cause issues for my other cats even if they don't come into direct contact with him.

My second question is while he is using the litter box now, I think he peed somewhere the first night he was in the room. I have cat urine cleaner but my problem is I have no idea where he peed. We have nasty dark blue carpet and stains are hidden relatively easily. That's part of the reason I'd like to let him out so I can get in there and clean the carpet to get rid of that smell. It's not the litter box either because I replaced all the litter last night and the smell remains.

Thanks for the help!
Hi. I have a similar situation in that I rescued a stray less than a month ago that was living under my shed and he is also living in a spare room for now. Can he be put in the bathroom for a short time while you find and clean the pee spot? It’s possible fleas could jump off the cat to the carpet and then jump later on to one of your other cats so I would recommend ensuring he has flea medicine and a vet visit before letting him loose in the main living area where your other cats normally reside. We planned our trapping so that the following morning Oliver was delivered to the vet to be neutered, microchipped and given shots and tested for FIV. They also gave him Revolution which kills fleas, ticks, roundworms and ear mites.

For the cat pee, black lights can help detect where cat urine is and you can find them on Amazon. If not yet dry, walking around w a paper towel and pressing w your foot could also find the stain.

How is his open wound? Some vets will not neuter until a cat is healthy. Getting his wound tended to first may be needed. I hope he will be accepted by your other fur babies! Good luck!
 
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