Bringing In Stray Cat..please Help!

[Catlover579]

Hi I am wondering if anyone could offer some advice please . I have been feeding a stray cat for almost a year now and I can tell she is not feral but definitely a stray. I'v posted about her before. So she had kittens and I was feeding them also for a while and eventually I was able to get the kittens and take them to a foster rescue. Now I really was not planning on getting another cat and my family I live with has been totally against it.. Also I don't really have a spare room to keep her in . I have another cat and a large dog. But...we have made the decision to take her in. We feel so bad for her , she's such a sweet cat and always comes here to hang out and I'v been playing with her outside with some toys and she get up close to me. I live in Michigan and I would not be able to deal seeing her out in the freezing cold . It's already getting so cold ! So what we decided to do, is get a catio type of cat enclosure and set it to up in our basement. It's not the best living situation obviously for her but it's better than being outside in the cold! And it would not be forever. .just until her and my current cat get used to each other and I can keep them separated for a while . It's actually pretty large and would have plenty of room to move around and I plan on getting her a bed and blankets and should even be able to fit a cat tree in there. I'm really nervous about it because I don't know how my cat will react , the basement is his favorite place to be and hangs out there majority of the time. I'm putting Jazzy on the opposite side of the basement . Anyways, so my plan was to trap her and take her right away to the vet to get checked out for fleas ,etc and get shots and most importantly, get spayed . The problem is the soonest available spay appointment is October 24th! And I really don't want to wait to bring her in that late. I wanted to set up the catio this weekend and then bring her in early next week. So what should I do? I could bring her in and keep her in the catio until the appointment since she won't have contact with my current cat anyway besides through the wire panel but I'm worried what if she happens to go into heat during that almost 3 week period? She doesn't seem to be in heat now and it's getting colder here and I know most cats are in heat between spring and summer ... But I'm worried. If she does then that would be a nightmare situation. Either I bring her in now and take her to the appointment October 24 or I have to wait and keep her outside until then.. but I really don't want to wait that long and it's already cold especially at night. Any suggestions on what I should do? Would it be okay to bring her in now you think , what are the chances of her going in heat? Also I'm worried about my current cat getting fleas through the panel.

 

[walli]

Are you able to handle the cat?
If so I would give it flea treatment, also If your able to handle cat you can take to vet after bringing in.
I'm wondering if your current cat would maybe like the company?
have they seen each other through the door?

Bringing the cat out of the cold is a great thing!

 

[Catlover579]

I'm not able to pick her up but I'm able to get close to her and pet her a little while she eats or plays. I am hoping she will come around and open up more once she's brought inside and I can spend more time with her. My current cat has seen her outside the window screen , she watches her whenever she's here and sees me playing with her and feeding her. She doesn't hiss or anything.. But, they have met in person a few times since my cat is allowed outside a little bit in the mornings. And when they meet , it doesn't go very well
They get in a loud screaming fight before one runs away. There hasn't been any physical harm but they just sound like they're getting in a fight. So I don't know...because when she's here he doesn't seem to mind watching from the window and today I have got them on opposite sides of the front door with the door cracked just enough to see and smell each other and they did not hiss.

 

[tnrmakessense]

Hi I am wondering if anyone could offer some advice please . I have been feeding a stray cat for almost a year now and I can tell she is not feral but definitely a stray. I'v posted about her before. So she had kittens and I was feeding them also for a while and eventually I was able to get the kittens and take them to a foster rescue. Now I really was not planning on getting another cat and my family I live with has been totally against it.. Also I don't really have a spare room to keep her in . I have another cat and a large dog. But...we have made the decision to take her in. We feel so bad for her , she's such a sweet cat and always comes here to hang out and I'v been playing with her outside with some toys and she get up close to me. I live in Michigan and I would not be able to deal seeing her out in the freezing cold . It's already getting so cold ! So what we decided to do, is get a catio type of cat enclosure and set it to up in our basement. It's not the best living situation obviously for her but it's better than being outside in the cold! And it would not be forever. .just until her and my current cat get used to each other and I can keep them separated for a while . It's actually pretty large and would have plenty of room to move around and I plan on getting her a bed and blankets and should even be able to fit a cat tree in there. I'm really nervous about it because I don't know how my cat will react , the basement is his favorite place to be and hangs out there majority of the time. I'm putting Jazzy on the opposite side of the basement . Anyways, so my plan was to trap her and take her right away to the vet to get checked out for fleas ,etc and get shots and most importantly, get spayed . The problem is the soonest available spay appointment is October 24th! And I really don't want to wait to bring her in that late. I wanted to set up the catio this weekend and then bring her in early next week. So what should I do? I could bring her in and keep her in the catio until the appointment since she won't have contact with my current cat anyway besides through the wire panel but I'm worried what if she happens to go into heat during that almost 3 week period? She doesn't seem to be in heat now and it's getting colder here and I know most cats are in heat between spring and summer ... But I'm worried. If she does then that would be a nightmare situation. Either I bring her in now and take her to the appointment October 24 or I have to wait and keep her outside until then.. but I really don't want to wait that long and it's already cold especially at night. Any suggestions on what I should do? Would it be okay to bring her in now you think , what are the chances of her going in heat? Also I'm worried about my current cat getting fleas through the panel.

Going in to heat in her catio would be annoying at best. Just a lot of "calling". I've experienced this with females I've rescued while waiting to get spayed. Your male might be "miffed" about someone else in "his" basement, but that seems like the lesser of two evils (the other being leaving her outside in the cold.) I've had a house full of rescues for years and they never run to each other in slo-mo, so glad to see a new face. There's hissing and posturing but most of the time they get over it with time. And the catio is a great way to introduce them. You might throw a blanket over one part of it though, or have a box she can hide inside. Hiding is a cats best coping mechanism. As far as fleas, here in Florida they're indestructible, but you could put something topical on her when you bring her in. Also, I don't think they're going to be motivated to jump off of a warm meal provider, walk across cold concrete in search of another meal. I use a flea comb and drop those suckers in a glass with water and a drop of Dawn (it breaks the surface tension of the water.) They're dead within 10 seconds.

 

[ArchyCat]

Bring her in and apply one of the topical flea killers, Revolution, etc.

Thank you for the rescue! She will thank you too, eventually!

Please keep us updated!

 

[walli]

I would try and see if they can't move the appt up.
let them know your situation, you might want to start feeding the cats on opposite sides of the door or give treats to get them use to each other.
there are ways to introduce cats, for when you get to that point.
I'm going to call out rubysmama for articles for you, we will all help you each step of the way. How cold is it in Michigan right now? I'm in San Diego so I have no clue.

 

[rubysmama]

Thanks for tagging me, W walli .

And thanks, Catlover579 for caring about this cat, and for getting her kittens to the foster rescue.

Is the soonest spay appointment not being until Oct 24th, because it's at a low cost vet clinic? If not, maybe call around and see if some other vet can fit her in sooner.

How long ago did she have the kittens? Has she shown any signs of being in heat lately? Or gaining weight? Hopefully she's not already pregnant again.

As for bringing her inside, and then her having a heat cycle, as long as there's no way for her to escape and get outside, the heat will only be annoying, with her constant meowing.

Definitely keep her away from your cat, though, until she can be seen by a vet and get shots, dewormed, flea treated, etc.

And then once she's deemed healthy, and recovered from her spay, you can proceed with officially introducing her to your resident cat.

Here's some TCS articles that might have some helpful advice for you.

A Feral Cat Or A Stray Cat? How To Tell The Difference
Adopting A Stray Cat | TheCatSite
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside | TheCatSite

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
Introducing Cats To Cats | TheCatSite

Good luck. Keep us updated on things.