Need advice from those with animal companions who foster strays (long)

I'm far from an expert, but I have 6 healthy cats, all throw aways of one sort or another. In each case I tried to keep them separate from the other cats only long enough to get them to the vet and get tested. My vet usually gets the test results back the next day so I've never needed to keep them separated for extended periods. Three of mine were kittens when I found them, but three were full grown and 2 of those had been strays for a while. My vet never mentioned any need for any further quarantine time. I hope you can get the cat away from that terrible situation as soon as possible. I'm sure the poor thing has no idea why his 'family' no longer cares about him. So Sad.

Well, when we adopted our last two (Zeus and Sophie whose mum had been seized for neglect and who were in fact born the day they arrived in the shelter), we kept them separated from our older two for socializing purposes but our vet didn't mention anything about keeping them separated for any prolonged length of time for testing purposes. She didn't know the mother cat's medical history and didn't know what the kittens encountered when they were initially fostered in another multicat home.

The unfortunate thing is that my spouse adores our vet and has decided that because of what she's said that there is not way on earth that he will allow Sammy access to the rest of our apartment until that three month period is over.

I'm going to call the SPCA and a few other vets today.

It is incredibly sad. He's not being abused buy he's been ignored then forgotten and is now in danger of actual physical harm with winter coming. I have such close and distinct relationships which each one of my own guys and cannot even begin to grasp how someone could treat any living creature this way. I know that sounds naive but it's not. I know that it (and much much worse) happens daily, but I still can't accept or understand it.

Thanks for your words of support! I was having a rough night with Sammy weighing heavily on my mind.

Tar's human

I've heard that there is sometimes difficulty in obtaining solid results with FIV testing for kittens, but had never heard of this three month thing, either. My first reaction to her statement was 'Man oh man! Nobody with cats would ever adopt other cats if this were the case!'.

He would definitely need to be separated at first since he is used to being alone and fending for himself in a busy downtown area where there are other feline scrappers. Our youngest guy goes ballistic when he sees him through are window and I know that fighting and possible biting might occur unless the greatest care is taken in introducing them. Taking him inside might be a problem if we have to keep him in one room while we are at work (our upstairs neighbours live overhead in the same house and would hear any noises he'd emit - then again, I'm assuming that they'd even associate the noise with Sammy).

Thanks for your words of encouragement!

Tar's human

My most recent addition to the family was on his own, although I'm not sure for how long and, at first, he was really nasty to my cats, hissing all the time, and of course they hissed at him as well. I soon figured out though that he was just afraid of them. They now all peacefully co-exist and he is even starting to show some interest in playing with them. I do think it takes a cat a while to adjust after having to fend for themself, but rest assured they can all reach a point where they get along (at least most of the time) Luckily, although mine have hissed and fussed, they've never drawn blood.

Taking him inside might be

I kept my new guy in a separate bedroom for a few days with the door closed while I worked. Then I started to leave the door open but kept his bed, food, water and litterbox in that room, so he would feel he had a 'safe' place to go if he needed to get away from the other cats. I can't remember exactly how long I kept this up before integrating him with the rest of the gang, just until I noticed he was eating alongside them in the kitchen and he seemed fairly comfortable.

<Sad story about neglected cat snipped>

I think you should take this cat in right away. He is , IMO, being seriously abused, with the form of abuse just being a little more subtle. I am very saddened that your vet said what she did and turned your husband against this cat. It really was unnecessary. I have rescued many cats over the years (I have 25 right now) and have never had to quarantine any of them for 3 months until before doing a FIV test. That's just silly. The newest one I rescued just a few months ago was literally covered from head to with bite and scratches, and had several abcesses in his face from bites that had swelled and turned into cellulitis. He tested negative for FIV and has now been successfully integrated into my household. He is such a happy kitty now, playing and cuddling, and that's the way it should be. The main thing that needs to be done is to get this cat off the street now, and if that means keeping him separate for awhile to appease your husband, then that is what you should do. Today. At least this cat will be out of harm's way, and you can certainly take that time to give him all of the love he's been missing, and it may be that your husband will soften and even come to love this cat if you use your head and figure out a way to get him to feel sympathy for this kitty. This is such a sad, sad thing that is happened to this cat, and he shouldn't be a victim twice.

Megan

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'

-Edmund Burke

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