Indoor/Outdoor & exposure to contagiens?

I'm considering Molly being indoor/outdoor. However, I need to get a basic understanding of a few things first.

1) PJ & Punky are the shelter's kitties, so they cannot be exposed to an untested kitty. Molly technically is an untested kitty right now as she had exposure to other kitties. However, she is either in the bathroom upstairs or the office downstairs where they aren't allowed. If I vaccinate Molly for FeLV, she can still get FeLV & then PJ & Punky would be exposed(actually, I'd have a houseful of FeLV kitties), correct?

2) Parasites....obviously Revolution like crazy, but I would have to Revolution all the kitties even though they aren't going outside, correct? What about regular de-wormings?

3) Damita, lord knows her immune system is suppressed as is, I worry a lot about exposing her to things.....and the fact that she might not be able to fight off something simple.

4) Would I still need to test Molly for FeLV, as well as all the other kitties? I'm assuming test Molly, obviously, but could the inside only kitties get FeLV & Molly not? (Some cats can be carriers & get over it, right?)

In theory, Molly would only be exposing PJ, Punky, Ophelia, & Dorian to things. Those are the basement kitties and Twitch, Lily, & Damita are the upstairs kitties. Molly doesn't get along well with the upstairs kitties. So, Molly wouldn't necessarily be exposed to Damita ever.

Are you guys confused yet? I know I confused myself, so I figure I'll be back with questions later!

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I'm considering Molly being indoor/outdoor. However, I need to get a basic understanding of a few things first.

1) PJ & Punky are the shelter's kitties, so they cannot be exposed to an untested kitty. Molly technically is an untested kitty right now as she had exposure to other kitties. However, she is either in the bathroom upstairs or the office downstairs where they aren't allowed. If I vaccinate Molly for FeLV, she can still get FeLV & then PJ & Punky would be exposed(actually, I'd have a houseful of FeLV kitties), correct?

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My Mom has 1 indoor/outdoor and 2 indoor cats. All are vaccinated for FeLV. She's done this for years. With the vax they are much less likely to get it.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

2) Parasites....obviously Revolution like crazy, but I would have to Revolution all the kitties even though they aren't going outside, correct? What about regular de-wormings?

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My Mom worms for Tapes if she sees them (the little white bits). She also uses Frontline regularly.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

3) Damita, lord knows her immune system is suppressed as is, I worry a lot about exposing her to things.....and the fact that she might not be able to fight off something simple.

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If you are worried about that, I would keep Molly indoors only. I won't even volunteer at a shelter/rescue right now because I worry about taking something home to Raven.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

4) Would I still need to test Molly for FeLV, as well as all the other kitties? I'm assuming test Molly, obviously, but could the inside only kitties get FeLV & Molly not? (Some cats can be carriers & get over it, right?)

Click to expand...

I'm not sure how transmission would be in that case. I do know I never tested Raven & Nabu but they never had it. My vet at the time vaccinated them for FeLV. Stimpy was tested before we brought him home.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

In theory, Molly would only be exposing PJ, Punky, Ophelia, & Dorian to things. Those are the basement kitties and Twitch, Lily, & Damita are the upstairs kitties. Molly doesn't get along well with the upstairs kitties. So, Molly wouldn't necessarily be exposed to Damita ever.

Are you guys confused yet?

I know I confused myself, so I figure I'll be back with questions later!

Click to expand...

Indoor/Outdoor is always a risk. You can also have redirected aggression when she comes in from being outside.

I don't do indoor/outdoor for several reasons. One being city ordinances. Next being I grew up wondering if my cat would come home. Even on Halloween. They are always getting hurt in fights with other cats or other animals.

Are you prepared for the extra cost of when she gets in fights? My Mom has spent a lot of money on fixing up cats after they've been in fights. And a couple of poisonings. (There is definitely someone in her neighborhood that doesn't like roaming cats)

Can you set up a cat enclosure for Molly to sit outside for a few hours. She would not be roaming around and probably would be ok re: any risks, etc.

One of my cats (Delilah) is indoor/outdoor. She is vaccinated for FeLV, as are my indoor cats (or they will be, once they're old enough). My vet told me that even though Delilah is vaccinated, she could theoretically bring the virus into the house to the indoor kitties. As far as testing for FeLV, the vets I've used won't give the initial vaccination until the cat has tested negative, but I haven't tested her again after that. (The vaccination does require an annual booster.)

Parasites: Some may disagree with this, but I do worm Delilah every 6 months or so routinely, because she hunts. An alternative would be to run routine fecals on her, if you can get a stool sample. I don't use Revolution because it doesn't protect against ticks; I use Frontline Plus instead, and if I forget to dose Delilah she does bring ticks home. Being in the same state as me, you might have similar tick problems there. I don't treat the indoor kitties as frequently - usually just once in the spring and once in the fall.

I agree with the previous poster that an outdoor enclosure would be ideal if you can do it. I'd really like to do that with Delilah, but we're still trying to figure out the best way to set up something like that at our house.

Good luck!

I've been working on the outdoor enclosure, but dad doesn't want an ugly fence up. Keeping Molly indoors only is not fair to her. She's started up on her bad behaviors including trying to claw her way out the windows. I honestly am not sure what to do now, I've started her on Buspar. But I don't feel good about it, as she's not a case I feel anti-anxiety meds help, I just feel like I'm drugging my kitty to "shut up".

I think my Mom tests her indoor/outdoor kitty regularly and vaccinates everyone for FeLV. Everyone was tested before adoption at her house. Her indoor/outdoor is a former feral who wouldn't tolerate inside only.

Would your Dad consent to a net-type fence (practically invisible, and removable), or simply a chicken wire and wood enclosure?

It's my understanding that the FeLV vaccine is at most 80% effective, and that FeLV can be transmitted from mothers to kittens, so there's a chance that PJ and Punky are already positive for it.

PJ & Punky's mom was FeLV-. We didn't test them actually.

I'm actually working on setting up a fence.....but the big reason mom & dad are balking is because:
1) I'm leaving as soon as I can afford to buy my own place
2) It would require building & dad's time
3) We can't come up with a place to put it where there aren't trees, but there is shelter

We'd like to still be able to have Fafeena, Cow, & Molly in the garage, but if we build the enclosure, they wouldn't be able to be in the garage very much. Mom has flowerbeds all around the garage & she doesn't want the cats enclosed around them because Fafeena has a tendency to kill flowers by digging them out & chewing on them.

I keep looking at this link, thinking it looks simple to make my own fence:
http://www.paws.org/cas/resources/fa...enclosures.php
"Construction plans for a basic 20' x 20' cat yard

--4' x 6' high metal fence post pounded into the ground to 4'

--6' high wire fencing (available in green vinyl coating)

Attach fencing to posts. Bend top 2' of fence inward at least 45 degrees. Do not construct pen around trees higher than posts, and be sure to keep play structures away from the fencing. Materials cost approximately $50."

Is that really gonna keep cats in?
What can I do to keep "monsters" out?

I've also looked at something like this, with a top on it:
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/P...enclosure.html

Mom's biggest concern is that Billy Bob & Tony Bob are idiots....they'd get in, freak out because they're enclosed & ruin the fence.