Stray Kitty - Addition to our family?

Are you sure someone isn't missing him... or that he is lost??? Maybe try to find his owners first?

Check for a chip.

for rescuing this beautiful baby and trying to find his family! He does look a little thin. Sadly, even if his family is missing him, it's often really hard to reunite unless he's microchipped. They can scan for it at the vet when he goes. You're doing the right thing by keeping him separated. Just make sure you wash your hands when you leave the room, and your kitties should be just fine until you get him to the vet.

If he's not microchipped, I have a feeling you may have a new member of the family!

Look on Craig's List if you have one in your area and also call local vets to see if anyone's reported a missing pet. Have him scanned to be sure he doesn't have owners.

I was going to say he looks very well looked after, I think he may be someones.He's beautiful.xx

First of all, with this cat being a stray, you HAVE to get yourself to the doctor... Since there are no records of rabies vaccine, they will take him away and put him on quarantine if you say he was the one who bit you, but you can say you were petting a stray and got bitten, that way they don't have a cat to take away... Remember, Rabies is a deadly disease, IMHO better safe than sorry...
A cat bite can be very dangerous, I guess if there is no sign of infection by now, you are pretty lucky, but if there is anything, anything at all, get yourself to the ER immediately - do not wait...

About his behavior, is it possible that this was a play bite and his teeth got caught since your hand was hanging? My hope play bites/scratches all the time, and I can see that she could miscalculate it sometime...
Did he look angry? was he hissing/growling? Ears back?

Carolina's right - you need to have that tended to, as cat bites can cause a lot of problems. Did he get his rabies shot at the vet - he already had his appointment, right? I actually don't know how quickly it works, I'll ask our vet tomorrow (we're taking in one of our cats).

But at a minimum get something with antibiotics in it on that bite.

Is there anything he could have seen that might have triggered aggression? Smelled a cat through the door? Seen a stray out the window? It does not have to be something you did, but it could easily have been something he smelled or saw.

We rescued an older feral cat just this summer who used to bite. Unlike your stray, he wasn't friendly at first, but scared. Hands reaching toward him were very scary to him. He slowly came around and did like to be petted - but he'd bite when he'd had enough, and the signs that he was becoming overstimulated where not there (at first). We trained him not to bite simply by saying OW!, saying "no" firmly, telling him you don't bite people, and then getting up and then ignoring him. His bites got softer, then he'd just open his mouth like he was going to bite, and then he'd open his mouth - pause - and lick our hands.

...but because you did see him lean back, I'd say whenever he's being petted or petting himself on you, if he pulls his head back - remove the hand quickly. Kitties almost always give some kind of sign that they're becoming overstimulated or something has triggered some kind of response, it's just learning to catch it. With our Chumley, it was the way he moved his head - it took us a little while to figure it out.

Yes, this is true. (I'm not sure about FeLV, but for FIV, very true).

I'd have him vaccinated for everything but FeLV and FIV. The FIV vaccination works only for specific strains of FIV, and these are present in the Southern US, not up here. The FeLV vaccination is only about 70-something % effective anyway.

Also, it will take a few weeks to over a month for all the hormones to cycle out of his system. To stop him from continuing to spray, you will need to clean any area he's already sprayed with an enzyme cleaner. The one we use is Nok Out: http://www.nokout.com. If he's sprayed a lot of places, I'd get at least a gallon or two, because you have to use a fair amount of any stuff to get the smell up, especially of Tom cat pee.

You should also purchase a black light, and go through your home at night to find all the places he's sprayed. It will show up as orange. Any hard surfaces can be washed (best to do it at least twice): carpet, sofas, anything "absorbent" must be SOAKED with whatever enzyme cleaner you use. Cat pee wicks, and you need whatever enzyme cleaner you use to reach ALL the same places, or it doesn't work. Let it soak for 15 minutes, blot up excess, and then it must air dry.

After being neutered, he will calm down CONSIDERABLY! He'll be more loving, and a much better indoor pet!!!!!

I really have no idea about the prevalence of FIV/FeLV in NY. Usually these things exist in pockets and spread as cats move around. FeLV is transmitted pretty easily between cats, because it's just saliva-to-saliva. FIV pretty much needs a deep-tissue bite wound (a problem with un-neutered males). On average, in the U.S., between 1% and 3% of cats are infected (depending upon the study). But that's really no indication in any specific area.

Has he been to a regular vet yet? Did he have fleas or ticks or anything? If he was outside for any length of time, you pretty much have to assume that he has at least round worm and needs to be treated for that... so you might want to get him to a vet if you haven't been yet. He ought to be treated with Revolution (a topical treatment - treats most internal parasites and the external ones) - retreated in one month (even if he's indoor only - takes into account the life cycle of the round worm, so get the rest of them) - and treated with Drontal (to kill tapeworm). This should be just one treatment. And the FIV/FeLV snap test should cost somewhere around $25 - $30 bucks (though in Brooklyn I don't know. It's $24 out here - NW NJ). Since he's your only kitty, if you keep him inside, basically it just lets you know what kind of treatment he'll need down the road. With FeLV, he will likely live a shorter life. With FIV, if he ever gets sick, it just means you need to stay on top of his health and aggressively treat him any time he gets sick, and it may take longer to resolve something like a cold or whatever. FIV+ kitties also usually have problems with their teeth, so an annual dental (until your vet tells you he needs to come in every six months) is pretty much a must.

But... having been a stray, hopefully he wasn't out long enough for either to be an issue.

Nature's Miracle, in our experience, kind of sucks - and that's for neutered male pee, not tom cat pee, which is SO much stronger it's not funny. That's how we ended up finding the Nok Out. We tried all kinds of things. And trust me - if you leave ANY scent of pee behind, it will continue to encourage him to keep marking. You've really got to get rid of the smell from his perspective (and his nose is a LOT more sensitive than yours!).

If you can afford it, I'd use the Nature's Miracle now, and order the Nok Out (it's only available online). Or you can try the Nature's Miracle and see how it goes. You may need to use it again in all the spots. If he's really marked up the place - it might just be safer to put the investment into the Nok Out.

Well, getting rid of the smell is really all you can do. It's more money to spend, but Feliway (Comfort zone) spray or plug-in may help. It's a synthetic hormone that mimics the friendly markers in cats' cheeks. It should be sprayed around at cat head height - but NOT near the litter boxes. It makes it the "wrong" scent for marking. It has really helped a lot of people with the problem.

But once the hormones cycle out of his system and the smell is gone, with luck he'll stop spraying.

No, the snap tests are only available through the vet.

And getting rid of the smell is really all you can do. It's more money to spend, but Feliway (Comfort zone) spray or plug-in may help. It's a synthetic hormone that mimics the friendly markers in cats' cheeks. It should be sprayed around at cat head height - but NOT near the litter boxes. It makes it the "wrong" scent for marking. It has really helped a lot of people with the problem.

But once the hormones cycle out of his system and the smell is gone, with luck he'll stop spraying.

Yey, I have a Bugsy too! Congrats on the new addition!
What is that cord on his neck? It looks tight... can you take it off? It doesn't look safe...

Oh dear! The cone of shame!!! He's a handsome guy, though. So glad he's found a forever home with you.

Welcome home Bugsy! You're gonna LOVE being parasite free!

Was he licking himself too much and irritating the surgery site? None of our kitties needed the cone - it's generally used only if kitty is bothering the surgery site too much.

And I have to agree with Carolina - that cord looks dangerous!

My new kitty adopted me, and I am so excited. She is so wonderful and full of love. She has become my major inspiration and I have found so much joy in her that I began to write again. If you are blessed to have an animal adopt you, take them in and give them all the love in the world. They will love you back 100 fold.

Here is the link to a blog I wrote about Precious.

http://www.helium.com/items/2011885-...rs-pet-stories

The definitely do. In fact - isn't this the second time he's attacked your GF? It may have been a woman that abused him. They remember things like that too.