First-time owner's questions about adopting a one-eyed urban stray...

I recently met a friendly, one-eyed, striped gray male stray. He is relatively small, so my guess is that he is under 1 or 2 years. The woman who has kindly been feeding him for a few months asked me if I could take him, and after playing with him for 10 minutes, I couldn't say no. I'm picking him up Saturday morning, and getting him his first veterinary exam Sunday. I have set up an appointment for his distemper & rabies vaccines & neuter on October 15, two weeks after I bring him to my apartment.

My roommate has two fixed cats, a 2-year old male and a female 1 year or younger. Both ere shelter cats, and are friendly/sociable, although the male is much more playful and the female is no-nonsense. Neither bite or scratch.. ever. I am planning on separating the rescue stray from the other two cats by sequestering him in our large living room until he has his vaccinations and neuter- he will have his own food dishes and litterbox.

I grew up with cats, and my roommate is knowledgeable- but I am a first time cat owner, and would benefit from some advice on how to take care of this cat! I want his transition to be comfortable, especially since he has a disability, is used to living outdoors, and other cats are involved.

1. Rounding up a cat to be put in a carrier... Never done this successfully before. Any tips?

2. LITTER BOX TRAINING! I don't know how old he is. Is it more difficult to litterbox train a 1-2 year old cat? How do I litterbox train him?

3. I'm a full-time student. We'll be isolating him until his vaccinations in a spacious living room with sofas and tables to sleep on or hide under, a window with a screen, a litterbox, food, and water. I'll be gone for several hours a day.
-Should I leave the window open so he sit in the window and smell the outdoors, or is this a bad idea for any reason? Is there anything I need to add to or take out of a room in which a new, partially wild cat is going to be isolated?

4. I'm only getting him vaccinated for rabies and distemper. I might learn more at his initial exam, but besides these 2 vaccines and neutering, is there anything else I should get him checked out/vaccinated for?
I live in Baltimore, MD. This place is kind of filthy. Not sure if location makes a difference in the problems he might have (sidenote: he seems healthy, and a woman has been taking care of him for quite some time, and hasn't noticed anything peculiar about his potential health situation. His missing eye is not infected- it has been a closed wound for some time now.)

5. Introducing him to the other cats. Any suggestions for making this a smooth transition?- for introducing them to eachother in a positive way?
I would be heartbroken if, after two weeks of caring for him and getting his health taken care of, he doesn't get along with the other male.
-I'm concerned about territorial spraying- will neutering him lower the chances of this? My roommate's male cat has potentially done this before, when she introduced a much older, highly aggressive male cat to our home. This stray seems sociable and calm, and is roughly the same size as my roommate's male.
-Will the other cats pick up on the fact that he is missing an eye and pick on him? How can I encourage them to get along if they don't? Or are bad cat relationships unfixable?
-also, back to the initial introduction-- how long should I wait after his neuter/vaccination to introduce him to the others?
-Should I introduce my roommate's 2 cats to him an once, or one at a time?

6. -Although he's used to living indoors, I live on the third floor of a city apartment. Half the reason I'm rescuing him is to get him off the street- again, I live downtown in an urban city. Should I simply deny him the outdoors completely aside from windows with screens, or buy a harness and.. walk him.. from time to time?

7. Advice on transitioning an urban, outdoor stray to indoor, domestic life- this is a big one, because I'm not sure a vet or my roommate can help me here at all- ANY tips, whatsoever?

I know my questions are naive... but I know cats are quirky and all I want is to give this sweet cat a loving home... I'll be naming him Ripley.

If you put him in a smallish room with a litterbox, food, and water, he will know what to do with each of them.

Definitely keep him separated until you are sure he doesn't have Feline Leukemia.

Don't leave any windows open wide enough that he can get out, even if there is a screen. Cats are amazingly good at going through screens.

Keep him indoors. He'll be healthier. Walking a cat on a leash sounds great, until the cat gets spooked. Then you'll discover what it's like to wrestle with a running chainsaw.

Welcome to TCS! First of all, there's no such thing as a "stupid question".

To address the neutering/shots - I'd also have the vet test him for Feline Luekemia (FeLV) & Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).

Most cats will naturally take to the litterbox. Here's an article on litterbox location secrets. Whether or not the cats will get along is anyone's guess. Given that he's an intact male, I'd wait a few weeks even post-neuter to begin introductions. It can take a month for the hormones to get out of their system after neutering. An article on spraying.

An article on how to introduce cats.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Welcome to TCS!

To address the neutering/shots -

Here in Sweden the two most common shots are on distemper and cat flu.
Cat flu is quite nasty, worse than humans.
It seems in US you dont take vaccin against it?

Whether or not the cats will get along is anyone's guess. Given that he's an intact male, I'd wait a few weeks even post-neuter to begin introductions. It can take a month for the hormones to get out of their system after neutering.

Right, him being intact, grown up tom makes it more complicated.
Shy toms arent big problem. But he isnt shy.
Non territorial are much easier than dominant, territorial toms.
Have you an idea how he did when he met other cats outside?
If he was friendly with them, fine. If not, or you dont know - take it easy and slowly with the intro.
Begin with the more friendly and submissive of your roommates cats.

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Good luck!

1. Two methods: put the food in the carrier and close the door when he goes in, OR put the carrier with the door facing up, call him towards you and shower with affection, then scoop him up and dump him head first into the carrier as fast as you can before he realizes what's going on. xD

2. Somehow cats seem to always know what a litter box is. You shouldn't have any trouble here.

3. I wouldn't since you don't know his behavior. He could push his way right out of the screen, fall down three stories and hurt himself. Later on when you know what he's like, maybe.
You could add some toys to the room and a t-shirt of yours (or the neighbors) to make him feel safe.

4. Get him tested for FIV and FelV definitely.

5. *points at the links that were given already*
Take it slow and remember: Smell, sight and then touch.

6. If you have a balcony, you could always cat proof it to make a nice outdoor area, or when he trusts you more, slowly work on being able to put a harness on him indoors, and then graduate to outdoors. It really depends on the cats personality though. I gave up on walking my cat because he won't walk on it during the daytime and at night I can't see him because he's black and he doesn't come when called, lol!

7. I'm not sure there is an easy way to do it other than opening your door and letting him walk in and out, but that's not really an option for you..

Welcome to TCS and you are a kind-hearted cat lover for taking in this special boy. .

You have some great advice already and we are here to help you in any way so don't ever hesitate to ask . We all love cats and want these special situations to work for you and your new baby!!!!!!

Do NOT leave any windows open (this alarmed me right away when you asked - and of course you wouldn't know that, it is alright) even if there is a screen, this cat in the beginning will be stressed and might easily push out that screen .

Make sure you heed the above advice about the FeLK/FIV tests and all vaccinations, plus wormings. The kitty will need to be wormed at the very least twice about two weeks apart. Then you have to wait another two weeks to do a fecal test to make sure the cat is totally parasite free. Do keep this cat separated for a few weeks until you know he is healthy and worm-free. Then you can slowly start introductions and we can assist you with that when the time comes too.

I am so happy to hear you are saving this very special boy. Since he is so friendly, I don't think getting him into a crate will be a problem. What you can do, is today start feeding the little guy in the crate (with door propped open) so he is comfortable going in and out. Then on Saturday, you can just calmly shut the door and off you go. Good that you have the appointment for the vet on Sunday.

Also, you could look into a Trap-Neuter-Release program (TNR). Just google this on the internet and plug in your county. You might be able to get some assistance financially with the neuter, shots and a microchip. They might require the ear tip though. Some organizations are very strict on this one area and other orgs. have the option of no ear tip if you commit to keeping the kitty yourself or finding them a home. These cat's are called "friendlies" so mention that when you call, that you have a friendly stray that needs a home and you want to keep him. Some of these organizations will happily assist the community with strays (not just ferals) that people are lovingly taking into their homes. It is one more cat off the streets and reproducing and that is what the goal is of these TNR organization. You will also have to use one of their vets for the surgery. It might be worth a few calls and could save you some money. Best of luck to you and this wonderful cat

Thanks for all the advice. He's sleeping in a corner right now- he's been resting for most of the day. Still friendly, talkative, and likes being touched, but definitely into alone time, and being in a tight corner away from me. His vision issues definitely have made him cautious, I'm learning what angles he prefers being approached from.

Nervous about getting him into the carrier tomorrow for his trip to the vet, and crossing my fingers he'll warm up to me!

Originally Posted by tailypo

Nervous about getting him into the carrier tomorrow for his trip to the vet,

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Dont wait into the last moment. It will only stress you - and him.

Take him into the carrier when conventient. He can be in the carrier some hours.
As homeless, he is surely used to hide somewhere thight even many hours.