new kitten - quarantine?

I'd like to hear what precautions some of you rescuers out there take when you bring in a new kitten. I've had yet another kitten dumped here, and so far have her confined in a shed. Even though my own 5 cats are fully vaccinated, some of them had very bad cat flu when I got them and still get bouts of sniffles and runny eyes. I'm assuming they're still carrying something, so what measures should I take to prevent the new kitten getting sick. I have a possible home lined up for her, and don't want it ruined by her getting something at this stage (kitten is about 8 weeks old)

thanks for any advice.

We work with feral cats, and the colony is basically right outside our home. We don't wear shoes in the house, we leave them just inside the front door. The first thing we do is wash our hands.

Those are really the only precautions we take. When we rescued/fostered, we would take any trapped/rescued kitty immediately to the vet before ever bringing the kitty home. If they couldn't see the cat/kitten right away, we just left kitty there, and they'd call us once they'd seen the cat/kitten. We kept them in a safe room initially. Again - shoes are left at the door, but we'd wear slippers in the quarantine room - we left those in the room just by the door. We'd put them on when we went in, and leave them by the door upon exit. Again - the first thing we'd do is go wash our hands.

We didn't change clothes, but that is something you could consider doing.

thanks. I'm probably a bit paranoid because when i took in the last group, my own cats got very sick with catflu (despite being fully vaccinated). In that case I had the newcomers confined to one room with no contact with my cats, I used different bowls and different sinks to wash up in, washed my hands constantly - and they STILL got sick.

Every now and then they get a bit sniffly, and I wonder if they are still carrying catflu - I don't know if that's possible?

I'm keeping the new kitten in the shed until I know about the possible home.  Poor thing, I'd love to bring her in to play in the house, she's only 8 weeks old 

Every now and then they get a bit sniffly, and I wonder if they are still carrying catflu - I don't know if that's possible?

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Yes, I have two cats who seem to have one of the kitty cold (or flu) viruses dormant in their systems because they have flare ups of cat colds.  Probably either feline herpes virus or calici virus.  It can happen with vaccinated cats and some cats get exposed before they are vaccinated.

To answer your question, if you want to make sure the kitten stays healthy for a speedy adoption, I would keep her separated from the adult cats.  They could be shedding virus.

thanks, that's what I feared. I guess it's worth it then to keep her out in the shed. It has a window, and is warm so she'll be quite comfortable.

I do the same as Laurie, leave shoes outside the door and wash my hands. Although, since you are more worried about the kitten getting something from your indoor cats, then wash your hands before and after you care for the kitten. I have a zipper smock that I use frequently to go in and out of a kitties room - an easy way to change clothes. That is great news that the kitten has a home and will hopefully be going soon! :happy3:

great idea, I'll find an overcoat to wear while visiting the kitten. I just found what I'm sure is one of her siblings run over about 4 miles up the road. Someone has been dumping them

The "catflu" you mention is likely feline herpes. Very common, and impossible to completely eradicate. Supplementing their food with L-lysine can help control it and make it less severe when fllareups occur. You can do a search on here to find a number of threads on how to do thhis.

I'm going to give L-lysine a try - I think you're right about feline herpes, the last kittens all had eye problems when I got them. One had to have an eye removed, and the other two are cross-eyed.