rescue needs boarding that requires rabies vax -- contraindications for that?

I've been working with a neighbor to get a simply beautiful and sweet stray cat (female DSH maybe 8-10 months)  to a rescue. I have several rescues who have offered to take her in (yes, I've done research to make sure they're legitimate and up to par). Unfortunately, due to various preventative issues on both our ends, we're not able to take her in ourselves.

Until we can physically get her into the care of one of the groups in the next couple of days, I've offered to help cover the costs of boarding her at our vet's. Therein lies the potential problem and related question...

The cat is very thin. The neighbor has been feeding her and says she's been inhaling the food, but not gaining weight. I have no idea what this means, but I'm thinking it can't be good.

Our vet will only board a cat if it's had a rabies vax. I've heard that you don't want to give a rabies vax to a cat that has FeLV or FIV. Is that true? If so, okay, I guess I'll pay for a test for that first... Oy. My question is whether or not that's true. I don't want to put this cat at risk if we proceed with the rabies vax if she turns out to have either of those, but I don't know what to do otherwise. Additionally, I'm wondering if the fact that she's so thin is indicative of one of those anyway. If so, I'm doubting the rescues I had lined up will even take her. If I had some place for her to stay and be boarded for the amount of time necessary to find a foster willing to take in a FeLV and/or FIV+ cat, that would be great, but if having one of those means you can't get a rabies vax, and no rabies vax means you can't be boarded, then it sounds like we're out of luck.

Part of the haste for this is that we're in an apartment complex in a part of the country that's very cold right now. We can't just set up a shelter for the cat without management ordering it taken down. We can't take it in because my own cat is already ill and stress exacerbates her issues (she's also is prone to dangers auto-immune reactions, so I can't risk another cat in here. The neighbor would love to take her in, but her dog will have none of it. So, although we have a solution lined up of no-kill rescues willing to take the cat, I'm not sure if they'll take her if she's diagnosed with those illnesses and know that having them ultimately means my vet can't keep her until we come up with someone willing to foster an ill cat.

I'd be very eager to hear your thoughts on whether it's true that having those illnesses means you can't give the rabies vax, and whether we should just go in expecting her to be sick given how thin she is and how much she's eating.

Thanks in advance.

It doesn't sound to me that she would come up positive for either thing honestly.

I say this because when a cat is very skinny, it is usually due to a lack of food, or if there is plenty of food, the cat just isn't feeling well and doesn't care to eat, over a long period of time. Now THAT would make me suspicious.

She has a big appetite so she likely just has lots of roundworms and easy to treat.

Now if she was very sickly, with a bad uri (cold) and clogged up, I would be suspicious, but not simply being skinny.

How is her poop?

I have a cat rescue group of my own, so I speak with tons of experience, this is right up my alley!

First of all, I would try to not board her, it is very good to play it safe and not bringing her into your home if you have other cats or a dog that just isn't having it, what we do is quarrantine a cat in a cage up off the floor, so they can be observed before going into a foster home of ours, since most of my foster homes do have other fosters and resident cats.

The rescue groups are used to finding/taking in strays, homeless cats in not the best condition, it's what we do.

We never, right off the top worry whether or not the cat might be positive for fiv or felv, the cat needs help regardless.

If you contact the groups, figure out which one is taking her, they will likely do the rest.

If she needs a spot meanwhile, you can always borrow a cage (sure they will ask for a deposit!) from humane society, shelter or the spca.

Elevate it and cover it 3/4 of the way with a sheet.

Anytime you deal with her or handle, just wash your hands well afterward.

In my opinion, the neighbor would be more able to take her then you would, but the dog won't be an issue if she is caged and up off the floor, they will do okay temporarily. Or put in a bedroom where the door can be shut.

I'd still cage her though.

If rescues that you have talked to already said they would take her, then I'm not sure why the delay, etc.

Let me know if I haven't covered your questions.

Thanks for the info!

The delay in getting her into a rescue has been due to the short period of time in which I've been asked by the neighbor to start networking her (literally less than 12 hours) and the logistics of getting the cat to them (both the neighbor and I were at work this morning/afternoon and because we live in a major metropolitan area, evening rush hour made it impossible to get the cat to any of the groups since I couldn't be there until 6pm (one was very clear that no one would be there past 5pm, the other rescue director was at work herself, etc.) The goal of boarding her one day is that there are coyotes and some large dogs loose around the area and it's simply not optimal to allow her to be out in that. The other neighbor is kenneling her dogs tonight and is allowing the cat in the apartment, but has made it clear that won't be a long term solution. They do not want her loose in the house while they're at work. What I'm hoping is that she won't even need boarded overnight tomorrow -- just a FIV/FeLV test (hopefully negative), the rabies vax, and then I'd hopefully be able to pick her up and drive her to a rescue group. There simply wasn't time to move mountains today, or to have it solved and in place before close-of-business tomorrow.

I will look into your kitty kenneling option. I can inquire about borrowing a cage.

This was supposed to be a boring week...    Instead, my family has had one cancer scare (thank God not as serious results as it could have been), one broken heater in sub-freezing temps, and one case of food poisoning. Spending over six hours trying to help one cat may send me over the edge, but I can't just ignore her... Again, I really appreciate the insight. I'm pretty much on auto-pilot right now.

 
How is her poop?

Click to expand...

Ah, I forgot the doo-doo question. That I can't say since the neighbor has been housing her. I saw a glance at the litter box and what I saw looked solid, but beyond that I couldn't say.

The rescue groups are used to finding/taking in strays, homeless cats in not the best condition, it's what we do.
We never, right off the top worry whether or not the cat might be positive for fiv or felv, the cat needs help regardless.

Click to expand...

One of the rescues that offered to help, responded with the following after I'd asked them if FIV or FeLV cats are allowed in their program: "If she were to test positive for the leukemia then we couldn't adopt her out because it 's contagious and fatal. That's why we have them tested before going to fostering so that we don't expose other cats. Most rescues will euthanize leukemia."

That bummed me out. So, definitely hoping she tests negative.

Well, a big thank you for helping this kitty. The vet can do a SNAP test - right then and there to see if she is positive for either FeLK/FIV. IF she has FeLK - then usually the only option is the euthanizing. Sad, I know, but most rescues cannot and do not have an FeLK ward. If she is FIV + , that is not a death sentence but still would be more difficult to find a rescue that takes FIV+ kitties. BUT, there are some!!! Rabies vacc. can be given to FIV+ kitties if necessary to get into a rescue. BUT - for the boarding at the vet - the vet can test for these diseases quickly with a SNAP test. http://www.idexx.com//view/xhtml/en_us/smallanimal/inhouse/snap/feline-combo.jsf?SSOTOKEN=0 and have the results immediately.

There could be many reasons why she is thin. Worms being one of them to start and would be the easiest solution. If she has never been dewormed, then that could be the culprit since she is so young. This brings to mind one of my friendly strays that showed up in my yard a couple of years back. Very, very thin, unneutered male that I assumed was maybe a year old. He turned out to be almost 15 from the vet's guesstimate. He had other serious health problems and we could not save him but he was loved dearly during his last few weeks. I am only saying this because sometimes it can be tricky to guess the age of a kitty. Hopefully she IS young and just needs a good deworming.

I agree with Catwoman to try to set her up in a covered dog crate/cage at your neighbor's house since she has no cats only a dog until the rescue can take over - take her in. You can let the rescue do all the testing, blood work and dewormings. If you only need to keep her for a day or two in a cage, then I would bypass the vet and get her to the rescue as soon as you and your neighbor can. It sounds like you just need a temporary set up until they can take her. Better to get her inside to safety since you mention coyote and stray dogs. Keep us posted and mega vibes and good luck.

p.s. Always seems to be the way, right?? when you think a week will be easy breezy - life throws a few wrenches to prove otherwise. Hang in there - your doing a great job juggling all of these issues all at once.

I'll keep you posted.

You being rescuers, let me ask you something though. I've worked with some truly amazing rescue group/shelter people in the past 24 hours -- several of whom offered to take her in. I'm aware that some rescues -- although well-intentioned -- can actually be scary and unsanitary, even to the point of hoarding situations that are so bad the cats are almost worse off there than living feral. I'm sure that's the exception, rather than the rule, but I'm a big fan of doing my homework. (It took me hours and hours of research to even choose my current [wonderful] vet.)

So, although I immeasurably appreciate the time these perfect strangers have put into helping me with this, I'm still kind of keeping them all at arm's reach and not "promising" kitty to them until I'm clear things like whether they treat any health issues or whether something as potentially simple and/or treatable as parasites, a URI, diabetes, etc. is something the EU for. I understand that things like FeLV and FIV may necessitate a humane EU, but I don't just want them to throw in the towel. I also want to understand what facilities she'll be kept at, whether she'll have any ability to free roam or be in a cage all day. One rescue features some of their cats in a nearby PetSmart, but I know this cat wouldn't face well in such a situation until she's healthier, less given to stress, and is capable of dealing with kids tapping on the plexiglass all day long.

Because of this, I'm not trying to keep everyone dangling, but I don't want to commit until I'm clear they're on the up-and-up. What I see inevitably happening though is having to call the two "no thank yous" and them understandably being upset and working to finagle this spot for us only for me to turn it down. Would that irritate you? I think it would me. I just don't know another option. I think maybe I'll promise to make a donation to them in a month or so -- as a peace offering... (Of course only if they're still what I consider "good" rescue, even if I decide it's not a good fit for this kitty.)

(Ugh. Sorry. A few confusing typos. Where am I missing the edit button?)

If she is not sick but has been homeless, I'd bet she is negative. She likely has worms, untreated will cause weight loss like that and a big appetite.

The edit for posts is in the lower left corner, it's the pencil.

It goes away after so long though

It sounds to me that you have many options in the way of rescues wiling to take this girl and I understand your being able to be "picky" about where she goes. Most people who take strays are desperate for any rescue to help them and take kitty. I can tell this is one lucky kitty to have found you and have you looking out for her. I don't think many rescues would be irritated with you if you don't end up bringing kitty to them!! There are so many other's waiting to get in that they will just go onto the next one. So, I don't think it is a problem for you to be choosey if you can and are lucky to have that in the first place! As for the Petsmart adoption option, I think it is a good one. Especially for a friendly kitty. They won't put her up at Petsmart until she is feeling better and well. Most kids don't tap on the windows. :lol3: I think more adults do that - but gently. Most cats chances for adoption are increased greatly by having this pet store adoption option. Best of luck to you and to this kitty!!