Found three strays, health concerns

Hello,

So two nights ago when I was out visiting my cousins' home on the outskirts of town we found 3 scared, skinny little kittens with no mother in sight. 3 hours later, they were caught and crated and were originally going to be given to the SPCA in the morning, but my mom and I fell in love with them and we decided to take them home, get them to the vet right away, and rehome them ourselves. The first day of taking care of them we already found a home for them - ours.

I am concerned however about how their health might impact our indoor cat, who is a year old and up-to-date on all of his vaccinations. We brought these concerns to the vet who vaccinated the new little ones and he said after 48 hrs of isolation they should be okay to gradually be integrated into our household. I was wondering if anybody who has already been through this process has talked to their vet about these same issues and arrived at a different conclusion? I know I should probably trust our vet, but I don't think it hurts to get a second opinion, and FIV and FeLV are such serious diseases that it would put my mind at ease to have a little more to go on.

The kittens themselves, though pretty much skin and bone under their fur, look "healthy" (as can be for this situation, I suppose) - i.e. clear eyes, no fur missing (greasy/unkempt though), are playing and grooming themselves already! They didn't even have fleas (though there was evidence they'd had them at some time) and they seem comfortable with people (except one but unfortunately I think she was a bit traumatized in the process of getting her into the crate - she got very spooked and we're working on slowly regaining her trust), which has lead us to believe they might have been dumped on the side of the road. Unfortunately this is not an uncommon issue for this area : (

Anyway we would appreciate any help or input!! Here is a picture of them when they were first found and placed in the crate:


They are beautiful! Two little girls and a very boisterous boy! 6-8 weeks. Looks like they have some Maine Coon in them but of course no way to be sure (until they grow up to be godzilla-sized...)

I would go for a 1-2 week isolation because 48 hours isn't long enough to control for an incubating upper respiratory illness which could start at anytime within 2 weeks.  The FIV and FeLV tests are reliable, although in rare instances a cat may be exposed just prior to testing so a retest in 2 months isn't a bad idea.

When I get to my computer I will give you some great links on doing a good intro with your adult.

If your year old cat has all his vaccinations, then even if he were to pick up a URI from the kittens it would be a mild case of sneezing for a week or two, or very mild cold symptoms, so I wouldn't be overly worried about this. If they have fleas, he could catch them, so you may want to get a flea comb and groom them to see if they need to be treated for fleas.

If you want the kittens to get used to your other cat without having full contact, you may want to consider putting a baby gate in the doorway of the room you're keeping them in. They won't jump the gate yet, and your older cat may not figure out how to jump the gate for a week or so, which would give them enough time to become used to each other. 

It's really great that you've taken them in, and are keeping all three! They will be much happier continuing to socialize with each other than if they were separated at this point. They really are cute!

Thank you for the input so far! Sorry, I was a bit hasty in my post and I should have said what we had done at the vet - we gave them their first round of shots, started de-worming, and treated them for fleas/tics. We didn't test for FIV and FeLV, which was my main concern and my motivation for writing the post, as I had thought Oliver (our one-year old) was vaccinated against those. Should be mandatory right? I guess not - after calling I found that he wasn't vaccinated and probably wasn't even tested (I'm going to have to find and look over his paperwork from his adoption) so in theory he could be carrying either of those and the other 3 might be the ones at risk.

I guess I am just not sure what to do at this point. I'm looking at testing one of the kittens, but they'll need to get older and put on some weight since I'm told the tests take a lot of blood, and then Oliver will have to get tested as well. If there is a positive for either disease on either of these tests I'm not sure what will come next. : ( Of course until then I think a 48 hr separation is no longer wise.

Again if anyone has been in this situation or can offer any advice for these new circumstances I would really appreciate it, I'm looking online and reading as much as I can about it but I would still like to pick your brains over it. I'm annoyed with our vet right now because he did not discuss any of this with my mother when she brought the 3 little ones in.

gaahhhh can't edit my last post just realized I said something unclear:

***Oliver wasn't vaccinated for FIV and FeLV in particular. He was vaccinated for rabies and distemper. Sorry if this caused misunderstanding.

From what I have read, the incidence of FelV is 1-2% of cats and the incidence of HIV is 1-5% among healthy cat populations but could be higher in feral communities. If all the cats appear healthy-- no runny eyes, nasal dicharge, sneezing, lethargy, lack of appetite--then they are very likely fine and you are worrying too much. I've tsken in several strays and shelter cats and a few ferals over the years without getting the tests or vaccinations for these 2 diseases done and have never had any ptoblems. That has been my experience.

Oh my heart - what doll babies!   So glad they've found a good home.

MsAimee is correct - the incidence of these diseases are pretty low but if it makes you feel better, have one tested.  I would keep them away from Oliver for a few weeks - just to be sure.  Even if no one has those viruses, the kittens may have bacteria Oliver hasn't met yet (and vice versa).  Getting them slowly used to one another is always a good approach.

You can bath them with blue Dawn dishwashing detergent (not the anti-biotic kind, just regular).  It kills fleas and the eggs.  It may traumatize them a bit but it is a quick fix (just make sure you have plenty of hands to scruff them and wash them too).

A screen door on the door of their room can help with introductions when the time comes.  They will be able to see one another without contact.  ShadowsRescue uses tension rods to hold her screen door in place.

Thanks so much for the good info everyone! Sorry I haven't replied back in a while, between a new job and the kittens it's been hectic around here. We're going to bath them today and we're gonna try using the blue Dawn and then maybe a screen door when the time comes. What I've gathered is that when it comes down to it I'll have to talk to my family about everything discussed here and come to a consensus about how to proceed (although since I am moving out very soon they have a home no matter what so no worries about that!). Here's another picture to say thanks!

All cats taken in from the outside should be tested fir FIV and FeLV in my opinion, I've seen too many come back positive. The combined snap test uses exactly 3 drops of blood, that's it!