getting my feral cat spayed...

i've found a home for one of my feral cats. the person who's going to adopt her knows that she recently had kittens (one has been adopted and two are being socialized so they can be adopted as well) and is not fixed. She's going into a multi-cat home and i want to make sure that she doesn't become a threat to his other cats. 

here are the things i need to get done for her:

tested for fiv/felv

vaccinated

dewormed/de-parasitized/de-flead

spayed

what should be done first? what can be done together? what can be done at home before i bring her to the vet? Also, does she need any pre-surgical tests? i don't want her to die in the process. she's had a hard enough life. I'm very excited that she's going into a home. my goal was to get her in before winter hit, and we're almost there. i don't want to ruin things for her.

my main concern is that i have no space in my apartment to bring her in and make multi visits to the vet's office. i know someone who is willing to help me during her post-surgery recovery process but she, too, has other cats in the house and can't keep her for long. 

thanks all for your help and advice!

I would test first.  If she is positive, especially for FELV, you have a decision to make about whether to humanely euthanize her.  FIV is something she can live with; FELV not so much.   You might want to ask the new adopter to help with the decision if she's positive.

If she's negative, most clinics will spay and do shots all at once.  Especially if she isn't real social, it is better to get that all done.  Ask the vet/clinic who does the spay whether worming and flea treatment can be done at the same time, too.

Thank you for helping her

She is a very social cat. She used to be someone's cat. The woman actually lives on the block. She put the cat out without even getting her fixed. Anyway, she's used to being around humans.

If a cat is Felv positive, are there symptoms that a cat displays? She looks very healthy and has good eating habits. I really hope she's not.

I have frontline for flea treatment. I think I'm going to put the first dose on her tomorrow. Take her to be spayed and ask them to test for FIV/FelV first. Wouldn't it be too much to get vaccinated at the same time? I've heard it makes the cats more aggressive.

Thanks

OK, so she's not feral - those present different challenges.  If she is not sick, her adjustment to her new home will be much easier.

FELV is feline leukemia.  It is a fatal and contagious disease.  Many cats can live for months but there is evidence they are in pain most of the time, so I feel it is more humane to euthanize them when they test positive.  They do look sick, especially toward the end.  Talk it over with your vet.  FIV is like HIV in humans.  With good nutrition, they can have long and happy lives.  I have a friends with an FIV positive kitty who is celebrating his 18th birthday this month.

If she was in a home, she may not have been exposed to either disease (fingers crossed)

The clinic where I have almost all our cats spayed des the shots at the same time.  I've never had a problem.  Ask your vet - if you can take her back, do so.

I wanted to post an update on Lola, the female stray cat. Two nights ago she showed up with an injured paw. She was hopping, not putting weight on her left front paw at all. It didn't look like a car accident injury. The top part of the paw was perfectly fine. The injury was on the bottom part, so I think she got her paw stuck somewhere. I could be wrong. Anyway, I removed her from the street and took her to the vet on this past Tuesday morning. She got tested for FIV/Felv, for which she is negative!!! I waited 5 hours to see the vet and the good news relieved all the mental stress I'd been feeling. She was vaccinated for rabies and the 3 in 1 shot for cats, and got dewormed. The vet didnt think X-rays were needed because she was now putting weight on that paw. Not walking fluidly but doing much better than the night before. We came home with antibiotics, which she's been taking for two days now. I wish I could clean that paw but she won't let me She's very accepting of me and jumps into my lap when I call her. At the moment I'm keeping her at my brother's place. She's confined to a room (is that ok? I feel really bad), and I visit her throughout the day to feed/clean/medicate her. I'd bring her to my house but I have four unruly cats who are all sick right now--three are recovering from diarrhea and 4th just started.

She had flea dirt so I'm going to do the three month treatment with frontline, followed by single dose of Drontal for tapeworms. Once she's all healed up, she'll be spayed. She has an appointment next Wednesday, but I wonder if that's too soon given that she's sick now and on antibiotics. What do you guys think?

Your arrangements sound fine. So glad she is in a safe place where she can heal and get used to being a pet again. Unless she doesn't look well next week, the surgery should be OK. If you are worried, talk to your vet and see what he/she thinks.

Thanks for the update!

She's hopping slightly when she gets up from a sitting position. Otherwise she looks good to me. She's eating and using the bathroom fine. I'm giving her the antibiotics regularly, which she takes without giving me a hard time. I think I'm going to go ahead and take her for the spay on Wednesday.

Thank you so much for replying. I really appreciated yr input.

Hi,
Lola's paw has healed up pretty nicely, she's walking fine now. She's still on antibiotics. She got spayed yesterday and things went really well. I've brought her home and as per the vet's instruction, I've put an e-collar on her. She's not taking to it at all. She was super stressed yesterday but she's better today. She has trouble eating so i feed her with my hand, which is no problem at all. The issue is, she can't get in the litter box. The box isn't high at all. She walks up to it and because she's looking down, the collar gets pressed a against the litter box and she can't get in.

Her stitches are supposed to resolve on their own. How long does she have to keep the collar on?
Thanks so much