Bringing a "garage cat" to our 3rd floor apartment

We found this precious orange tabby in the garage of our condo building about a week or so ago. I happened to have cat food (purchased for my mother's cats) in my car, so we offered him some dinner - which he gobbled up immediately.  From our first meeting he was really sweet and incredibly friendly. He came right to us and when we sat down he crawled into our laps... purring up a storm. He looked pretty clean and healthy; did not seem like a feral cat. We posted ads online and asked around to try to find his home.

We took him to the vet the 2nd day - he had considerable flea debris, no chip and he had not been netuered. Vet thinks he is about a year old, as he's got all his teeth. We got him all taken care of (shots, neutered) and we went ahead and got him a chip so at least we could keep tabs on him if someone else found him! The only thing we didn't get done was a fecal test, as he hadn't pooped after a day at the vet's office, post-op. We aren't sure where he goes to poop so can't collect a stool sample.

My husband and I are both very allergic to cats, so for the past week we have taken care of Tigger by creating a little nook for him in the garage: a warm, soft bed, blankets, and covered the carrier with blankets if he wanted to hide and find warmth. We feed him morning and night and hang out for a cuddle. He is the sweetest thing!!

We've fallen in love and after trying to find a relative or nearby friend to adopt him (so we could have visitation rights) we can't bear to give him up. So we would like to try bringing him upstairs and seeing if we can survive life with a cat, without dying from our allergies. If that fails, there are a couple of people in the building who may be interested (but we don't know them well enough to demand visits with "our" kitty). Everyone that has encountered him in the garage is blown away by how sweet and sociable he is.

This guy has to have had a home or owner at some point, as he is very people-friendly. But at 1 year old with no chip, no collar and no neuter - it seems he has been living on the streets for some time.

I am a bit concerned about bringing him upstairs - aside from the whole being able to breathe thing

What if he goes crazy because he is now "trapped" inside? (We have plenty of windows/sliding doors but outside is a small balcony with open rails)

We have a very open floor plan, so there is only one interior door -- our bedroom which will have to stay closed, as our safe "cat free" breathing zone.
So I cannot create a "cat room" for him.

But he'd have run of the place and an upstairs loft to climb around. I'm not worried about him dashing out the front door as there is just a short stretch of hallway and nowhere for him to disappear to.

How do we introduce him to a litter box? Do we need to begin with outside dirt/soil and gradually add litter?

So you have asthma allergy?  Tough.  I know there are quite a few cat owners with asthma allergies, but  its not anything I cant recommend for asthma allergics.  Its pretty dangerous! Still, there are tricks if you want to try on your own responsibility.  Among them, as you are going to do, a cat free bed room.   If you can learn him to bathe/shower / swim, every tenday, is very efficient.  Its OK with common lukewarm water.  Otherwise, you can swap him off with a wetted towel every day.  There are also especial preparates to swap his fur with, which are supposed to help a little.   Have lots of fresh air; ie air out the flat freqvently / have an air cleaner with Hepa-filter. (quite efficient).   Avoid dust.  Dust free litter.  Wash off your hands after petting him - and after changing his litter.   I hope you dont smoke?? Be sure you are in good shape, take often walks in fresh air. Eat healthy, nutrious food.  Drink a lot of water / tea...  You can try with alternative medicines, alike "these chinese needles into skin". Akupunktur in Swedish.   There are also others alternative treatments to try with.

Ah, be sure you do have suitable forceful anti-allergic medicines at home, to break off asthma attacks [cortisone-spray, I think. Antihistamine is weaker, but good for everyday problems].  Have them handy and easily so you can easily find them even in panic and in the beginning attack, both you and your friends.  In practice, you shall have several packages. Be sure your doc writes out the receipt.

Most of these allergic cat owners do acclimatisize themselves to their own cat with time, and dont longer react on himher.  Although they are still allergic to other cats.

OK, him being surely ex-owned, (got astray or got dumped) I dont think he will have greater difficulties with adapting. They seldom do.  (real ferales may do and get panic when coming inside, but he doesnt sound so).   Try with common clay litter at first.  You can try with it already now in the garage!   Wait, you have allergies, so be sure its a dust free one...  Perhaps such done of paper pellets.  Or corn pellets.  No fancy perfumed versions!    If necessary, you can sprinkle with  Kitten Attract Litter, this by dr Elseys is the most renown.  But I dont think its necessary.

If it doesnt work, try with this dirt / old dry leaves, but I dont think it is really necessary.

You have a balcony. Swell.  Have a net set up around this balcony, so he can be there whenever he wish.  This is very popular!  Also, it will air him out and lessen the allergen pressure on you.

Good you had neutered him.  Fertile cats are more dangerous for allergics.  So the allergen pressure will be downgraded now.  If you managed him somewhat when he was a fully fertile adult cat, it will be easier now.  

I think it was the most important for now.

You are warmthly welcome with reports and  more questions!   And or participate in other threads.   

Good luck!    @Aly822

ps.  At first, when you take him up,  Be sure he has some sort of a safe corner at least, as you cant give him a cat room as his safe home base.   Take with you perhaps some of his gears he had in the garage, so he recognizes its his.   Have a cat igloo installed, with scratching post nearby, so he knows this corner is his.

Something like that!

If you are afraid he may panic, you can use a Feliway diffuser, or at least, Feliway spray in his corner.

He is definitely not feral - he was owned at some point.  I do not think he'll go bonkers inside, especially if you provide him with his own corner, as Stefan suggested above.

Bring in his blanket, his carrier and all his things and set him up.  You will need to be sure the litter you use isn't dusty (unscented is a must).

I would talk to my doctor about your allergies and see what he/she suggests.  There are antihistamines you can take that will lessen the allergic reactions. 

You should also take him to the vet as soon as you can.  He'll need his shots, possible deworming and neutering.  This last will especially help him settle down.

Blessings on you for stepping up to the plate for this little kitty!

Thanks, @Ondine!

We already took him to the vet the 2nd day, and had him neutered, chipped and etc. The only thing they couldn't check was fecal tests... so if we do get him in here, we can bring a stool sample over for testing.

Oh, good. Sorry I missed that! So you are definitely on the right track. God bless you!

What a sweet cat!!! I can practically hear his purrs from the picture alone. May you be blessed with many years of happy companionship!

Aly822 said:

 
Thanks, @Ondine!

We already took him to the vet the 2nd day, and had him neutered, chipped and etc. The only thing they couldn't check was fecal tests... so if we do get him in here, we can bring a stool sample over for testing.

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You can probably spare yourself the costs of tests (if they cost, I presume they do), and also spare the time, and give him some deworming.   Use an all-round preparate to be sure.  Milbomax is good, Drontal is common and OK...  None of them is dangerous, so it wont hurt anything if he doesnt have nothing  (being dumped its not sure he has worms).

The vet can also surely suggest you something suitable which is common in pharmacia in your area..  After all, you are his paying patients now.

Later on, being inside only, he probably wont need deworming, once he is totally worm - free.

When I took in 2 cats 18 years ago, I didn't realize how allergic I was to them until I started getting hives, trouble breathing, etc. I wasn't going to give them up after even 2 days, so I stuck it out. It took about two weeks for the major symptoms to go away. Now I only have trouble when I pet them and then rub my eyes without washing my hands first and I still don't let any cats in the bedroom. If it is an asthmatic reation that you and/or your husband get, then make sure you have rescue medication around and plenty of antihistamine. It is possible you will become used to your own kitties fur.

As for bringing in your potential new cat...he definitely isn't feral, so bringing him inside isn't likely to scare him too much, and he will most likely know how to use litter. When I had an outdoor stray cat neutered I put him out on our enclosed porch to recuperate and he used the litter box on his own. A few months later he started to become my "indoor-cat-in-training" as I was letting him in with direct supervision to see if he could get along with my other cat. He is awesome with my elderly indoor cat (she hates him, so that is still a work in progress) but one day I noticed that he had gone downstairs and I followed him. He was wandering around and I worried that he might have to go to the bathroom, so I opened the door wider to the room with the litter box and he walked over and hopped right in to do his business. Outdoor cats know to bury their waste so they don't attract predators, so he will want to keep his home clean.

I hope you are able to tolerate his dander because it sounds like you would have a really good home for him to be safe and loved. I would watch him on the deck for awhile though, since he probably won't understand how high up you are.

Good luck!

StefanZ said:

 
You can probably spare yourself the costs of tests (if they cost, I presume they do), and also spare the time, and give him some deworming.   Use an all-round preparate to be sure.  Milbomax is good, Drontal is common and OK...  None of them is dangerous, so it wont hurt anything if he doesnt have nothing  (being dumped its not sure he has worms).

The vet can also surely suggest you something suitable which is common in pharmacia in your area..  After all, you are his paying patients now.

Later on, being inside only, he probably wont need deworming, once he is totally worm - free.

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Thank you, @StefanZ!  Are these prescription that I will need from the vet? Or can I purchase myself?

Aly822 said:

 
Thank you, @StefanZ!  Are these prescription that I will need from the vet? Or can I purchase myself?

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They are prescriptions free as I know. Make just sure its the variation for cats, not for dogs, and the time hasnt got out, they are still fresh.

ps.   A couple of threads down, there is a question abiout dewormers.  Look also in there.

Just realized I had not stopped by with an update - and I have been reading so many wonderful stories here for these past couple of weeks.

We were still on the fence, caring for our kitty in the garage - until a neighbor complained that the cat hair on top of her car had left her unable to breath for a week (apparently she is a notorious complainer, in general). I had made an appointment with an allergist to determine just HOW allergic I was to this baby, before bringing him inside, but when we got word that a home down the road had their screened porch broken into by an "orange tabby with a collar" - our decision was made for us and we quickly took Tigger for a bath, and brought him in. A full WEEK before I was due to see the allergy doctor.

First couple of days on Claritin (with albuterol inhaler at the ready) I was doing reasonably well. But when I had to stop all meds (3 full days before allergy testing) I barely made it 12 hours before having to grab the Claritin and a Mucinex for the congestion

Tigger is still with us until we can rehome him; and of course we are falling more deeply in love. He took to living inside IMMEDIATELY!!

His first night inside, and after being bathed and manicured - he was a little less ravenous and ate just half his usual dinner. He slept on a dining room chair, which we had covered with a blanket - so he had someplace to hide. And most importantly - he used the litter box with no issue (we added some soil on top to help him feel more comfortable with it)!!

By the next morning he was quite at home, not the least bit interested in even looking outside much. He's been amazing, sweet as ever and having the time of his life. He has not yet complained that we leave the bedroom door shut (and sneak off at night never to be seen again till sunrise).

I SO wish that we could keep him. He's just a really good, sweet cat and so affectionate. No damage done (yet) and other than allergies (which is unpleasant) ... none of my worst fears realized.

Thanks for the update! You are really going above and beyond for this lucky kitty. Vibes you find a good home

Before I picked up my cat Jade, I was one of the most allergic people on the face of this earth. Summer, winter, spring, fall, the season didn't matter - I was taking claritin (Generic) and benadryl (generic) on a daily basis. This is WITHOUT a cat. And my allergies to cats and dogs registered as bad as they can get.

When I picked up Jade I started taking three separate allergy meds. Was not fun, but I'd wanted a cat all my life so I put up with it. I put up with it for several YEARS before I had enoguh. I decided to go start allergy shots (Immunotherapy).

This was a big deal because I have a DEATHLY fear of needles. But by this time I was in love with my cat and willing to brave the demonic doctor and his hellish syringes in order to keep her.

I won't say they were fun - they itch and sting a bit. But after three years of allergy shots, I can do something I haven't done in literally decades : Breathe through my nose. As of now, I haven't taken an allergy pill in months and aside from an occasional itchiness on my hands if I play with her and don't wash up afterwards (still somewhat rare).

If you want to be with a cat and you have allergies, I strongly recommend looking into one. The allergist is going to tell you to get rid of the cat but in the end, the shots work.

@khy-sa I completely understand and appreciate the encouragement. I'm so happy for you that you've beaten the allergies and I admit I have been debating the choice with great emotion.

But I had 2 cats about 20 years ago and did the whole weekly shot thing, lived on an inhaler, etc. etc. but after about 8 months of that (and feeling I had it under control enough to allow the cats to sleep on my bed and I had carpet everywhere) - I had a 911 emergency, lung infection and acute asthma attack that had me in an ambulance and hospital for about 5 days. I don't have asthma, but I have cat-triggered asthma. Shots helped me for a stretch back then, but it wasn't enough even with the inhaler. If I get sick, the risk of it turning into a bronchial thing is increased. Who know, the cat/asthma piece of the puzzle may have been entirely coincidental but was a very scary experience that has kept me and cats from living together for a very long time.

That's very understandable. I don't know if you were getting the same shots I was (It took me 6 months to reach the 'maintenance dose' for my immunotherapy and I was on the maintenance regimen for 4 years), I was still taking daily antihistamine pills for over a year after my shots started. But that would be a very scary experience.

Maybe you should consider starting the shots now, but hold off for the moment on getting a cat until you're farther along on the immunotherapy regimen? That way when you DO introduce a cat your system will better be able to handle it.

khy-sa said:

Maybe you should consider starting the shots now, but hold off for the moment on getting a cat until you're farther along on the immunotherapy regimen? That way when you DO introduce a cat your system will better be able to handle it.

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I am already living with this cat for over a week now - we found him in the garage of our building around Christmas. We had him neutered, flea'd, shots and continued caring for him for a few weeks outside.

Meanwhile, I went to see an allergist who gave me instructions to get a saliva and hair/dander sample from THIS CAT to test how allergic I was to this particular cat before making any decisions and/or beginning treatment/immunotherapy, etc. The plan (originally) was to keep him outside until after that test / appointment.

But 2 neighbors started making trouble; 1 threatened to take him "to the pound," and so we brought him upstairs a full week before my allergy test was scheduled.

In order to test, I had to be off ALL medication for 3 full days before the appointment. I barely made it 12 hours because the congestion & coughing was so bad. The reaction happened fast and was a lot worse than when we hung out with him outdoors. I can't even get near the litter box (same litter my mom uses that has never bothered me if I've scooped her cat's box).

So I canceled the allergy test and we are trying to see if we can find someone to give him the home he deserves (preferably someone near enough that we can have visitation rights). I'm surviving on Claritin, Mucinex and Albuterol ... but just afraid it's not a good idea. Sigh.

Try a rush purchase of Allerpet C....its not a cure but might help. I believe StefanZ also suggests plain water rinses, to remove at least some of the dander. Even if it's on a paper towel.