Cat Scabies Mange

About a week or so ago this young male cat showed up at my house.  I'm sure someone "dumped" him and I'm sure he was someones cat at one time.  To make a long story short I started feeding him.  I advertised to see if someone lost him and called numerous no-kill shelters because I have two inside OLD grouchy cats and I knew I couldn't keep him inside. The shelters of course were full.  I don't believe in outside cats but I decided the least I could do was have him neutered.  I took him to my vet yesterday to have him examined before the neutering and found out he had a severe case of scabies and a heart murmur that the vet said could be heartworms (I didn't have that checked). I also believe he had other issues as well.  I'm on a fixed income and don't have extra money.  As much as I hated to I had him put down.

My questions are:  I let him come on my screen patio for a couple days.  Once the vet told me about the mange I threw chair cushions, towels etc etc out.  Sprayed everything with bug spray, vacuumed my carpet inside, washed bedding, clothes etc etc.  Now my main concern are my inside cats and me.  Can the mites be transferred inside the house on human clothing??  I feel crawly all over now but no bites,  I'm just hoping that's just a psychological  thing.  Is there anything else I can do or be concerned with?

Thanks for any help

Did you ask the Vet about if they were contagious or not?  That might be your best bet.

BTW, thanks for TRYING to save that poor guy   Shame on whoever dumped him

I did check with the vet and he said it was contagious but if I washed my hands etc etc it shouldn't be a problem. I'll keep my fingers crossed.  I was just concerned about dragging the mites into my house on my clothes.  The stray cat never came in contact with my cats.  All of my cats (and I've had 14 - only 2 left sadly) have been outside strays before they came into my house.  I've never allowed any into my house without having the vet completely check them first and then I've always keep them separated in a room for a bit before introducing them to my other inside cats.  I'm really against any animal being outside.  That's why it's such a problem.  Even when they're fixed they can still get injured or sick if the vaccinations are kept up.  What was really depressing is my vet told me the other day that the Animal Shelter here in this dinky town (who is a KILL shelter) puts an average of 100 cats a week down.

If I had found a no-kill shelter the chances are with his health issues and mange he would have more than likely put down anyways so I feel I did the right but hard thing...

thanks for your help

I think you did the right thing for him too, sad as it is.

As for the mange mites, sounds like you were pretty thorough so it's doubtful there will be problems. I can relate to feeling "crawly" - think I would be feeling the exact same way!