Need urgent advice. Found a cat!!!!

Maybe this will need to be moved, but Im hoping for some very quick answers, please.
I was in my yard and noticed a cat hiding under the bushes. I thought it was the tuxedo I sometimes see, but it was this GORGEOUS Berman. It is the prettiest cat I have ever seen S/He was very, very scared. I spent about 30 minutes slowly moving closer to it. I think it might be ill, or maybe exhausted and terrified because in between me moving closer to him (her?) he would close his eyes and his head would start to lower a tiny bit. He looks very well taken care of, so Im pretty sure hes just a lost baby Poor thing.

Eventually I was able to get close enough to just barely pet him and he only cared a little bit. I snuck away, ran inside and got a cat carrier and a can of junk food (9 lives) to try and tempt him. He wasnt interested in the slightest. The neighbor was mowing his lawn and got very close which freaked the poor baby out, so he kept slowly moving closer to me as the mower went by. Finally I was able to pet his face. He is so darn beautiful!!!! He has black tipped ears, brownish around his face but his nose and chin is black. Blue eyes, mostly brown body with a black tail and front paws are tipped white.

I was able to pick him up and put him in the carrier and ran to tell my cat loving neighbors. They asked the other local neighbors, its no ones cat.

I called the local vets and animal shelters, all closed until tomorrow. Called the police, no one had reported a missing cat. The problem is that Im scared of possibly bringing something bad in the house. He looks very clean and well groomed, so Im not too scared of fleas. Im scared of FLV and who knows what else.
Hes currently in the carrier out on my porch with a can of food and some water.
If I do bring him in and seclude him in a private room away from the other cats, will it probably be ok? I mean if I bring him in and bring him to be checked at the vet tomorrow.... and then if my other cats eventually come in the private room, could they be exposed to something?

How does one handle this with strays? What else can I do right now? I was going to leave for the evening and stay overnight with my DD at my moms house, but now Im pretty sure Im going to stay here and take care of him. I wish I could show you his picture but I dont have a digital right now

Please help, this is my first stray! I want to keep him so badly Im going to do the right thing though and see if he is chipped. There is no collar. What else do you need to know?

It sounds like you are doing everything right to me. I've never taken in a stray cat (only a starving, stray dog when I was little that turned out to be the most adorable little dog ever and brought me and my family so much happiness for all the years she lived- my beloved little Lucky) so I wish I could be of more help, but my instinct would say to keep him separated from your other cats like you are now until after you have him checked out at the vet and also checked for the chip.
I'm sure they will be able to get the results back soon for the tests.
Good luck and let us know how everything turns out!

Kat you can bring him inside now. As long as you keep him away from the other cats and in a small room. If he is a purebreed his owner could be sick with worry. Is there a cattery near you that you know of? Keep him in a small room, keep all the other animals away from him, wash your hands well before you have contact with your other cats. I would call the vets tomorrow and leave his description, they may recognize him, or he may be microchipped.

Ok, I will bring him in to my den, the place I had Jayce separated before he became a full member of the family He is the SWEETEST cat ever. Maybe he is just timid because he is scared? Im going to bring him in to the vet tomorrow and call the local Humane Societes/shelters. I dont think there are any catteries around because I looked on Petfinder about a year ago on a search and none came up.

Should I keep him supervised while in my den? Its not totally cat proofed since with my 3 I know what I can and cant leave around. Ya know? I dont know what he might or might not do? I guess I should be cautious and just move things and close the closet door.

Gosh I feel weird having a new cat in the house again Im like a first time parent or something

OK, Ive got him in the room with me, door closed, carrier open. Hes just hiding in there still. Might take him a while to come out I guess. Hes peeking at me, so gorgeous!!! Do you think it would be ok to leave him alone overnight in here? Or should I lock him back up in the carrier? Should I stay here or would it be ok to leave like I planned?
Heck, nevermind. This is so exciting that I think Im going to go pick up my DD and come back to play with him

I was gone for about 1.5/2 hours I think, and when I came back the poor baby was still in the carrier I decided to help him out a bit and took him out of the carrier for a snuggle. This baby was spoiled thats for sure. Treated really well, but Im so sad to say that he was declawed His little paws look so funny Ive never really noticed a declawed cats paws before. Anyway, hes now hiding under my desk. I was able to take a few digital pictures so I will post them sometime tomorrow. You will see what a pretty baby I have I keep telling DD he is only visiting but I know it will be hard when we find the owner

Can you get some pictures of the paws too?

Sounds like you've got a new friend...

I hope all is well.

Please keep us all posted

Spotz

I'll see what I can do. Im the only adult so trying to do handle the paws and do a picture at the same time might be difficult on a cat that doesnt really like me yet

Sounds fair...I'll understand if it proves too stressful for the kitty.

Spotz

How is kitty today?

You are such an angel for helping this poor little fellow! Poor little declawed guy - it must have been absolutely terrifying to be outside with no defense. Who knows if anybody threw rocks at him or something to get him out of their yard? He might be scared of people now, and he's definitely scared because he's lost. Just make his carrier snuggly for him, make sure food and water are close by, and a litter pan not too far, but definitely not near the food or water.

I wonder if he exhibited some behavioral problem and his owner dumped him?

Anyway, it's worth looking to find his home. I'd get some posters out and around. Leave off the posters that he's declawed - that'll be a way to tell if it's his real owners or not. Of course, if they've gone to that extent, he could be microchipped, which will make it easy once you see the vet with him.

But if you can't find his owners - you might have a new little housemate! And it IS like being a mommy again!

How's he doing? How're you doing?

Thank you for rescuing this poor baby!

Oh things you can do to help him feel more comfortable more quickly, especially if you can't locate his home:

Get a t-shirt or something really sweaty and leave it under his food. Putting it where he sleeps won't help much - the idea is for him to associate you with good things, not just to get used to your smell.

Sit in the room and sing or read to him.

Leave a night light on for him, but keep the light level in the room low (even during the day). Leave a radio with classical music playing for him while you're not there.

And if you can't find his home, this article has a lot of tips on how to go about introducing him to your other cats so he and they don't feel threatened by each other, and the integration will go more smoothly. Especially since he has no claws (and it seems yours do), I think it would be important to go very slowly.

I'd Like You to Meet.... Introducing Cats

Thanks for all the advice!!! It is greatly appreciated! You guys are always the best I actually had just posted a question about mixing clawed and declawed before I came back here. Whoops! I'll be sure to check out that article.

She is doing much better today! I did a bit of an update in the pictures forum and showed her off. Shes such a pretty baby. And man, she is a sweetheart!!! She is warming up nicely to me. She also likes the cat house a lot more than my other cats do, so thats getting some good usage. She was not chipped, nor has anyone put in a report for her anywhere in the vicinity. I will keep my eye out but I think she will be here to stay. Its no burden for me Shes precious.

Im a little concerned about 2 things though. She seems to be peeing fine, but has not had a BM since I found her. She is acting ok, from what I know about her. She did eat a little bit of dry food once I came home today. She only ate a small bit though and didnt actually chew them! I only heard her crunch once. Otherwise she just swallowed them straight down. I dont know if thats good or bad. Shes probably used to wet food maybe?

How long might it be until she gets an appetite and goes #2? She is really warming up to me and the room shes in. She laid down on my lap for a while, and then next to me on the desk. She doesnt really like the other cats so far, though they are all curious. Theres about a 2 inch gap at the bottom of the door and my other stinkers keep peeking in and sticking their feet under. She hissed at the door a few times, but mostly is ignoring them now.
Shes so sweet and beautiful. I feel so lucky for having found her