Question about a Stray..Need some Advice!

*mandi*

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A few weeks ago a stray cat walked into our backyard while we were outside having a bonfire..It looked very skinny and cold. So we gave it some food and water. She even jumped in my lap! she is very affectionate and I just feel so badly about her that I want to take her in. My question is...is this a wise thing to do? How do I go about taking her in? Should I take her to a vet first? We already have 2 female cats. Im not sure what to do. ITs getting very very cold here and Im afraid she wont make it outside


She has come back everyday since then and sits on our front porch and meows until we come out play with her. She seems to want to go into the house. Usually when a stray cat comes along...they are very skittish and run away. But with this cat...IT just loves everyone and really wants to be let in the house. IT makes me think that it belonged to someone and they just dumped it off somewhere


Another thing I've noticed about her is that her 2 front paws have 7 toes!! She almost loks like she has thumbs. Ive never seen anything like this. Do cats usually have seven toes? Or do you think its an abnormalty?
If anyone can give me any adivce it would be much appreciated! Sorry about this being so long
 

eatrawfish

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The kindest thing to do would be to take her in if you could.

You probably do want to take her to the vet, because you have no idea of her medical history. Since you already have two cats you also want to keep them seperate, for medical reasons and because it's easier to introduce animals this way. Do you have any way of keeping her isolated from the others for a week or two? Even in the bathroom will work. Once the vet has checked her out and you've observed her for a bit, you could start to introduce them (we have threads on that).

If you are worried about having too many cats you could also try to adopt her out.

You may also want to be sure that she doesn't already have an owner. Ask around the neighborhood, or post a notice.

The extra toes is a mutation that happens in cats sometimes, it makes her what is called a polydactl (spelling?).
 

tnr1

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If you have the room and can take her in...then that would be great...but definately keep her seperated until she can be seen by a vet. As a precaution...wash your hands very carefully before you greet your other cats. Here is information on Polydactyls:

http://www.messybeast.com/poly-cats.html
 
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*mandi*

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Thank you for all that information!
 
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