Stray Cat: Needing Advice And Help

[PathfinderKat]

There has been a stray wandering around for months. I fed it a month ago and didn’t see it afterwards... until yesterday.

I saw him again and fed him again. I sat out there for an hour with him and eventually he came over to me. He was super cuddly and purring hard. However, he clearly had fleas, dandruff and mange. He is obviously dirty as well. I live in Florida and, for some reason, it’s been getting in the 20s and raining. He’s quite skinny and I worry for his health.

I would’ve already brought him into my home but there’s two problems... my two cats. It’s not fair to put them through suffering by giving them fleas either (especially since one is getting over allergies and a possible cold). I’ve been researching yesterday and today.

Here’s my proposed solution. Take a warm wet rag covered in dawn soap and spend some time lathering him. Quickly rinse and dry as much as possible. Use a crate to transfer him to the bathroom in our house. Close the door the bathroom and bedroom (bathroom is in the bedroom). Keep our other cats in the living room at least for 6 hours so the revolution I intend to place on him after he dries has time to kick in. I also intend to feed him a capstar. Then after 24 hours I’ll take a flea comb to him and check him out again then go from there.

Does this sound like a sound and safe idea for all cats involved? How can I better protect my cats from fleas? Is there something I can get from a store that isn’t ridiculously expensive that I can give them? I’ve seen petarmor, hows that?

 

[maggiedemi]

Do you have Revolution? That should work for a month. I think you have to wait 2 days after bathing him though to put it on? Maybe just put the Revolution on and see if it works. You don't really need the Capstar if you're using Revolution.

 

[PathfinderKat]

Do you have Revolution? That should work for a month. I think you have to wait 2 days after bathing him though to put it on? Maybe just put the Revolution on and see if it works. You don't really need the Capstar if you're using Revolution.

I have both revolution and capstar already. One of my cats I adopted has terrible fleas and we got revolution from a pet plan we signed up with. Probably sounds over kill but I just don’t want fleas again. I’ll check what the revolution box says.

 

[maggiedemi]

Plus it would probably be really hard to bathe a stray cat, he might hurt you.

 

[maggiedemi]

I would just put the Revolution on the back of his neck and wait a couple days to see if the fleas and mites/mange start to go away.

 

[PathfinderKat]

I would just put the Revolution on the back of his neck and wait a couple days to see if the fleas and mites/mange start to go away.

“Do not use REVOLUTION on sick, weak, or underweight cats. ” this is what I found on their website. In regards to bathing, it says to wait two hours so they can dry, overall it won’t reduce effectiveness.

I was thinking of feeding him a small dosage of melatonin? This would help calm him with bathing. He never once even made a hissing noise at me so I don’t think he’s hostile. But I’m not sure if that’s dangerous or not to give a cat that (that’s why I ask). Otherwise, I don’t really intend to truly bathe him... I intend to do what this lady did.

 

[maggiedemi]

I'm not sure about the Melatonin, I have never used it. Do you think he's too sick to use the Revolution then? It does say that it treats mange. You could try Frontline Plus, but my cats never had mange, they just had mites which I guess causes mange.

 

[PathfinderKat]

I'm not sure about the Melatonin, I have never used it. Do you think he's too sick to use the Revolution then? It does say that it treats mange. You could try Frontline Plus, but my cats never had mange, they just had mites which I guess causes mange.

Apparently melatonin is fine with proper dosage (yay google + vet websites). I don’t think he’s too sick, and I know he gets fed everyday because apparently one of the people in the neighborhood feeds him constantly... why they haven’t helped him with fleas yet I don’t know. He seems as happy and friendly as my other cats. It’s hard to tell what condition he’s truly in because he’s SO fluffy. Since it treats mange that would be great too.. I think I might use frontline plus for my other kitties as a protective measure. Thanks so far. (Sorry if I seem a bit clumsy with my suggestions or hopes, new to helping strays and cats in general. Learning!)

 

[maggiedemi]

I actually use Pet Armor Plus now, it's a Walmart knockoff of Frontline Plus. It's $30 right now. The cheapest I've seen it was in August when it was $25 for 6 vials. Here's the link:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/PetArmor-Plus-Flea-and-Tick-Prevention-for-Cats-6-Monthly-Doses/49911400

 

[Willowy]

I'd give him the Capstar about 6-12 hours before bringing him in. That should kill the resident fleas and keep him from bringing too many in. Then the spot-on will provide long-term protection.

I love Capstar. If he has a lot of fleas, keep an eye on him about half an hour after giving the pill. You can see the fleas just dropping off. Its kind of cool and disgusting at the same time .

 

[PathfinderKat]

Hey guys! I didn’t see your comment till now willowy. However, she didn’t have very many fleas. I think she’s too thin for them to want her! We ended up getting a pet armor thing for my other cats. I gave the cat a bath outside, finding out it was a girl. Then I brought it inside and applied revolution 2 hours later. I haven’t seen any fleas even after I gave her the bath though. If I find any more I’ll give her a capstar.

(I’ve used capstar before and agree that it works. My adopted girl had them bad. She had more than the stray, from what I see.)

P.S. The girl is absolutely incredible. She purrs and rubs against my leg every time I’m with her. However, she only attempts to eat and drink when I’m with her in the room. I finally saw her use the potty this morning... and she did it in her litter box! Pleasant surprise. I’ll attach a picture of her refusing to let me stop petting her.

 

[maggiedemi]

Wow, she didn't mind being bathed? That's amazing. I hope she feels better now and gets well. Thank you for doing all that for her.

 

[PathfinderKat]

Wow, she didn't mind being bathed? That's amazing. I hope she feels better now and gets well. Thank you for doing all that for her.

I mean she tried running away. But for the most part she was sitting on me with her claws out. I didn’t mind. I came prepared, but she didn’t hiss, growl or make any swipes - was just scared and cold.

 

[maggiedemi]

What a good girl. Maybe she knew you were just trying to help her.

 

[surya]

She's cute, she's probably skinny because she has worms. I wouldn't put her with your other cats till you can take her to the vet and get her tested for FIV/Felv.

 

[PathfinderKat]

She's cute, she's probably skinny because she has worms. I wouldn't put her with your other cats till you can take her to the vet and get her tested for FIV/Felv.

Sadly this is relevant. We took her to the vet. She NO problems other than dry skin and being skinny, could be fixed with regular feeding in a healthy environment. She also had yeast in her ears... no worms or anything from her fecal... but sadly she came back FIV positive. I haven’t put her with the other cats. I’ve done so much research over the past two days. We have allowed them to look at each other through a baby gate. She was hissy last night but I don’t blame her (she got two shots, her fecal, and blood drawn so who could blame her?). Today, however, she sniffed my other cats and continued to purr through the gate and didn’t seem bothered at all. I’ll continue to let them do this for a few days and see how it goes. Any tips for FIV positive cats with non FIV cats? Should I find out her strain and vaccinate? What are the coasts of vaccination?

 

[PathfinderKat]

Fun side note, her name is cricket.

 

[maggiedemi]

Aww, that's too bad. Does she not have mange then? I've read that FIV can be transmitted through deep bite wounds, like un-neutered males fighting. Are you going to get her spayed when she feels better? Maybe if there is no fighting between the cats, it would be okay. But others that have FIV cats will probably have better advice.

 

[surya]

Cricket is a cute name. My friend who does rescues says that fiv cats can live with healthy cats as long as they are kept inside. Here's some information from the Best Friends web site:

FIV in Cats FAQs: Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Information

 

[orange&white]

Awww! Thank you for helping the sweet girl. I'm sorry to hear she has FIV. I do think she can safely co-exist with non-FIV cats. You'll need to research a bit more for specific precautions, which it sounds like you're good at doing your homework.

An affectionate little cat like Cricket will pay back your efforts tenfold.