What are the odds of a stray cat making my cats sick?

[iheartlife]

I'm fully aware this question sounds very OCD (and hopefully just me being over paranoid). I was getting a soda at our local convenience store when I dropped my wallet and a stray cat ran up and sniffed it and kind of rubbed against me a little before running away. It didn't outwardly appear sick but I only saw it for about twenty seconds before it ran off so I could have missed something. Both of my cats are vaccinated against rabies and have the FVRCP vaccination. I washed my hands and changed my clothes as soon as I got home but my cats still rubbed on my shoes and purse before I got them put up. What are the odds that this stray cat would have a disease that my cats could get if I carried it home? Hopefully I am just being over paranoid but my pets are like my babies so I'm trying to be safe which I'm sure many of you can understand.

 

[petercotton]

I am glad you brought this up.  I have been wondering something along similar lines.  I have two stray cats that hang out on the front porch of my apartment.  My cat loves when I leave the porch door open so fresh air can come in through the closed screen door.  She will literally sit there for hours until I close the door.  My cat is current on all vaccinations, but I hate to think the strays could pass some illness on to her, not to mention fleas or whatnot.  So, you see, your questions does not sound all that crazy to me.

 

[molly92]

The 2 main scary cat to cat diseases not covered by that vaccine are FIV and FeLV. FIV cannot have been transmitted, as this requires a deep bite with saliva from the infected cat entering the bloodstream of the other cat. FeLV is spread through saliva to saliva contact, but it does not survive long outside the cat's body, so that does not seem likely either. Cats usually only contract FeLV from cats that they spend a lot of time with or share food and water bowls with. I would not be worried!

Calcivirus and herpes viruses are included in that FVRCP vaccine, but the vaccine only decreases the risk of infection for these. It does not provide 100% protection, and they are more contagious than the viruses mentioned above. Still, these viruses are not serious for a healthy cat, usually only causing sneezing, running nose, watery eyes, etc, although once a cat has contracted it they have it forever, like a cold sore. Not usually anything too serious, though.

Fleas are probably the most likely out of anything to have been transferred from the cat to you to your cats, but if they're on a monthly flea preventative they'll be fine. And while they are annoying, they are not dangerous to healthy cats. Ringworm is another parasite that can linger on inanimate objects. Again, not dangerous, but annoying. So keep an eye out for signs of either of those so you can treat them early and quickly if they arise.