Escaped indoor cat - let her back in?

Factual Questions
1

About 5 years ago we took in 3 stray kittens. Unfortunately, I was not able to catch them soon enough, and they are still somewhat wild. I took them to the vet once to get them fixed + get the first round of shots. They had to be pushed against the back of the carrier + tranquilized for the vet to handle them, and one of them bit through the gloves that they use. The vet refuses to touch them now, so they were indoor cats only (and I refuse to try to get them in a carrier - I had one hand that looked like hamburger last time.)

Other than when trying to get them in the carrier, they’re decent cats. The least shy one (and also the most vicious when trying to crate) got out July 3rd of this year. We came back from the fireworks to see her run around the corner of the house, and didn’t see her for weeks. I figured she got eaten by a fisher cat, but she showed up hiding under the shed. She’a been around since then, and we’ve been feeding her a little food to keep her around to keep the mice down. She has been afraid of us, and would not let us get within 10’.

There’s been another cat around for the last week or so who is very friendly. Obviously he was a housecat, but he’s so skinny it’s obvious he’s been lost for a while. (anyone in VT or eastern NY want a cat?) I think seeing us petting him, feeding her, and the cold weather has made our cat a lot more brave, as she’ll come up and let us pet her, and she tries to get inside.

I’d like to let her back in. The probelm is, we’ve still got her sisters, who cannot go to the vet, and cannot be handled well enough to treat for fleas, etc. We also have an 18 month old daughter. I know the cat should be quarrantined if we let her back in, but that’s not possible.

Should we let her back in + take our chances?

What are the odds she has rabies/fleas/ticks/other?

Environment: Rural VT deciduous forest

I got some hay to make a bed for her under the shed, and we will keep feeding her through the winter if she can’t come inside.

2

First find a better vet. Then ask his advice.

My mother made a career out of befriending strays. It was difficult, took a lot of patience and the “wild” never leaves them entirely. But it’s a caring thing to do.

3

I’d try another vet. Mine has no problem working on my ferals.

FYI, if you decide to keep her outside, there are many plans online for outdoor feral cat houses that will protect cats from the elements.

(And a personal thanks to you for helping out those feral cats!)

4

If you’ve got a local organization that works with ferals, you might try calling them up and asking which vets they use- that way, you are sure to get a vet who has experience with ferals.

5

Yes. She wants it, you want it – do it.

Rabies: extremely low. Cats incubate rabies for 4-6 weeks, then enter a terminal stage where they die within 4-12 days. Since you’ve been watching her since July 3, she obviously does not have rabies. Unless she was infected recently, which is unlikely, since she avoided it previously. Cats are not a particularly common vector for rabies anyway. It is much more common in canines (dogs, wolfs, etc.) or wild animals like skunks, racoons, etc.

Fleas/ticks: probably close to 100% chance she has them. But once she’s back inside, a quick bath with an anti-flea shampoo, and then a good combing/grooming will take care of that.

Other: worms are much more likely since she’s been outside. Once she’s back inside, give her a good dose of wormer. Then another one about 10 days later. After that, she can go back on your standard worming schedule.

I don’t know why you say you can’t quarantine her; don’t you have a bathroom with a door on it? That should work for the few days needed.

And I agree that you should look for a new vet. Dealing with scared animals (even previously feral ones) is standard practice for a vet; most of them are quite used to it. Find one who is.

You might try training them to accept the crate, for future trips.
Most cats like small, confined, hidey-hole type places. Try putting the crate out, with the door open, and something inside that smells like you (unwashed clothes) or like them (a blanket that they like to lay on), and then put some treats inside the crate. Then leave it alone, just let them explore it on their own. Eventually, they will lose their fear and start exploring it. And if they regularly find treats in it, or if you call them to it and feed them treats inside it, they will come to like it. They may even learn to come to it when you call to get their treats. That’s real handy when they need to go for a trip, so it’s worth trying to train them over a few months.

6

I’ve found it’s really useful to not put the crate away- leave it out somewhere where the cats can get into it, even when you’re not going to be putting them in it anytime soon. That way, they can’t tell that a vet visit might be coming up by the appearance of the crate. If you leave the crate out, sometimes you can get them shut into it before they figure out what’s going on.

7

I don’t think I could give this cat a quick bath - it would end up being a blood bath! I think I was down a pint or so last time I got her in a crate. :frowning:

We do have a bathroom with a door, but we have wood heat, and I would be concerned about the pipes freezing. I was under the impression the quarantine would have to be longer to account for the incubation period for rabies. (Which I didn’t know. - thanks for the info!)

We only have 3 vets in the nearest substantial town - 2 work at the animal hospital that won’t work with these cats. The other one put down a litter of kittens because the mother was attacked by a rabid racoon. My wife and I thought they should have been quarantined/tested to see if they had it first.

The crate is open next to their litter box + I’ve tried to get them used to going in it with treats, etc. They never go inside, and will not go near it when we’re in the same room. These cats are very shy. Only my brother in law has seen them, as they hide whenever anyone else is around. One of them only rarely comes near enough for my wife and I to pet her.

Cool - I never knew about those. I’ll probably build one for the new stray if I can’t find her a home.

I think I’ll try to let ours back in + shampoo her. If I’m not back soon, I’ve probably bled to death! :wink:

8

AIUI (IANAVet), there isn’t a simple and reliable test for rabies in animals that doesn’t involve killing the animal.

I could see problems with quarantining kittens and observing them for rabies, too- caring for a feral kitten can be dangerous (handling them has been compared to a tornado with claws) even if they definitely aren’t rabid. A 4 to 6 week quarantine without much human contact is going to pretty much eliminate any possibility of making the kittens adoptable, too.

9

Sorry I wasn’t clear - the kittens were several weeks old and already used to people. The cat also had not been near the kittens for more than a few seconds between the attack and the vet visit.

Anyway, I told my wife that she would have to be shampooed with flea shampoo last night, and she asked why we couldn’t just give her a dose of the systemic anti-flea and tick stuff (Frontline IIRC). Would this work?

10

Personally, I’d do Frontline* but I would dose all the cats as a precaution. Can you run a flea comb through her and see if there’s any flea dirt?

[sub]*IANAV but have TNR’d many a feral. [/sub]