Читать книгу The Cat Handbook - Karen Leigh Davis - Страница 29

Sometimes, it is the cat that finds and adopts a new owner, instead of the other way around. We’ve all heard variations of the typical scenario: A scraggly stray shows up on your doorstep, hungry, perhaps even hurt or sickly. The pathetic plight of such a homeless creature pulls at your heartstrings, so you set food out for him, which is, of course, an invitation to the cat to stay.

Countless cats are cruelly abandoned each year when their owners move, die, or simply grow tired of them and give them the boot. While it’s hard to imagine how people can be so irresponsible and cold-hearted as to leave a cat on the side of the road or to move away and abandon the animal to fend for himself, the sad reality is that this happens all too often. Most homeless strays suffer a meager existence and eventually die from disease or starvation, or they end up being hit by cars or killed by other animals. Only a lucky few happen upon the yards and homes of kind-hearted folks who eventually take them in.

Before taking in a stray, however, make sure he is genuinely homeless, and not just a neighborhood pet looking for an extra handout. Ask around or advertise in the Lost and Found section of your newspaper. If the cat is lost, the original owner may come forward and claim him. If the cat is tame enough to let you safely handle him without him scratching and biting, check for any form of pet identification–collar, ear tag, or tattoo (usually on a rear inner thigh). Some owners have tiny microchips implanted between the pet’s shoulder blades. These can be detected by a special scanner, which your area’s animal shelter may have.

If you do happen to find a homeless stray, there are some special precautions you should take.

• Warning: Assume that the cat has had no vaccinations, including rabies, and approach the animal cautiously, for your safety.

• Wear thick gloves if you handle or pick up the animal the first time. Many abandoned cats revert to the wild after only a short period without human contact, and they will fight fiercely if captured.

• If you have other cats, do not expose them to the stray until he has been checked by a veterinarian and quarantined from your animals for at least a week, preferably two, to make sure the stray isn’t incubating a contagious disease. Before bringing the stray into your home, capture him if you can do so safely and take him to a veterinarian immediately for a thorough examination.

• If you intend to keep the animal, request that he be checked for parasites and tested for FeLV and FIV. If the latter tests come back positive, you will be faced with a difficult decision, as you will not want to take an infected animal home and expose your other healthy cats to him. If you have no other cats at home, you will want to weigh the costs of providing ongoing medical care for a sick animal before you definitely decide to keep it. FeLV-and FIV-infected cats can live a long time with their chronic conditions. Your veterinarian can tell you what to expect.

• If the animal checks out as healthy, have him vaccinated for rabies and feline respiratory diseases right away, and follow any other vaccination plan your veterinarian recommends.

• If the cat is an intact male, have him neutered to reduce the incidence of spraying and fighting.

• In the case of a female foundling, it may be difficult to tell whether she has already been spayed. So, you may want to keep her inside and wait awhile to see whether she goes into heat or displays any signs of pregnancy.