is it dangerous to keep a feral cat?

Question

yeah so a wild cat came into my backyard and i wanted to know if keeping it was dangerous. i mainly want to know the chances of it having a disease. thanks

is it free to go to a cat and vaccinate it?

Answer 1

We feed the ferals here and have not had a problem with cat to human disease transfer, there are few things other than parasites that a cat can give you.

If the cat has a cat disease, it can use help dealing with it--they need food and water on a regular basis to stay as healthy as they can. FIV isn't bad, we have two we took in as strays who were FIV positive, but they've been doing fine and we've had them 9 years now (there's new research on FIV, a couple of good FIV groups on yahoo groups too).

FeLV is more dangerous (to cats), they don't live as long as ones who are not infected with feline leukemia, but you can keep them healthy for a long time with luck.

Any parasites are completely treatable.

The ferals here, they don't even have ear mites. We don't have feline leukemia in our area, just FIV, and I woulnd't hesitate trying to tame them down outside. We do have two who were adoptable after we worked with them. They are pretty skittish at first, so you have to have a LOT of patience, they've been scared and are trying to survive, they don't act as calm as domestic cats do.

Hudson turned out to be a real sweetie, and Fred is cool even if he is obnoxious and never learned all the house rules here. They moved in with our three indoor cats and all five are perfectly fine with each other. I think it took Fred 3 years to stop 'pretend biting' at me (he needed space, I did check every week to see how much he was adapting to close contact with humans). Hudson was so injured that he just accepted anything around him, as we helped him heal from a broken hip and ripped back.

A true feral would take years to trust someone, but a half wild stray could make a good pet with patience and kindness.

Answer 2

There is a 8/10 chances that it has a disease, because feral cats do not get the vaccinations of a tame cat with owners.If you can catch it take it to the local vet for a checkup, before you bring it into your house. DO NOT HANDLE THE CAT WITHOUT GLOVES! Feral cats will bit and scratch you.You can keep it, but be prepared to do alot of work. You need to build a cage for it or keep it in a room, where people do not go in and out all of the time. You then need to be prepared to spend a few hours a day in the room or cage getting it used to you.

Answer 3

OK, just because a cat is a stray does not necessarily mean it's feral. Will this cat come to you? Will he let you touch him? If he is afraid of you but you REALLY want to keep him, try feeding him. Do it on a schedule so he'll know when to come, and see if you can build his trust to where he will let you touch him.
If he trusts you already, or if you are able to get him to trust you, you will need to find a suitable cage to catch him. Place food in the cage/carrier so that he will go in. This might take a while, but once he is in, take him to the vet for a checkup.

A true stray/feral cat, who has been on the streets for a long time, CAN be host to all kinds of diseases, including feline leukemia and FIV (Feline Inmunodeficiency Virus), both of which are very contagious to unvaccinated cats. They can also carry chlamydia (as an eye infection), which IS contagious to humans, along with all sorts of skin infections. He might have parasites, too.

Please don't let him scratch you, as the chances for you getting cat scratch disease (similar to Lyme disease) is pretty high.

You will have to take him to a vet to get checked for all of the above. If he tests possitive for leukemia, he might have to be euthanised at some point, as it is a terminal disease in cats. If he is positive for FIV, there is treatment available which will extend his life comfortably, but he will have to be an only cat. Most other conditions can be treated. But this will probably entail a pricey vet bill, depending on whether this cat needs treatment for anything and how serious a condition might be. You will still have to pay for the check-up and the testing.

Then come the vaccinations. No, these are not free. You can get them at a lower cost at your local pet shelter, but not for free. And no, you can't do it yourself-you need a prescription for the vaccinations. You will also need to spay/neuter this cat-it will help control spraying and aggressive behavior. This can also be done for a lower cost at the shelter/Humane Society/Animal Control (as low as $40, sometimes free-ask around).

If this cat is truly feral and is afraid of you, I honestly would not bother. A lot of feral cats never adjust to living indoors with people-it terrifies them and they lead extremely unhappy lives. The best thing you could do would be to have it neutered and set it free again, and leave him be. Feed him if you want, but if this cat does not trust you, I don't think the expenses you'd tally in trying to keep him would be worth it.

If he trusts you and you love him, then by all means do try - I did it with a stray kitten I found who had been born to a feral mother, and she is the most lovable, adorable cat my family has ever had.

But if he is truly feral and will not trust you, why not go to the shelter and adopt a cat in need of a home? He or she will already be spayed/neutered and with his/her shots up-to-date-all this for $40-$60.

Answer 4

When I was a child I had 2 cats walk up to me on separate occasions. Neither were dangerous or vicious, one needed medical care for a hernia. The other one seemed to be abused because he was very skitish and scared. He ended up only coming to me, he hid from everyone else. What you should do if you want to keep this cat is definitely take it to the vet so it can get a full exam and all it's shots. It may have medical issues that need to be taken care of too. It's safe to keep a stray as long as it is checked over before you bring it into your house. My 2 strays ended up being great pets.
If you are keeping this cat as a pet, it probably won't be free to see the vet because you are accepting it as your pet and it's now your responsibility. Most states offer coupons for getting pets spayed or neutered at a lower the cost... check with your local animal shelter or vet for more information on that. Good luck with the kitty!

Answer 5

Borrow a trap and take the cat to a vet to have it spayed/neutered and checked over and possilby given a vaccination for rabies. Have the bulk of the healing done at the office, then release the cat. Don't dump the cat in a new territory. You should spay/neuter the cat even if you don't want it around, but there are products you can spray to keep it away from your house if you don't want it around. Don't try to tame a feral cat to bring inside.

If you have indoor cats, don't touch that cat and make sure your indoor kitties are current on their vaccinations. DO catch, spay/neuter, and then release the cat. Then treat outside the house to keep the feral away so it doesn't upset your indoor kitties.

Answer 6

The chances of a feral cat having a disease is pretty good. There are all types of communicable diseases that a feral cat is likely to have from contact with animals in the wild. Other cats can pass on the HIV virus, the Herpes Virus and fleas and ticks. A feral cat is best loved at a distance. They are capable of mauling young children and may even feel feisty enough to take on an adult. This is why spaying and neutering is so important so that we are not overrun by a feral cat population attacking us in the parks and alleys of urban environments. They might wreak havoc on the rodent population though, making restaurateurs happy, but few others. In ancient Egypt cats were worshiped for their ability to keep grain silos rodent free. I get my food from the refrigerator so my cats don't have much to do there. They came with a clean bill of health from the shelter though, and have had all their shots, the both of them. If you want a cat, go to the shelter, they make better pets.

Answer 7

It is not dangerous. Even if he has a disease, that would be a cat disease, nothing you could catch. If you can put de-worming medication in his food, it would be great. Also, if you can catch him, you should vaccinate him and de-flea him, for his own health.
Finally, regarding toxoplasma, the only thing he may have which can pass to humans, you need to eat his poo to get it, so I gather you won't. 99,9% of people who get toxoplasma is because of uncooked meat of pigs usually, whi dig up cat poo. Even if you do get it, that is only a problem for pregnant women.

Answer 8

The only way to know if its healthy is to take it to a vet. In my family all but 1 of our cats was a stray cat. They have all be healthy.

Answer 9

best way to check if the cat has diseases is to take it to the vet. my first cat was feral and he turned out to be the best cat i ever had. thought he was a dog. hehe.