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What To Do About a Stray Cat: Introduction
Since cats wander around outside, what
constitutes an actual stray?
MetPet.com Staff Writer
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Few of us can pass a stray cat on the street without
wanting to pick it up and find it a home. At the very least,
we want to test it for diseases, have it neutered
and vaccinated and set it on its way (which is usually as far as our
backdoor).
Since cats are tremendously
successful breeders, the number of stray cats never seems to decline
even with the best of intentions and efforts. Here are some
basics about stray cats.
- A small percentage, usually around 10% depending on
the area, have infectious diseases like FIV or FELV. These can
be transmitted to healthy, unvaccinated cats and, when vaccinations
fail, to vaccinated cats.
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- Some "strays" are just outdoor cats roaming their territory.
If they are well-groomed and well-fed, they likely have a home. If,
over time, they become thin and unkempt they are likely lost or abandoned. - Some strays are feral cats, domestic
cats reverting to their wild behavior which they do easily in a single
generation without sufficient human contact. Feral cats are difficult to
make into domestic cats and, at best, become backdoor eat-and-runners. |
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- The easiest stray to take in are pets who are lost or have been abandoned. They are
approachable and, because they have experienced a difficult life
outdoors, can become enormously affectionate pets.
- If you decide to adopt or find a home for a
stray cat, be prepared for a few hundred dollars worth of veterinary
costs plus your time and effort to incorporate the newcomer into
your home or find a new home. This isn't an easy task since
there are so many cats available but it's well worth the effort.
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