Taking in strays.

[britishbandit]

I know I'm not the only person here that has taken in a stray. Last year I took in 2 stray cats. One of them was reunited with his owner, the other I ended up taking to a cat rescue. Both times I did this, I made sure that the strays weren't in contact with my own pets. Even though my pets are all vaccinated, it still worried me and I didn't want to take any chances. There is also the chance they may have zoonoses (diseases that can be passed to humans). Call me cautious, but even after touching these cats, I washed my hands with antibacterial soap before touching my pets, and after the cats left, the rooms they were kept in were also disinfected.

"Oscar", the first cat I took in, was really matted up and a bit dirty but otherwise looked very healthy and free from fleas. "Bob", the young kitten I took in was not in great health. He seemed to have been attacked by another animal, had small bites out of his ears, a broken leg, and had a few fleas (not infested, but did have them).

I don't seem to be able to turn a blind eye when I see a stray, especially those that literally look starved, or have been injured. But I do try and be as careful as I can having them in the same home as my pets. If either of these cats would've been sticking around for any length of time, whether it was to find the owners, or to foster them myself until a home could be found, I most certainly would have gotten them vet checked before allowing them to interact with my crew.

So I guess I'm just curious as to how many of you have taken in or would take in strays, and have/did you consider the risks of doing so? While Bandit and Chubby are now vaccinated, they weren't when they were strictly indoor cats. I know quite a few people who don't vaccinate their indoor cats, so taking in strays in that situation is even more risky.

Please don't think I'm trying to deter anyone from taking in a stray, just be careful if you do, and if you can, get the animal checked out by a vet if you aren't planning on taking it to a rescue and are going to have it interacting with your pets. It is awesome that people do help out strays, but don't put your own pets at risk in doing so.

[Ritz459]

I wouldn't hesitate to bring in a stray. Honestly, I've never thought about health being an issue, but then again, the strays we have taken in have been when we haven't had any other animals, or were healthy.

I don't remember this, I was two, but our very first pet was a stray cat named Spike. She showed up on our doorstep and we fed her and let her inside our laundry room. She ended up being pregnant, thus Rush. She was a pretty dilute calico and was smart too; she learned how to open the laundry room to let herself in and out as she pleased. lol

Our second pet was also a stray...Blackie. A friend of the family had picked him up off the streets. He had been dumped as he was wearing a collar. After two weeks of keeping Blackie and not having their found ads answered, they gave him to us.

A stray that I took in (I was...six? five?) was Brownie, Rose's mom (an ACD/GSD mix). She had been dumped and wandered across a lane of traffic and three corn feilds to our house. I took a liking to her and I begged my mom and dad to let me feed her. They said sure, if she sticks around for a couple of days. She did, and after trying to figure out if she had an owner, we decided to keep her. She was healthy and a very sweet doggy.

[Punkygirl0101]

I have taken in TONS of strays. Whether it was a cat or a dog. And I will continue doing it!

[mrsgrubby]

I would take in a stray as well

[roman]

my first dog was a stray she was born outside and was only about a month old when i took her home and i was 5 or 6 but i didn't have max or obiously niko

i've taken in a lot of strays from dogs to birds just no cats as most of them are feral and run away if i get too close.

but i would take precaustions like you did even though with sandy she was introduced to max and niko only after a few hours

[Punkygirl0101]

I have only had one bad experience with a stray dog. We took in a stray, pregnant husky mix of the street (We had 4 dogs at the time, 2 dachshunds, a toy poodle, and a dachshund/poodle mix..Harry is the only one we still have). She seemed like such a sweet dog, got along good with all the other dogs, great with people. She had 13 puppies..all found new homes. Then she got pregnant again! SHE jumped over the fence into our neighbors yard, where their dog was chained. While she was pregnant that time, she attacked our toy poodle (was 14 years old, my mom had him years before I was even born) and instantly killed him. And then attacked our poodle/dachshund mix and she had to be put to sleep on the spot at the E.V.. My mom made the decision to have Heidi (the husky mix) PTS at the vet. Which also killed whatever puppies she had inside of her.

[DogLover8]

I get nervous around strays too. I have never taken in a stray animal yet. I have had to find a dog's owner once. The Brittany followed my brothers home without them noticing.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

I do a health check to the best of my ability before bringing the animal into my home (check for external parasites, discharge, anything unusual), and then keep it away from my other pets (usually in a bathroom or the laundry room--somewhere with tile). I don't have room to keep strays anymore so they aren't usually in my home long enough to worry about taking them to the vet for a vet exam.

It also helps to try and educate yourself about communicable diseases (species specific, cross species, and animal to human) since you never know when you'll run across a stray animal. Having the number of animal control and a few misc. resources you're able to look up (wildlife rehab, particular rescues, etc.) in mind always comes in handy, too.