Adopting a kitten that''s never been to the vet?

[SoonIHope]

My boyfriend and I are looking around for a kitten to adopt (mainly on craigslist), and our front runner at the moment is a 12 week old black kitten that someone has been taking care of for a couple weeks since his friend didn''t know what to do with all of the kittens that her cat had. So the guy we would be adopting it from has been living with this kitten for almost three weeks and says that he "seems perfectly healthy," even though he has never been to the vet. How much of a risk is that? Would you ever adopt a kitten who has never had any previous vet visits? That means no de-worming, no shots.... I would be willing to pay the extra vet bills for shots and regular things, but I''m just concerned that the kitten might have some other type of health issue that this guy doesn''t know about. Would you adopt a kitten with this background, or try to find one that had at least had one round of shots and a basic checkup?

Thanks!!

 

[Lorelei]

Yes I would, with any kitten you take a chance that it isn''t healthy, but a full vet work up can spot most things. I would adopt this kitten, but the first thing I would do is to get it blood tested for feline leukaemia, feline aids etc which your vet can do easily with quick results. A faecal worm egg screen would be needed and a wormer probably necessary plus a good flea treatment as routine. Have you seen the kitten, if so does it look bright and clean eyed, rear end clean, any sneezing, playful, up to weight and eating well etc?

 

[Angel7]

I found my kitten in the back of my workplace just hanging out on the railroad tracks and I "adopted" her and brought her to the vet for the first time. She''ll be turning 4 this year!
Love her to death!

Good Luck!

 

[SoonIHope]

Thanks for the advice Lorelei. I haven''t seen the kitten yet - I''m just going by the current owner''s "appears to be in perfect health" and this photo he sent me. I would think that if he had any of those symptoms you''re describing, he wouldn''t consider him to seem perfectly healthy, but who knows, he could just be saying that to me because he knows people would be less likely to adopt a kitten who isn''t healthy. It would just break my heart though if as soon as we fell in love with him, we found out he had any serious health issues...especially since this will be my boyfriend''s first cat and he''s a little nervous about the responsibility involved so I want him to have an extremely positive experience to prepare him for the lifetime of cats I expect to have.

 

[Lorelei]

He 's a little darling!

Try not to worry too much, the worst case scenario is that he could test positive for leukaemia or aids, but at least you would know straight away and there are people who will adopt these cats depending if they have no other healthy ones, or ones who have been already diagnosed to give them some love and a happy life. It also depends on the vet's advice and their own personal feelings. We had a leukaemia cat who had enormous tumours but lived for 6 years after diagnosis

I don't think there is much risk involved that he hasn't yet been to the vet, most kittens don't see a vet until they are about 8 weeks anyway for the first shot. Anyway, this is unlikely he would have these diseases and he is probably absolutely fine! I doubt his current " Dad" would not be honest about him being healthy. There is no reason in the world that he should be sick or have any hidden illnesses, you will take a chance with any kitten or cat, so if you fall in love with him, cuddle him up, take him home and enjoy many happy years with him! Give him a cuddle from me too while you are about it!

 

[SoonIHope]

You''re making me feel so much better about it Lorelei, and now I''m getting really excited!!! I can''t wait!!!!!!!

But...my boyfriend just surprised me with something that seems pretty random to me. He said he really doesn''t want to get a black kitten, since my parents have always had black cats, so he won''t feel like it''s "our" cat so much as an extension of the larger group of black cats owned by my family. Doesn''t that seem odd to you?? But he apparently feels very strongly so we''re going to keep looking...although I was starting to get attached to that picture!!

Soooo cute....oh well, I''m sure we''ll find another one soon! Thanks for the advice Lorelei & Angel!!

 

[Caribou]

He/she is so cute!!!!!

I 'adopted' Sophie (black cat) from a person who found her in her backyard. She did take her to the Vet but I mean would you take a stray cat in? It would be the same. Just take him/her to the Vet and they will fix him/her (can you tell I didn't read through posts enough) up. Cats are pretty resiliant.

Congrats on your new family member, you're going to have so much fun with him/her.

 

[MelissaSue]

I think we have gotten all our cats this way. Either from barns in the neighboorhood or friends. We obviously took them to the vet shortly after we got them for shots and stuff.. but they all turned out fine!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/29/2005 11:39:27 AM
Author: Lorelei
He ''s a little darling!

Try not to worry too much, the worst case scenario is that he could test positive for leukaemia or aids, but at least you would know straight away and there are people who will adopt these cats depending if they have no other healthy ones, or ones who have been already diagnosed to give them some love and a happy life. It also depends on the vet''s advice and their own personal feelings. We had a leukaemia cat who had enormous tumours but lived for 6 years after diagnosis

I don''t think there is much risk involved that he hasn''t yet been to the vet, most kittens don''t see a vet until they are about 8 weeks anyway for the first shot. Anyway, this is unlikely he would have these diseases and he is probably absolutely fine! I doubt his current '' Dad'' would not be honest about him being healthy. There is no reason in the world that he should be sick or have any hidden illnesses, you will take a chance with any kitten or cat, so if you fall in love with him, cuddle him up, take him home and enjoy many happy years with him! Give him a cuddle from me too while you are about it!

Glad to help! Here''s an idea, how about adopting this little guy AND another kitten?

The black one can be yours and the other kitten your BF''s!!! Two mean twice the fun and they will have each other to play with! I am just disappointed because that black kitty is such a cutie and I have fallen in love with his pic!

Joking aside, let us know how you get on with your search!

 

[SoonIHope]

Yayyy, thanks for the advice everyone!!! I am getting SOOOO EXCITED!!!!

I think we''re not going to get that actual kitten, but we found an adoption group that sounds really nice, and they have lots of kittens to choose from! I just called the woman and left a message for her, so keep your fingers crossed for me!!!!

 

[monarch64]

My parents and I took in a stray kitten when I was a teenager...it ended up having FIV, or feline HIV. But he was the sweetest cat EVER, and he lived to be about 13 years old. There were some complications along the way, because he was an indoor/outdoor cat he would get cuts that wouldn''t heal and had to be taken to the bet quite often, but that was it. We also had another cat along with him and the other cat never caught the virus from him. My brother has taken in 7 strays in the past couple of years and they are all sweet. I wouldn''t hesitate to take in a stray kitty that had never been to the vet, I have never had a cat from a pet store or shelter that has come with all shots and vaccines. You''ll be fine!

 

[Lorelei]

I love to hear stories like that Monarch , where these cats are given a chance of life

It just shows what love and care can do , sometimes wonderful things. Fingers firmly crossed Albi!

 

[monarch64]

I know Lorelei, it''s so nice to hear when things turn out well for strays. The funny thing about my brother is that he grew up terrified of kitties--one jumped on his back when he was little while waiting for the schoolbus! He has morphed into this cat lover and we all think he''s a little crazy but he really enjoys them. I''m so proud of him...he and his wife have gradually gotten all of them spayed/neutered and are thinking about starting a kitty rescue!

 

[diamondsrock]

my husband''s friend had a litter of kittens and I brought two home to my mom (a boy and a girl). Ended up they both had feline fiv which I obviously didn''t know about when I took them. I was really upset at first and think they may have gotten it from the mother cat but don''t know for sure. They are indoor cats and so far so good - they are about 3 now and seem perfectly healthy. She loves them regardless of their condition but it bothers me that they have it. Also bothers me that the previous owners didn''t take the mother cat to the vet to see that she has it (or to get her fixed for that matter). I remember the mother cat looking awfully thin but didn''t think much of it. Anyways, it made me think twice about adopting a cat before knowing it''s medical background. If she had had another healthy cat at home, that healthy cat could have gotten fiv from these two. Just a thought.

 

[Blue824]

Date: 11/29/2005 12:17:04 PM
Author: MelissaSue
I think we have gotten all our cats this way. Either from barns in the neighboorhood or friends. We obviously took them to the vet shortly after we got them for shots and stuff.. but they all turned out fine!

Same here!


That black kitten is adorable, Albicocca! Too bad he won''t work out....But I''m sure it won''t take you too long to find another one that you and your bf agree on! Be sure to post pictures

 

[monarch64]

Date: 11/29/2005 6:32:11 PM
Author: diamondsrock
my husband''s friend had a litter of kittens and I brought two home to my mom (a boy and a girl). Ended up they both had feline fiv which I obviously didn''t know about when I took them. I was really upset at first and think they may have gotten it from the mother cat but don''t know for sure. They are indoor cats and so far so good - they are about 3 now and seem perfectly healthy. She loves them regardless of their condition but it bothers me that they have it. Also bothers me that the previous owners didn''t take the mother cat to the vet to see that she has it (or to get her fixed for that matter). I remember the mother cat looking awfully thin but didn''t think much of it. Anyways, it made me think twice about adopting a cat before knowing it''s medical background. If she had had another healthy cat at home, that healthy cat could have gotten fiv from these two. Just a thought.

diamondsrock, I agree that it would be ideal to know a cat''s medical background before adopting it if you are first searching out a healthy kitty. You have to take into consideration whether or not you are willing to deal with the emotional and financial issues that may occur if you get a not so healthy cat...that being said, FIV+ cats can live pretty long lives, in my case as long as some dogs, and they are happy and relatively healthy if the infection is treated and you make sure that your infected cats don''t come into contact with other healthy cats so as not to spread the disease. It''s definitely a matter of educating oneself and knowing what you are getting into IF POSSIBLE. I don''t think my parents nor I, nor your mom would trade the happiness and companionship their cats have brought into their lives for anything.

It used to bother me that my parents'' stray cat had the disease, then I ended up bringing them home a kitten I had received from an ex-boyfriend--I had no one to give it to, of course, and he didn''t want to keep it. I was so afraid my new kitten was going to contract the disease, but he never did. He is still living and my parents kept him when I went back to school (one of those long stories), now he is almost 10 years old and the apple of my father''s eye!

You should certainly always proceed with caution when adopting an animal, not only for your best interests, but for the animal''s. Sometimes circumstances don''t allow us to make as informed and educated decisions as we should, but life happens and we can only hope things will work out for the best in the end.

 

[diamondsrock]

monarch, you''re right, she and I too absolutely adore those cats. They are two of the friendliest cats I think I''ve ever seen. I guess it was just a disappointment to find out they had a health condition. But they are well cared for and stay indoors so hopefully they''ll have an average lifespan or close to it. I''m not sorry I gave them to her in any way and neither is she. Just wished they had gotten a clean bill of health I guess.

 

[monarch64]

blue, I totally understand where you''re coming from...it''s hard to see someone else potentially go through a pet nightmare when you would like to be able to prevent it. Best of luck to your mom and her kitties.http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/petcare/cats_fiv.cfm Here''s a link that may ease your mind a bit and help out your ma!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Your new kitty is adorable!! I agree that you need to make sure he has a clean bill of health. I recently adopted a cat and was thrilled when we got back her negative test results for FIV and leukemia. It puts our minds at ease. Good luck with your adoption!!! He really is a cutie!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Monarch, hooray for your brother!

It can be a hard road with these sick cats, but well worth it. With my leukaemia cat died of an embolism probably due to the chemo 6 years after the diagnosis but he had 6 very happy years with treatment of tablets and chemo every 2 months, he was 10 when he died which was a great age for a FL cat. Achio, how are BB and Smokey doing?

 

[ecf8503]

Glad to help! Here''s an idea, how about adopting this little guy AND another kitten?

The black one can be yours and the other kitten your BF''s!!! Two mean twice the fun and they will have each other to play with!

Lorelei, you give great advice (as usual!). As a cat vet, I really do feel that 2 is better than one, and you really should consider it. Kittens are very active (as we all know), and playing with another kitten or cat is the best way to teach a key concept: how hard is too hard to bite?

Kittens and cats will wrestle and kickbox each other in the face, bite each others necks, etc. This is normal. When a kitten bites another kitten, the bitee thinks "hey - that hurt!" and bites the biter back. On so on.

The companionship issue is huge (in my opinion). Imagine if roles were reversed - if humans were adopted by cats, would you want to be the only one? Or would you like to have a human friend? Same thing. I really think cats (and other animals) like companionship, and they are much less bored. They run more, play more, eat less since they have other thngs to do than eat becuase they are bored, etc. Not so much an issue right now, but in a few years when the kitten stage is over, it could be.

Keep us posted about your kitten quest - and remember: all kittens have to have a "first vet visit"!

Christine (D.V.M.)

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks ECF, I was going to PM you for your input to help Albi with her questions, I am glad you found the thread - your input here is invaluable!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Our latest kitten (see free kitty thread) was basically a stray from one of my FI's houses. He is a ghetto kitty (literally) We took him to the vet right away (the next day) and they tested him for everything and started his series of shots plus treated his fleas. We go back every 3 weeks for a total of 6 visits. Last one he will be fixed. Our older cat we got from the shelter and she already had her first shots, my sister's cat was even already fixed when she adopted her (which is pretty nice). Someone said to me that the animals choose us, we don't choose them and I really believe that. I was SO close to taking our kitten to the shelter and am SO glad I didn't. Congratulations!


ETA: I now realized you decided not to adopt him so I hope you find the right kitten for you soon because they do bring so much joy and are so fun.

 

[Lorelei]

Tacori, I was wondering how little Grayson was getting on and I hope Madison has fully recovered. I am so glad you kept the little guy! They bring so much joy and I bet he is growing like crazy now.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Date: 11/30/2005 3:22:14 AM
Author: Lorelei
Achio, how are BB and Smokey doing?

Sorry to hijack the thread, but since Lorelei asked.....

Bunny & Smokey are getting along better. We left them to fend for themselves for 48 hours and now they play and romp around more than before. They''re not best friends (like when we had Sasha), but Bunny is tolerating Smokey much more and with less growling (except when Smokey is chasing her around!). On a different note, Bunny destroyed my living room settee with her claws. Some of the SoftPaws popped off and she has been using my settee as her scratching post!!!!

I went out yesterday and bought that Sticky Tape to cover the damage and to prevent her from NOT using the settee anymore. I even put the scratching post in front of the damage to persuade her to use that....hopefully it''ll work!?!?!?!?!?! GRRRRRRRR

 

[SoonIHope]

Achio - don't worry about hijacking, I was also hoping for an update on your kitties!

Reading your and Tacori's recent cat threads played a big part in my deciding we should get a kitten NOW instead of just "soon". So thanks you guys!!!

ecf - I 100% agree with you about the companionship issue. Unfortunately, my boyfriend thinks our apartment is too small, plus this will be his first cat so I think just the idea of being responsible for a whole little creature seems daunting to him. But my plan is to get a second one as soon as he sees how great it is to have one.

OOOOOHHHHH THE WOMAN JUST CALLED ME BACK!!!!! We passed the little screening test thing and are going to visit the kitten tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a picture of our frontrunner, but they have a couple different kittens, so we're going to see which one we like best tomorrow!

 

[AndyRosse]

How exciting!

Although, I would still definitely sit your BF down and explain that cats need companionship. I regret not taking home two kittens when I adopted Rascal. My fiance and I are often gone for long periods of time, and I really feel bad for leaving him all alone. Just some food for thought.

Oh, and this second kitty is adorable, but black kitties are my FAV!!!

So I say, adopt both

hehe.

 

[decodelighted]

I missed this thread ''til now but YEA!!! This is so exciting. Your latest pick is SO, SO cute! (I''m a tish afraid of black cats

I know STUPID .. and they don''t photograph well either

and I''m all about taking pix of my cuties)

I adopted two kittens born from a stray cat through a web connection (Petfinder) and a local rescue org. that adv. through Petfinder. Originally I just wanted one cat (never had a kitten or cat before EVER) but they told me the kittens would be happier & cleaner with company and not get "overbonded" to me -- and would be happier during the day having someone else to play with. They told me they "clean" each other and that it was the cutest thing ever to watch. Well - I''m a sucker. It all worked out though! (5 years ago now)

Advantages of 1 cat/kitten: less litter, more bonding with you, less pet hair
Advantages of 2 cats/kitten: less guilt (leaving them alone), they''ve always known each other, clean each other

I will say that tri-color cats or cats with white underbellies are a little harder on the "pet hair front" because a variety of hair will show up on EVERYTHING. Tabbys or cats with similar tones'' hair dissapears at least on thing that color. My black/white/brown cats: the white hair shows up on black, the black hair on white, and the brown on everything not brown. But ya get used to it. Next car I get will def., def. have LEATHER SEATS!

Can''t wait for PIXXXXXXXXXX!!!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

How cute! Looks kind of like my Grayson except brown instead of gray. We had our first cat for five years before we got the new one so I think it is okay to get one at a time. Easier to enjoy the little moments this way. Then when you crave the baby stage you get another one! Let us know how it goes.

 

[ecf8503]

Oooooh - hair! Hair color is an issue, as of course white hair will show up on everything dark, and vice versa. BUT - some cats shed more than others. I have 7 (yes, seven) cats - 6 are long hair, and one is a short haired tabby. My short hair sheds more than all the others put together, I swear! She has a very dense haircoat. My longhairs are all different - some don''t shed much at all, some a lot. Some have very fine rabbit-like hair that gets in everything, some is coarser. They are like people - everyone''s hair is different. The comb one person uses on their short straight fine hair would never work on my longer thicker coarser curly hair.

I understand your boyfriend is apprehensive about more than one kitten at a time. But I really can say from experience that he will fee under LESS pressure if there are 2 of them - then he / you won''t be the sole source of entertainment for said baby!

Good luck -

Christine