# What should I do?



## kh (Jun 14, 2008)

Hello everyone I have a question about what I should do about my cat Livingston.
We've recently been feeding a stray that hangs around our house,
After feeding him we always wash our hands very well and sterilize any dishes he has eaten out of,but my sister accidentally left the bowl he had eaten out of on the kitchen table it still had a bit of dry food left in it.
My Mom came in the kitchen a bit later and saw Livingston eating out of it.
We have two other cat's in our household and my question is should we separate him from the other cat's?
Do you think there's a high chance he could have gotten some unknown disease from it?
Or should I stop worrying so much?
I know there is some sort of chance but do you think it's anything to worry about?
I'll be nervously waiting for any answers


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Hi and welcome.
There is always a chance of indoor cats catching something from outdoor cats, but as long as the stray looks healthy (_not rib-thin with weepy eyes, coughing and spiky fur_) I don't think I'd be too worried. 
But that is just me. 
If the stray is in terrible condition (_health-wise, not just a lack of food/care_) you may want to seperate Livingston from your other cats and take him in for a vet checkup right away.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I think it would be wise to have the stray cat tested. I would isolate him from Livingston until the test results come in. How kind of you to care for him.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I believe her cats (indoor) are seperated from the stray cat (outdoor). The concern arose from a family member bringing inside a bowl of food the stray cat ate out of and then her cat Livingston was seen eating out of it. She wanted to know if she should keep L'ston seperated from her other indoor cats because he ate out of the stray cat's bowl.

I do agree if you plan on keeping/caring for the stray cat, I'd see about having it tested for common cat diseases, spay/neuter and vaccinations from a low-cost clinic. If you can't keep it, maybe you could see about finding it a foster situation or no-kill shelter so it could find a permanant home.
Good luck!
h


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## kh (Jun 14, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies  Since the stray looks okay ,the stray also hadn't been eating out of that bowl for a few hours at least and since Livingston had only eaten a bite or two (there didn't seem to be any missing at all from the bowl and there was only about a quarter of a cup in there to begin with)we've decided we're probably being overly cautious and have decided to let him out with the rest of our cat's.

We're definitely going to bring the stray to a vet soon to have him tested we've just been trying to get him use to us so we can trap him,we're also thinking about keeping him once we get the okay from the vet


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Yay for the stray kitty! ...that is how we got many of our own cats...by feeding them as strays and falling in love with them when they decided to trust us. We've been very lucky, in California and here in Georgia the stray cats that came our way have all been healthy. When we lived in Washington state for two years, the town we lived in had a terrible problem with FIV and FELV so we were very careful.


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## kh (Jun 14, 2008)

One of the cat's we have we took in as a stray and he has never had any health problem's, poor Gizmo we lived out in the country and our dog found him in a pile of wood he was only six month's old  
We've also socialized a batch of feral kittens so we're not new to taking in feral cat's  
Does anyone know of a low cost vet clinic in Ottawa,Ontario,Canada I know of a neutering clinic in Ottawa but no Vet Clinic,I've tried searching online and the phone book but no luck :roll:


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Perhaps one of these can help:

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/300198

http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=163# ... and_Canada


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