Vaccinating an adult (stray) cat

[OrangeBlossomsinthesun]

We´re trying to work out if we can adopt a stray cat. Almost certainly unvaccinated. How long does it take to vaccinate an adult cat (about 2 years old)? Can they just have all the jabs they need or do you need set times between each one?

I think you start from the beginning, the vet will tell you. Thank you for caring. See my post about a stay cat, and the difference you could make to his life.

Make sure you get him scanned for a chip.

My cat is a former semi-feral/stray and I have her vet record from rescue, and as well as vaccinating they also blood tested for FIV and FELV. There were 3 weeks between jabs. You'll also need to worm and flea.

But do you know if they can just have them all? It's a she, we know she has no chip because we've seen her around since she was a kitten but never been able to catch her. She's become friendly recently and I think she would be able to be adopted. But we are going away for a week in the summer so we would need her to be fully vaccinated to be able to put her in the cattery for a week with our existing cat, assuming it all goes okay and they get on once properly introduced (I know about how to do that in stages).

If she can't be fully vaxed by mid July I'm not sure how to go about adopting her. We can't cancel our trip.

Oh thank you. Three weeks might be doable, hoping to get her seen by a vet next Friday and going away 13th July

Yes, I know she needs to be tested for stuff too before she can be introduced to my cat (was a rescue too but as a kitten)

Yes, it's 3 weeks from the first jab for the booster to be done. Do you need a trap to catch her? A local rescue might lend you one. Or are you confident of catching her and putting her in an ordinary cat carrier?

I´ll be able to catch her, she lets us pick her up. A friend is going to help me with it all as she has contacts with a rescue and a vet that works with them. We´re in Spain, but I think the jabs are all the same.

Sounds doable. You’ll need to confine her to barracks overnight and make a fuss of her in case the trip upsets her.

Could you book a pet sitter service instead to come to your house each day and feed her while you are away? She wouldn't need to be jabbed in time then. Depends where you live but there are plenty of services that do this, e.g. Home Loving Cats

Oh just realised you are in Spain

Yes, if we do adopt her and can't get her vaxed in time I'd have to try to do that.

Two vaccines, 3 weeks apart is the standard UK protocol, I imagine the vaccines in Spain are likely to be the same - and spay ASAP or you might end up with more than one new cat
I'd advised starting them as soon as you can as I'd suggest having both done before introducing to your existing cat.
It may be an idea to house them separately in cattery though - they may be happy sharing a house/apartment by then, but a cat run may not give them enough separate space.

Our current cat is neutered and she would be an indoor cat, like he is. Well he's indoor but has access to our back patio with high walls, and isn't allowed out on to it once we go to bed. That's a good point about them not necessarily being happy to share in the cattery.

So, NDN woke me up at 9 am to say girl cat had brought her 4 kittens round and "what the fuck do I do?" hahahaha. So, they are currently in a large box on my front porch so girl cat can get to them and I´m trying to find homes for them.

Oh what an update! Well done you for stepping in and helping them.
She could become pregnant very quickly (or possibly already be pregnant again), so I'd recommend prioritising spaying so you don't have yet more hungry mouths to feed & find homes for.

That's a bit of a shock😲😆. How old are the kitties?

Not really sure. 6 or 7 weeks. They are eating solid food. Someone in my daughter's class has taken one, they use the same vet as us and live round the corner. Someone else who has been looking for a cat has decided to take 2 next Friday so now I just need one more person for the 4th kitten.

That's too young to leave mum, they should be 8 weeks at the very least.

Have the kittens had any socialisation with humans and being in a house? If they are feral then they need careful care.

And please book mum in for spaying asap, it's quite possible she's pregnant again already which would not be good for her well-being at all, but she can still be spayed even if she is.

I know but I am doing the best I can. The person who took one last night is taking it to the vet today and will do whatever he recommends. There is no one to help. I've been in touch with the local associations and they can't help, they're already completely overwhelmed. I work full time and have my own anxious cat who is now getting stressed because he can't go on his patio as normal. They're on my back patio since last night. Good thing too as they've just this minute learned to climb out of the largest box I have. If I can find people to look after them then I need that help because I don't really have the facilites to look after them except very emergency short term.

All four kittens were rehomed, 2 of them together. The mother cat is being adopted next week!

Adopted by ypu? Thats fantastic news. We need photos though or else it didnt happen😃

No, we can´t keep her. Our cat is anxious and suffers stress cystitis and our vet said it was a really bad idea. Also, he goes out but only onto a closed patio and she will want to be able to roam more than that. But we paid for her to be spayed and today finally found someone to adopt her, about 30 minutes from where we are. She´s going on Thursday. Meanwhile, she´s living on our back patio, although even post operatively she´s worked out how to escape. Luckily she appears at the front in the morning looking for food and so I just stick her back on the patio for the day.

This is her.

Wow she’s beautiful what a kind thing you have done.