I don't know what to do about kitty!

[Krystal]

Me and Josh live in a very small apartment with our two rats.

There's a cat we've seen for quite a while now outside.  (I'll refer to her as "she", even though we're not sure).  She's a beautiful black cat.  She's gotta be a stray though.  She's always starving and so dirty it's hard for me to even pet her.  And thirsty!  (it's about 112 here).  

We've started feeding her.  She comes around and meows at our door alot. We're the only people who can get near her, and she loves being pet.  

Last night when we opened out door to come in, she ran in!  We grabbed her and took her back out.

We've gotten attached to this kitty.  The problem is, we've got rats.  If she has fleas, can they be passed on to the rats?  Are there any other diseases a stray cat can give to rats?

We just don't know what to do!  I could take her in to the vet, get her tested and cleaned up.  But our apartment is so small!  And I don't want to feel as if I'm taking attention away from the rats by getting a cat.

I'm at a loss as to what to do.

[Marybelle]

Well, it sounds like you have a cat, whether you want one or not.    We have 2 cats and 8 rats.  They all get attention, and our apartment isn't huge, but the cats never go outside, and they deal with it very well.  

Fleas can be passed on, but there are things you can do about them.  Get some advantage and put it on the kittty before you bring her inside.  As far as other diseases, most are very species specific.  I'm not positive, but I don't think there's much she could pass on to them, any more than she could pass it on to you.  

If she trusts you enough that you can pick her up, you might want to get her to a vet while you can, and make sure she's healthy, and spayed/neutered.  Get her shots so that she doesn't cat anything.  She probably won't like you a whole lot after you're done (maybe get her a bath while she's there?), but she'll get over it, and you'll both feel better for it.  

Good luck!

[Ensie]

I have a cat and two rats. My cat is trained (well, as much as possible for a cat) to leave the rats alone. When I have "Ratland" set up (i.e., lots of bankies thrown all over the sofa), then my cat knows that he can't jump up on the sofa and that he has to sleep in my chair. He's pretty good about it, but then I've had my cat since he was a kitten.

If you adopt this cat, I would be very careful because you don't know its history. If it's a stray, then rats could very well represent food to the cat. You can try putting the rats in a separate room so you can shut the door when you let them out. But it is still really important to be extra careful.

For fleas, I give my cat and my dog flea drops. I use the Frontline brand. It works really well. My cat is an inside kitty, but my dog stays in the back yard a lot of the time and we go out for walks. So it's possible for my dog to bring something back that's harmful for my rats. But it's never happened.

If you decide to adopt this cat, I'd say that it should be fine once you make sure it's healthy and you have found a set-up that works to keep your rats safe and secure.

Good luck!

[kim]

first thing i would do before taking her in is take her to the vet --
get her tested for felv/fiv first, if the cat is spayed or neutered, how old it is, etc. get her vaccinated. see if she has intestinal parasites.

if she has fleas, she can definitely pass them on to rats and all over your house. frontline and advantage will work, but they arent immediate. capstar can be given to the cat and it will kill the fleas sooner, but it will need to be followed up with other treatment. the cat can also pass on intestinal parasites (worms) to your rats as well. i wouldnt let her in the house until you have had her tested for things, as if she is unhealthy (And as you said she carries fleas) that can be a big problem for you.

[CRYROLFE]

We show cats, rescue cats, and share our home with them lots of rats, 2 dogs, and some fish.

When we first got into rats, we introduced them to the cats and they seemed mildly curious, but not a threat.
My 8yr old had her own rat named Curious George. She would watch TV with him after school for at least an hour everyday.

One day, our BSH kitten was stalking the rat on my daughter's lap w/o her knowing about it. In an instant, the kitten (4months old) swooped up the rat by the front of his neck and ran for the basement! By the time we caught up to her, the rat was already smothered.

Since then, we never have trusted the cats fully around them. We only take them out with the cats put away.  
Rats need more attention than our cats who sleep with us every night.

Now, since the rats are set up in the basement where the cats eat and hang out...they have grown accustomed to each other.  Twice now a rat has escaped with all the cats sitting right there, and they never even paid any attention.  

As far as your cat goes (and if u feed her, she's yours now)...take her to the vet ASAP.  Check her for a micro-chip, test her for Leukemia, bring a stool sample if possible, get her Frontline or Advantage, and get her spayed.  She may have earmites too. Wait if possible on the bath, that'll be VERY stressful.  After all of that, never let her out again, or all your hard work will be a waste.  You'll feel really bad later if she winds up pregnant.

Good Luck,
Crystal

[Krystal]

As far as your cat goes (and if u feed her, she's yours now

hahaha.....sorta like if you break it, you bought it?

I get the feeling we're going to end up with a cat in here.  We discuss it every night.  We want to make sure we can afford to give her the care she needs too.  We've already decided that if she tests positive for FLV or FIV we're keeping her anyway (some people won't, but we don't have other cats to infect).  

I just always feel like my rats will look at me and think "don't they love us anymore?  They had to get this big cat because we weren't enough for them"

We're trying to come up with a name

[Ali]

We've already decided that if she tests positive for FLV or FIV we're keeping her anyway (some people won't, but we don't have other cats to infect).  

I took in a stray cat who was already infected with FIV. Luckily I didn't have other cats at the time either. I had him a year to the day before he died of a lung tumour, but I still think it was one of the best things I ever did.

I'd say that the only big downside of having a cat with FIV is the issue of what to do with him/her if you go on holiday or whatever. If you can get someone to come in and look after the cat for you, that's great. Otherwise it gets tricky. They need to be exposed to as little stress and risk of infection as possible.

Boarding homes won't normally touch them with a bargepole, and people with other cats aren't able to have them in the house with either. Just something to be aware of....

Hopefully she'll be free of it anyway (it's usually stray Toms who are most at risk).

Good luck - she's one very lucky cat!