My neighbor moved and gave me her outdoor cat.
He spends most of his time hunting my property, sleeping, eating and drinking in my garage.
A terrific hunter, his kills often appear in the garage.
My question concerns his immunizations.
What shots should Sam get?
He has part of an ear scratched up, so I know he is a scrapper

Did your neighbor give you his medical records or get name too? That would help solve your question. He should get a rabies, distemper and feline Lukimia shot if he hasn't had them.

I agree with the above. See if the vet wants to deworm as well.

As others have posted,Vet trip is mandatory. And as an owner (more or less) of outdoor cats, I learned not to get attached to them. They often don't last long.
They are like an old west gunfighter. They may be good, but sooner or later, something better or faster will do them in.

quote:

Originally posted by ugeesta:
Did your neighbor give you his medical records or get name too? That would help solve your question. He should get a rabies, distemper and feline Lukimia shot if he hasn't had them.

I hope he doesn't already have feline leukemia or HIV. But semi-wild cats often get exposed.

Hopefully it's already fixed/neutered/spayed/etc.

Don't need lots of outdoor cats. Especially if you want any songbirds...

The vet will be able to give you a concrete answer based on your individual situation, but here's what I've learned from owning an indoor/outdoor cat. He's now indoor only except for brief bits of supervised playtime outside - got scared of losing him to a car or coyote.

Anyway, there are two shots recommended for every cat (core vaccines), no matter the indoor/outdoor status. Rabies is the primary one. It should be done yearly, although there is a 3 year vaccine available depending on local laws and your vet's preference. The other is FVRCP, commonly called the distemper vaccine. It covers several common viruses, including the one that causes the very contagious, very deadly feline distemper. Frequency on that one varies from every 1-3 years again based on your vet's preference and the cat's situation/history.

If you don't have any vet history or proof of previous rabies vaccine from the neighbor, those two are the "MUST DOs," sooner rather than later.

The other vaccines are "non-core" and only given when it makes sense to do so based on the cat's lifestyle and other risk factors. My indoor-outdoor got the FeLV (feline leukemia virus) vaccine because we knew he was probably interacting with neighborhood cats and some ferals. Outdoor cats almost certainly need that one. We didn't give him the FIV (think "cat HIV") because the vet said that one doesn't work as well and can make it hard to test if the cat actually has the virus later on vs. a false positive from the vaccine. Risks outweighed the benefit for us, but if yours is outdoor only it might make more sense.

God smiles on those who help lesser creatures.

And so do I

My barn cats didn't go to the vet at all.
Life is .....
Minimum if you take it is rabies 1yr. 100.oo

Blood work and all that will be 300.oo.

Do you have any animal clinics that specialize in cheap spay/neuter? They usually do the required shots as well. I trap outdoor cats by my area, get them spayed/neutered, quick shots/vaccines and turn them back loose. The clinics charge me $79 each time. I'm allergic or I'd keep them. This keeps them from overpopulating my neighborhood.

There has been a large neutered cat living on my porch for years. He comes in to eat and sometimes in the worst of winter but otherwise lives in a crate, heated in the winter. Except for a UTI, when he kept pissing himself, he's been usually healthy. When he was pissing all over the place, I changed his crate linens 3x a day, up from the usual 6x a year.

Sometimes he is a little under the weather, and will stay in the basement under the steps for a couple days. Something gross will appear in a litter box I keep down there for the yearly occasion, and then he's back outside.

So it is up to you. Some say yes, some are indifferent. My ex-wife's indoor cat was to the vet once, as a kitten, and never again. At 11 years 3 months, she is in good health.

My neighbor tried taking a Maine Coon of mine to the vet out in California. For no particular reason, it turned out. The cat flipped out, slipped a collar/leash arrangement, and found a new home near the County Landfill.

quote:

Originally posted by Haveme1or2:
My barn cats didn't go to the vet at all.
Life is .....
Minimum if you take it is rabies 1yr. 100.oo

Blood work and all that will be 300.oo.

Those numbers sound high, at least for my area. I'm sure there are some vets who charge that much, but with a few phone calls I bet he can find a vet practice with more reasonable fees. Most are glad to tell you upfront what the costs are for a typical exam and standard vaccinations. Also, don't just check the vets - the local animal shelter or humane society might have days where they offer low-cost vaccines.

The vet I take my animals to has one day a week where they do a "community wellness clinic" for those who just want standard preventative care without the bells and whistles. A 1-year rabies shot is around $18, FVRCP is $14. A feline leukemia/FIV test is $35. The basic exam is quick and free since you don't directly interact with the doctor, only the vet tech who brings the pet to and from the back office. Great for people like my parents who just want to be in and out with up to date shots. My cat has some chronic health issues that I like to talk to the vet about, so I just do regular appointments for him.

Any chance of making him an indoor cat? They live a lot longer, and I'd bet stay healthier as well, meaning fewer and less expensive trips to the Vet.

If you can't do it, maybe a neighbor or friend, or as a last resort, a no-kill shelter.

We had a cat that my girlfriend insisted had to stay outside because she didn't think he'd get along with our indoor cats. Poor guy got killed at about 1 year old, and I swore I'd never allow that again.

I have 4 "regular" outdoor-only cats, 3 of which have been fixed (one male has not). I feed them, provide water and shelter, but don't consider them pets, so I don't do periodic vet visits for them (I probably wouldn't be able to catch some of them). One, "Little Mother", has been with me now since 2005 and was the mother of 4 of my "indoor" cats (one now dead). Another outdoor cat, "Little White Mother" died last year--she'd been fixed and was the mother of my indoor cat "Smudge" (20-lb long-haired white cat); she died of feline HIV.

A week or so ago my yard was visited a couple of times by a tiny gray kitten, that was so skittish it ran off if I even looked at it through my kitchen window. I've not seen it for several days and fear it's been killed. There are raccoons in the area--3 young ones have been to my feed bowls recently.

I can't afford to make pets of all the cats that appear in my yard. All my 7 "indoor" cats were born to feral mothers in or near my back yard (just 6 now), and I have a hard enough time trying to keep them properly doctored.

flashguy