I guess we have five cats now.

[era veteran]

A Tom, abandoned it appears, ate two cans of cat food on the porch this morning.
Always room for another down here in kitty heaven, I guess.
Vet trip Tuesday.

[HopeHoops]

1. Check for feline leukemia. Even though ours are indoor cats, I have them all vaccinated for it.

We took in one about 15 years ago who was "abandoned" and he tested positive. Had to put him down. The vet said that most of the ones he gets that test positive had owners who probably knew and decided to abandon rather than pay for the euthanasia. Our two new kittens came from a barn cat colony and fortunately tested clean.

[era veteran]

3. Our cats are indoor-outdoor people, we are but butlers taking turns opening the door.

I will get our Vet to look him over and do some snipping.
We live in at the end of the road and it is a good safe place for these kitties. Our cats were all barn cats too.

[HopeHoops]

4. Ours are primarily indoor but I let my 15 year-old big boy out with us in the garden.

None of them roam freely. One of the neighbor's cats is a notorious bunny hunter. People drive through the neighborhood at way too high speeds. I've bitched a few out, but it isn't safe for cats or bunnies to cross the road. I like to sit out in the yard with my cane and a cold beverage and yell, "SLOW DOWN! And stay OFF of my lawn!" Not everyone likes me.

[MadrasT]

5. There is no reason to euthanize a cat that tests positive for feline leukemia.

They generally live happy lives and act just like any other cat.

They do tend to have shorter life spans than uninfected cats, and they need to be segregated from unvaccinated cats that don't have the virus (because it is communicable) but there is no reason to kill them just because they test positive.

I have one who is 7 years old and she is a perfectly lovely cat.

They can also test positive if they have recently been exposed, and then mount an immune system defense and fight off the virus, in which case they will test negative a few months later.

[HopeHoops]

6. We had kittens in the house that weren't old enough to be vaccinated.

Fortunately they didn't contract it, but the stray was getting up there in age and we only took it in because the temperature was so low. I lost one in the 70's because of that disease and I'm paranoid about it now. It's always tough to decide an animal's fate, but sometimes it is the right thing to do.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. God bless you.

[WillParkinson]

7. Oh, you're easy!

(From the household with 4 dogs and 4 cats...)

Thank you for looking out for others.