Hey /an/, /fit/ here. I just came to my friend's place and saw this homeless cat he has been telling me about which looks hungry/dirty/generally fucked up. I saw it sneak in under his house and I feel that I should try and help it.
I have a dog and had a cat before and live on the country side where there is a lot of nature. What I am wondering is how would I go about taking this cat in? Like making it friendly towards me, cleaning it without getting any diseases etc.
Should I not do it at all? Any advice, stories or anything would be appreciated.
Pic kinda related, looked a bit like it but different colors, skinny and dirty.
First step take to vet and see what you're dealing with health wise.
>>2092956
Okay, how should I go about catching it? I tried to call it to me but it showed no interest and just ignored me. Should I drug it with some food or trap it in a cage to get it to the vet? It looks like it could carry diseases like scab or similar so should I use some type of gloves? Thanks beforehand for any help
>>2092958
>Should I drug it with some food
Fucking kek. I feel so sorry for that cat, you are going to be such a shit owner.
>>2092958
Have-a-heart trap to trap it, and I'd advise using gloves. Before even trapping it, call your vet, or call vet offices and ask for the price of the following;
>office visit
>spay/neuter (spay will be more expensive)
>general check up (heart, lungs, ears, eyes, skin, butthole, etc)
>the cost for vaccines; rabies and distemper. Let them know you do not know if this cat has ever had it's vaccines
>FeLV or a Combo test (combo tests cost more, but also detect FIV which is important)
And, in case they find something very wrong with the cat;
>euthanasia and disposal prices (will be cheaper if you take the whole body home yourself and dispose of it)
You should have the money for all this shit (sans euthanasia, just make sure you have $50 for that) before you get the cat, because it should see a vet ASAP if it looks as bad as you are describing; usually sick cats look perfectly normal so he must be really sick. When you catch the cat in a trap, I'd suggest keeping the cat in a small room with litter, food and water and just leave him/her be. As soon as you have the funds and you catch it, I'd advise calling the vet and making the first appointment you can. Tell them you don't know if the cat is fixed but you are planning to spay/neuter the cat on appointment day if it isn't, that way if the cat isn't fixed, you won't have to bring it to the vet again for the surgery. Also, they can do all the tests, vitals, and vaccines while s/he is asleep, which is good for the cat. If the cat is feral, you may need to use a live trap again to bring the animal to the vet.
If you have any other animals, don't let them get into contact with the cat until it has a clean bill of health. This goes for people too; try to be very cleanly around the cat and clean yourself, too. If you are not willing to do all this work, I'd suggest calling local animal shelters and asking about their policy on stray/feral cats, if they take them. That may be your best option otherwise.
If the cat is feral, it's not going to be a good pet at all.
