Thousands of animals end up on the street every day. Some of them are victims of negligent breeders who do not sterilize animals on principle, others are descendants of stray cats and dogs. In any case, their life is measured in terms of no more than 4-5 years, which is the maximum that a pet can withstand in Russian weather conditions. And in the accepted derogatory mentality - only 2-3% of people out of a billion population feed them or take them home. Shelters with a program of free sterilization and pre-adoption care are isolated cases.
Kitten (puppy) on the street: pity or danger?
The possibility of encountering diseases that are identical for animals and humans (zooanthroponoses) always exists. The exception is if a domestic kitten (puppy) has just found its way onto the street, either by accident or this is a deliberate “action” of the breeder, who believes that it will be easier to place a litter in such a cruel way. Many of the “fertilizers” don’t think about anything at all, acting on the principle of “out of sight.”
Therefore, veterinarians at the RosVet VC advise immediately taking the foundling to the clinic to identify existing pathologies or make sure that they are absent.
It is ideal if the baby is transported in a carrier bag, any container that prevents close contact with a person. The same spores of dermatomycosis (dermatophytosis, ringworm) perfectly adapt to human hands and clothing and then move to other animals or remain on the owner. This does not mean that you need to shy away from a kitten (puppy) - basic rules of hygiene and quarantine will reduce the risk of getting sick by 99.9%.
It is important to understand! A person who finds an animal on the street will have to pay for examination, treatment, surgery or hospitalization. A veterinarian may not take money for his work, feeling sorry for the kids, but demand that he pay for the cost of medicines, consumables, anesthesia, etc. – illogical.
Therefore, when picking up a kitten on the street, be prepared for expenses. But is it really that important if a small life is saved?
What to do if you can’t pass by
The happiest outcome for a homeless cat is when it is taken home and given the opportunity to live warm, well-fed and safe.
Often outbred foundlings show much greater affection for the people who shelter them than a representative of an elite breed who was accustomed to a comfortable life from birth. Grateful for shelter and care, street cats are affectionate, obedient, and get along well with all family members.
However, it should be borne in mind that if a cat was born and raised in a gateway, he cannot always adapt to life in the house. A “wild” cat has difficulty toilet training; it is difficult to wean him from the habit of climbing on tables and stealing food, even if he is not hungry. Such “savages” are easy to distinguish by their behavior: they don’t trust people, don’t go easy on people, don’t allow themselves to be petted, and are aggressive.
If you take a stray cat into your home, you should definitely show it to a veterinarian. At the veterinary clinic, the animal will be examined and tested for the presence of viral infections, lichen, helminths and blood-sucking parasites. If necessary, the cat will be prescribed treatment. It is recommended to leave your cat in hospital quarantine until the test results are received, especially if you already have other animals at home.
The second option where you can take a stray cat found on the street is to shelter it temporarily, until it finds an owner or is placed in a shelter. You can try to find people willing to temporarily keep the animal. In most cases, such foster care services in Russia are paid; for a day of an animal’s stay in a private “hotel” they charge 100-150 rubles.
Theoretically, it is possible to immediately place the foundling in an animal shelter. In practice, most Russian shelters are overcrowded, there is often a shortage of food and other necessary things, and many exist mainly through voluntary charitable contributions. In addition, due to minimal funding, not all shelters have good conditions for keeping animals.
What will you have to do?
The examination is an important part, which includes an external examination, the presence/absence of skin parasites (fleas, ticks), the condition of the coat, skin, musculoskeletal system, eyes, mouth, teeth, claws, etc.
The second part is laboratory tests, including tests for endoparasites (worms, Giardia), urine, blood, ear contents (if otitis media is suspected, ticks).
It is a good idea to tell the veterinarian in detail everything that was noticed around the kitten (puppy). History implies:
- his primary state (cheerful, active or apathetic, weak);
- presence of injuries, bruises (possibly bites, accidents, bullying);
- whether or not there was diarrhea, vomiting (the nature of the discharge) from the moment of collection and during transportation;
- environment – the state of adult animals and other children.
Be sure to notify the veterinarian that the animal was taken from the street! In addition to standard tests, it is advisable to do a test for toxoplasmosis; this disease is dangerous for humans.
A specialist will check the foundling for the presence of an implanted microchip.
For reference! Microchipping is a service provided at the RosVet EC for owners of any pets. A chip is an electronic storage medium, when scanned, information about the owner of the animal, his contacts, information about the pet itself, past diseases, vaccination dates, etc. immediately appears on the computer screen. The presence of such a chip is a chance to find a lost animal!
It is advisable to give a kitten from the street a serum that causes the development of passive immunity against: panleukopenia, infectious rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, chlamydia. Be sure to carry out treatment against fleas, ticks, and worms using shampoos, sprays, and drops.
A visually healthy animal that has undergone all research and preventive procedures can be taken home after receiving detailed advice from a doctor about keeping, feeding and a schedule of preventive vaccinations.
It is advisable to leave a weakened, dehydrated, apathetic animal with a high or extremely low temperature in the hospital of the RosVet EC. Here he will be closely monitored 24 hours a day, fulfilling all medical appointments.
I found a kitten on the street, what should I do?
If you bring a kitten home and you have your own pets, do not allow the “guest” near them and do not allow them to share a bowl or tray. Perhaps the found kitten is sick. He may also have fleas or ear mites.
The found animal must be fed and given water to drink.
Visually assess the condition of the found kitten. Bad signs are discharge from the mouth, nose, eyes, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, upset stomach, bald spots on the fur, bleeding, abnormal gait, etc. If you notice any symptoms, contact your veterinarian immediately. Do not engage in treatment on your own or based on recommendations from the Internet, advise the Murkosha shelter.
By the way, you need to contact a veterinarian in any case. The found kitten needs to be treated for fleas, a deworming remedy should be selected, it is advisable to be castrated or sterilized (if the kitten’s age allows and you are sure that you will no longer find its previous owners) and receive the necessary vaccinations.
Ask your veterinarian what is best to feed the animal, and ask for recommendations on care.
Barnaul resident Olga Didenko, who has been treating and placing homeless animals in good hands for several years, told us how much it costs to save one cat:
The amounts vary greatly. On average, it takes about 3 thousand rubles to pick up an animal from the street. This includes treatment for parasites, mandatory castration/sterilization, and vaccinations. If the animal is sick, then there is no upper limit on the amount. Animal rescue is an expensive endeavor.
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Kitten and other animals at home
What can you get infected by taking a kitten from the street:
- lichen (dermatomycosis);
- scabies;
- toxoplasmosis;
- helminthic infestations;
- protozoa (giardia).
This is something that a person should be wary of. For pets already in the apartment, the list is many times longer and includes all diseases transmitted through contact (infections, parasites, etc.). Therefore, for a new arrival, even if examined by a veterinarian, there is a strict quarantine for 1-3 weeks.
Pets must be vaccinated and have protective flea collars. It is better to feed the foundling from a separate bowl; the tray, leash, harness, and bedding are individual.
Picking up a kitten (puppy) on the street is a reason to give him a chance for a calm, well-fed life in good hands. Of course, often these are the initial costs of examination, treatment, inconvenience with quarantine - but the result is worth it! Animal psychologists say that a rescued animal always remembers what a person has done for it and remains devoted and grateful for it all its life.
If you picked up a kitten on the street, contact the RosVet Exhibition Center! Telephone reception available 24 hours a day.
How to rehome a kitten from the street.
So, you picked up an animal on the street.
I don’t write about what to do after selection from a veterinary point of view, I don’t write about how to write and where to hang ads, how to take photographs, etc. These are topics for other posts.
This post is about what to do when you wrote an advertisement for the device of a sub-abdominal device - and a miracle happened, you started receiving calls from different people. These are recommendations based on personal experience.
Conversation with a potential cat owner - you need to be polite, but you need to ask: the fate of the kitten is in your hands, you need to be sure that you will not give it to death to some idiots (remember that terrible story in Ru-kets about a black kitten, photo whose mutilated corpse was sent later?)
And don’t be afraid that you will scare or offend the person, he will hang up, and you will never find a home for a kitten or cat again. Because you will get it 100%, the main thing is what? So that your soul is at peace, and the kitten lives in a loving family. So get over your shyness/politeness/intelligent softness and ask questions.
How I do it. First, I once again tell you about the animal - age, gender, color, the circumstances of its appearance with us. It’s a very bad sign when a person, without asking anything, says that he’s ready to drive up right now and pick it up - it’s either for a boa constrictor to feed, or as a gift to some unsuspecting girl, i.e. Candidate for immediate release.
Then I say, “If you allow me, I will ask you a few questions, because the fate of the animal is very important to us, and we want to give it only to the most reliable hands.”
Without such a pretentious preamble, you can immediately ask whether people had animals before and what happened to them. If it turns out that they were there, they were loved very much, but they all disappeared/lost/died somewhere, then it’s better not to give them away. If they directly say that “the cat started to piss, we threw it out into the street and sent it to the village” - even more so.
Then I usually ask if there are screens on the windows, what floor (whether they are ready to install them, if not), how they will feed (I explain about proper feeding, I promise to send links), whether they will sterilize (I explain about the benefits of sterilization, again I promise to send links), will they be allowed to walk outside (if so, I won’t give it up for anything), is there a dacha, if so, how are they going to ensure safety there, will they vaccinate.
If people are not interested in discussing all this, then they will not give a damn about the life and health of the animal. If you don’t give a shit, they will ask about feeding and vaccinations, even if they used to feed you from the table and never vaccinated.
But here it happens that many already know WHAT to answer correctly, especially those who professionally collect animals for various unsightly purposes or abuse. Trust your intuition - if for some reason a person is unpleasant and causes rejection - trust yourself. I also avoid giving the animal to people who are too young (especially if they sound frivolous and are looking for a gift/toy) or too old, because too often heirs throw the animal out on the street. Next, you need to invite the person you like to come and look at the animal - get to know each other and decide whether they like each other. When meeting face to face, a person can be read better than over the phone. Try to feel whether this is a good person. How does the animal react to it? By the way, if he reacts well, then this is a good sign. But it’s still up to you to judge and bear responsibility for the choice, so be careful.
Believe me, even with such strict selection criteria, it is possible to get hired, and moreover, it is necessary. Because you don’t just want to get the animal off your hands, right? You need to find him a home where he will be loved and cared for.
Finally, ideally, it is better to go with the animal to the new home yourself - make sure with your own eyes that everything is ok there. We are lazy and carless creatures, we have never driven like this, but I admit that it’s better this way.
Finally, don’t forget to emphasize a hundred times that if things don’t work out, if the kitten doesn’t like it, starts peeing, an allergy starts, or 100 other reasons, then you are ready to take it back even in a year or two. And that you will not swear, make trouble or say evil words in this case - the main thing is that, if something happens, the animal ends up not in a sanctuary or on the street, but returns to you.
I hope my experience will be useful to someone. (oh how difficult it was for me to ask questions to strangers the first time, I generally hate asking questions, but I had to learn, and every time it gets easier and easier :)
I would like to add on my own behalf that if you see someone pathetic and dying at home, at work, in the entrance or in a trash can, don’t take it upon yourself, don’t pass by (you’ll never forget anyway, passed by), and drag it home.
Adopting an animal is quite possible, quite possible. The main thing, as always, is a massive marketing campaign and confidence in the uniqueness of your product :)) https://ru-cats.livejournal.com/15396607.html
