My cat interacted with a stray. Can he catch diseases? What to do?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Some illnesses can be transmitted from one cat to another from your hands or clothing. I recommend washing hands and possibly leaving shoes away from your cats if the stray sneezed on or near them. Basic good hygiene will help prevent disease transmission to your kitties. If you are able please take the stray into the vet as soon as you are able as it sounds like she may have a significant respiratory infection. Be sure that she is tested for feline leukemia and FIV before you ever let her near your cats to be safe.

Your cat should be fine. Most diseases and parasites need more direct contact and since she only touched the stray cat for a short time and washed her hands there should not be anything left for her to give to your cat. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you Noushmc.

Hello, Oliver is likely just curious and wants to explore outside like normal kittens. I would make sure that all access to the outdoors is closed until you have tested Oliver of FeLV/FIV and have fully vaccinated him. He will always be at risk of contracting FeLV and FIV from stray cats, however, you may be able to prevent other disease if you vaccinate him fully. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Well it depends what the cat was sick with. I'm going to assume the cat was sick with an upper respiratory infection and there isn't anything I would be particularly worried about here. There aren't many contagious diseases we worry about crossing between dogs and cats. I would recommend watching for general signs of disease (lethargy, poor appetite, nasal discharge, coughing/sneezing, vomiting, and diarrhea) in the next week or two just to be safe, but there isn't anything you need to do at this point and a very low likelihood of anything coming from this encounter.

Hi there and thanks for posting! It is hard to say exactly what the lesion above the stray cat's eye may be without examining it first, but some possibilities may include a bite wound or abscess, bacterial infection, or a fungal infection such as ringworm which can be contagious. You may want to call your local animal control and let them know about the stray cat around your area. Perhaps they may be able to get the cat seen by a veterinarian for treatment and also to have the cat scanned for a microchip (if it has one) which may provide information about its owner. Until more information can be found out about the stray cat, I would recommend limiting your cat's contact with the stray. I hope this helps!

It's not the litter box sharing that I would be worried about. It is the direct contact between the two cats that would make me nervous. He could transmit to her any number of diseases: rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, herpes virus, panleukopenia, feline leukemia, FIV, etc..........The most Ivy would "get" from the other cat by sharing the litter box would be roundworms or hookworms and chances are she already has those. Both cats need to be dewormed and vaccinated as soon as possible. Ivy is old enough now and the other cat is way overdue. You can check VETCO clinics in your area and get them both in for vaccines and deworming ASAP. VETCO operates out of Petco clinics across the country. Here is a link to their website. https://www.vetcoclinics.com/services-and-clinics/clinic-locations-and-schedules/?zip=60901 Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I would recomend keeping both cats seperate until they have both been tested for feline leukemia and parasites. If Lenny is negative and has had vaccines he shouldn't pose risk to the kitten. At 8 weeks the kittenis ol enougjfor a first vet visit and they can advise if any further separation or quarantine is recommended.