Feral cats leave dead animals. Is my indoor cat safe from disease?

Yes, you are correct that Finnegan can get sick from rats and birds. Cats can get tapeworms and leptospirosis from eating rats, and can get salmonella from eating birds. It's not normal for a cat to vomit so frequently, so I would have him seen by a vet for a health check about that. Since he's allowed outside, it would be impossible to keep him from eating rats and birds unless you find a way to keep him confined to the yard. You can build a cat sanctuary where he can play and lounge outside, but it will keep him from hunting. Your other choice is to keep him indoors all the time. I hope this helps!

If your cat didn't eat it, health risks would be minimal. The main secondary issues from hunting are tapeworms (if they eat the mouse) and issues from fleas (so I would apply a good prevention like Revolution of Advantage Multi). Another consideration would be to make sure you don't have rodenticide poisons anywhere because if they caused the mouse's death and then your cat ate it (or a future mouse!) then they would also be exposed to it!

Cats are natural hunters and even though they captive cats are not hungry they will still have the urge to hunt small prays. while rarely eating them, many cats will still be very possessive of their pray.

In the wild, the mother cat teaches her kittens to hunt by bringing back dead prey for them to play with, She will occasionally bring back injured ones as well to teach them how to hunt. It's thought that cats will bring back dead animals to their owners as they know they can't catch prey themselves and are trying to teach them to hunt.

Coronavirus is not a concern wth adult cats, but FIV/FeLV is. I would make sure she is tested for those diseases and is tested for parasites (internal and external) prior to introducing them. If all that checks out, and she is deemed healthy by a vet, then there is little chance of her giving anything to your indoor cats. I hope that helps and all is well with Little chick and the other two.

You can feed commercial rodent food. It typically comes in a block or pellet form. Rats are omnivorous and will eat just about anything though. Supplement with fresh vegetables and small amounts of fruits. Ideally, if it is not injured, you should set it free. Rats can carry diseases and pests that could affect both you and your cat. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/mazuri-rat-and-mouse-food

Thanks for your question. Fortunately, there are very few diseases that would be likely to go from a sparrow to you or Cleo. These diseases typically require a large amount of close contact and many of them are pathogens that you and your cat would come in contact with on a regular basis. Unless the bird produced droppings (urates/feces) while flying in your house, you will not need to disinfectant anything. If you wanted to clean the items that the bird came into contact with, that would not be a problem either, if it makes you feel more comfortable. I hope that helps to answer your question, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.