Bringing Home Your New Shelter Animal

By Kari Winters

It's wonderful to adopt a new companion animal from a rescue or shelter, and getting a good veterinary exam in the beginning goes a long way towards ensuring a long and happy life with your new furry family member.

When you adopt ask for a record of any veterinarian care the animal has had. With cats, most shelters test for FELV and FIV, also known as "Feline Leukemia" and "Feline AIDS", although these names are misleading. Many shelters call this "combo testing" and will tell you whether the cat tested "positive" or "negative". Most people want a cat whose test is negative, but there are those special angels out there who don't have other cats, or who already have a cat that's "positive" and will choose to adopt a cat who's tested "positive."

Because the issue of vaccinations has become so controversial in the last few years, each rescue has a different standard re: vaccines the animals in their care receive. Most rescues also have their animals checked by a veterinarian, but due to lack of funds, this check may be only superficial unless the animal has become sick while in the rescue's care. Since many rescues get their animals from shelters, it's not unusual for them to develop kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection (URI), either while they’re at the rescue or once they come home to live with you. If these illnesses are viral in nature, no antibiotics are needed, but if they become bacterial (and only a veterinarian can determine this), antibiotics will have to be given. One word of caution regarding URIs and cats. When a cat becomes congested and can't smell its food, it will often not eat. If it doesn't eat for a period of time, it can develop a disease called Feline Hepatic Lipidosis, often called "fatty liver disease." Although treatable, this disease can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated quickly. Dr. James R. Richards of Cornell University's Feline Health Center says the most important treatment is aggressive nutritional support, which may even include having a tube place through the cat's nose into the stomach so that it can be given adequate nutrition.

When you take your newly adopted animal to your veterinarian for the initial exam, bring a fresh fecal specimen so that your animal can be checked for various types of worms as well as things like giardia (known to humans as "Montezuma's Revenge"). After this initial exam, your veterinarian can give you recommendations about any further vaccinations or treatment that your animal might need.

According to Dr. Phil Kennedy of Animal Medical Center in Van Nuys, it's important to isolate new furry family members for 2 weeks, if you have another animal of the same species in your home. This can't be emphasized enough. Being in a shelter or rescue can be very stressful and stress can weaken the immune system so that an animal that looks healthy at first may suddenly get sick. If this happens, you don't want to expose your other animals to this. If you are adopting a dog and don't have another dog, many veterinarians will suggest that you not take the dog to the dog park for this period of time so that it's not exposed to diseases that other dogs there might have. This will be especially true if you’ve adopted a puppy that’s not yet fully vaccinated.

While most diseases that animals get aren't communicable to humans, this isn't true of Ringworm. Ringworm can be prevalent in shelters and is a skin condition, not a worm, as the name implies, that causes the animal to lose fur. If your animal develops Ringworm, your veterinarian is your best source of advice and information.

Many animals from shelters now have microchips. These are small chips, which are implanted and when read with a scanner, give valuable information if your animal is ever lost. If you get microchip papers with your new family member be sure that you update the information with your own address and phone number. You should also update this information if you move. If your animal does not have a microchip, you can talk with your veterinarian or take the animal to the local shelter to have one placed for a small fee. One word of caution, particularly if you move. There are several brands of microchips so make sure you use a brand that can be read by the shelters in your area.

None of the information in this article is meant to scare you away from adopting a shelter animal. These same diseases are prevalent in animals that come from pet stores and breeders, too. Any time you bring a new animal into your home, no matter where the animal came from, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will always be your best source of information about the care and treatment of your furry family members.

Kari Winters is a Board Certified Advanced Practice RN and a member of Cat Writers' Association. She is also the author of the book, "Princess Fiona: My Purrsonal Story," which she wrote as a fundraiser for CA. Siamese Rescue. The book makes a great gift and is available through her website or at www.amazon.com. 100% of the proceeds of this book go to rescue. All time and talent was volunteered. The cover liner notes are written by Lori Golden, publisher of The Pet Press. Kari can be reached through her website, www.shelterpetsink.com.

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