Expert: Ali - 3/18/2009

Question
Hello, we were adopted last fall by a dropped off kitty we named Princess Midna. She was only 3+3/4lbs. at an estimated 8 mos. At that time we had her spayed, wormed and shots given. She has done very well adapting into our home and is a loving sweet cat. At first she wanted nothing to do with the outside which was fine by me. Then a little while later she wanted to go out on the deck because of course I happen to feed the birds at the edge of the deck. She would only go out for maybe 10-15 minutes but would occasionally slip outside with the dog fist thing in the morning and we wouldn't know until an hour or so later when she would come up to the slider. A few weeks ago she threw up roundworms so we called the vet and are worming her again. We did not have her on her heart worm pill because we live in Michigan and it was winter and since we have never had cats before we thought it was like our dogs where you don't give it to them in the winder months. Now we are very careful about never letting her outside however, I feel bad. I will be out with the dog playing and she is at the slider with her paws on the window wanting to come outside. I had the slider open as it was warm yesterday and she was trying to get out by going in between the slider window and screen and ended up climbing the screen (no we did not have her declawed). So what is the best way to handle this? Is it best for her to keep her strictly indoors? If we do this we may have to have her declawed so she won't ruin the screens. We were trying to avoid this as I think it seems a bit cruel. Or, is it ok to let her outside?  If we keep her on revolution all year long will that mean she won't ever get worms? I would appreciate any input you could give me on this subject. Thank you for your time.  Kellie

Answer
Kellie,

Princess most likely ended up with worms by eating small prey animals that she killed. You may find that putting a bell on your little girl's collar and providing deworming medication according to a schedule set out by your vet will solve this problem. Unfortunately cats are natural predators, you won't be able to stop them from hunting small animals and birds and it's quite possible you will be unable to stop Princess from eating her kills. I would recommend that you go over the potential health risks to Princess when it comes to her eating her prey with your veterinarian. Unfortunately some of the animals Princess would naturally hunt are things like mice, rats, moles and other rodents which many people poison, if Princess eats a poisoned prey animal she will suffer the effects of the poison and it's possible she'd die as a result. My cats are strictly indoor cats so I can't really tell you for sure that Princess would never get worms if she was kept on a year round course of revolution, this is information that your vet can provide. There's no harm in speaking directly with your vet and finding out whether it's in your cat's best interests to receive regular medication to deworm her, if there is some sort of schedule that Princess should receive other medications or treatments on your vet will let you know.

I believe that cats are safer and healthier as indoor pets that are spayed/neutered, however I understand that it's not always a practical option, particularly if Princess has spent much of her life outside. If you wanted to protect Princess from the dangers of the outside world by keeping her in your house it would be important to stimulate her mind, fulfill her stalking and hunting instincts with toys and regular games and keeping her entertained by doing small things such as installing a bird feeder filled with seeds to attract small song birds to your yard so that Princess could watch the birds. If you do decide that keeping Princess indoors is what's best for her you can give Princess a manicure using a product called Soft Paws/Claws, these are vinyl caps designed to fit over your cat's nails and they're blunt so they prevent damage to screens, flooring and furniture. Some cats will chew them off during the initial adjustment phase, but being patient and persistent usually pays off (these caps work well for one of my cats - she's an avid window screen/curtain climber and she loves to sharpen on the carpet in our apartment, the other two are a bit more refined and refrain from the activities mentioned above). These nail caps can be applied at home or by your veterinarian and once your cat is accustomed to them they should last until she sheds the outer layer of her nails which happens about every 4-6 weeks.

As for declawing a cat it's important to understand that this surgery involves amputating your cat's digits at the first joint. Declawing is very painful and carries a fair risk of infection or other long term risks such as arthritis, repeat surgery to correct problems caused by declawing and in many cases cats end up damaging tendons and ligaments because they start walking on the backs of their feet in order to try and relieve the pain at the operative site. To be honest I would strongly advise against this surgery, if the nail caps don't work there are other ways of preventing Princess from destroying the screens if you prefer to keep her indoors. Products like Sticky Paws which is a medical grade double sided tape that can be applied to things you don't want your cat to scratch including furniture, carpeting and window screens. You can also train Princess to stay away from the window screens by squirting her with water from a spray bottle or applying hot pepper extract to the screens. I would be quite interested in hearing what your veterinarian has to say about the deworming medications and what your final decision is when it comes to Princess and outdoor hunting excursions.