Four checks and 14 days of isolation are what stand between a stray cat and your resident cat. Skipping either one is how a 200 dollar screening turns into a 2,000 dollar treatment, or how a ringworm outbreak reaches 3 rooms and 2 people. The order is fixed: exam and tests on day 0, isolation until day 14, introductions after that.
Book the appointment before the cat comes home. A carrier and a spare room matter more than any toy.
The 4 checks, in order
1) FIV and FeLV test. 2) Fecal exam. 3) Skin and ear check. 4) Bloodwork plus a full physical. Everything else, including vaccines and deworming, is scheduled around those 4 results.
Ask the clinic 3 questions when you call: which tests run in-house, what the total comes to, and how long a ringworm culture takes. In-house results take 10 to 20 minutes; a culture takes 10 to 14 days, which is why the isolation period and the culture often end on the same day.
| Check | Sample | Result time | What a positive means |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIV and FeLV | 3 drops of blood | 10 to 20 min | FeLV needs a retest at 4 to 6 weeks |
| Fecal | 3 days of stool, 5 g | 24 to 48 h | Parasites treated, then rechecked at day 14 |
| Skin and ear | Swab, hair pluck, lamp | 10 min, culture 10 to 14 days | Ringworm means isolation extends 7 to 14 days |
| Bloodwork | 0.5 to 1 ml blood | 24 h | Anemia or organ changes mean a later neuter date |
Check 1: FIV and FeLV, and the retest rule
The in-house test needs about 0.1 ml of blood and reads in 10 to 20 minutes. Two results need a follow-up, not a decision.
FeLV positive under 6 months: retest at 4 to 6 weeks, since some kittens clear it and a positive at 8 weeks is not final. FeLV positive in an adult: confirm once, then keep the cat indoors, away from other cats. FIV positive in a healthy adult is usually confirmed once; an FIV cat can live with FIV-negative cats in a stable, non-fighting household, never with an FeLV cat.
A negative result on day 0 does not cover exposure in the last 2 to 4 weeks; a recent bite means a retest at 6 weeks.
Check 2: the fecal exam, pooled over 3 days
One sample misses a lot. Collect 3 days of stool, about 5 g total, in a sealed bag in the fridge, and bring it in on day 3. Ask for a float and a direct smear, because giardia and coccidia are easy to miss on a float alone.
Roundworm and tapeworm are common in strays; giardia is common in shelter cats and survives on damp floors. Treat what is found and repeat the fecal at day 14, since 1 round clears most but not all cases. A cat with diarrhea on day 0 gets a fecal first, a diet change second.
Check 3: skin and ears, where the lamp lies
A Wood lamp is fast and unreliable: it misses about half of ringworm cases and lights up only some species. A negative lamp is not a negative cat. If there is any patch of broken hair, scaling, or a round lesion on the face or paws, ask for a hair pluck with a fungal culture, and treat the cat as contagious until the culture comes back at 10 to 14 days.
Ears: an otoscope check for mites, which show as dark coffee-ground debris. Mites travel on sleeves, so wash after handling and change the bed cover every 3 days.
Check 4: bloodwork and the physical
For an adult stray, ask for a CBC and a chemistry panel; for a kitten under 6 months, a CBC plus a weight and fecal is often enough and costs less. The physical covers 8 points, from teeth to gait.
3 findings change the plan. Anemia pushes the neuter date back 2 to 4 weeks. A heart murmur means an ultrasound before anesthesia. A body condition score of 2 of 9 or lower means 10 to 14 days of feeding before any surgery.
The 14-day isolation, room by room
One room, door closed, no shared air with the resident cat where you can avoid it. Keep 4 rules: shoes off at the door or a pair used only in that room, hands washed after every visit, bowls and litter scoop kept in the room and washed daily, and no resident cat bedding brought in or out.
Litter: scoop twice a day, bag it, bin it outside. Toxoplasma turns infectious in stool after 24 to 48 hours, so daily scooping is the control that matters with a pregnant person in the house. Feed the stray last.
| Day | Action | Log |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Exam, 4 tests, weight, isolation starts | Weight, appetite, stool |
| 3 | Fecal dropped off, dewormer per vet | Stool form, vomiting |
| 7 | Weight recheck, vaccine 1 if healthy | Gain of 50 to 100 g expected |
| 10 | Culture read, incision-free skin check | Any new patch |
| 14 | Fecal recheck, vaccine 2 or 3 weeks later, isolation ends | 2 clear weeks before introductions |
Vaccines and deworming during isolation
Core vaccine on day 0 or 7 if the cat is well, then every 21 to 28 days until the series is done, usually 2 doses for an adult and 3 for a kitten. Rabies at 12 to 16 weeks or per local rule. Deworming is chosen by the vet by weight and repeated at 14 days; the weight you log is what the dose is based on, which is one more reason to weigh weekly.
Skip the vaccine on a sick cat: fever, diarrhea or a score of 2 of 9 means 7 to 10 days of feeding first, then start the series.
4 zoonosis rules worth keeping after day 14
1) Ringworm: check your forearms for a round scaly patch for 3 weeks. 2) Toxoplasma: scoop daily, someone else during pregnancy. 3) Cat scratch: wash a bite for 2 minutes, see a doctor within 24 hours if it swells. 4) Salmonella: no raw diet with a child under 5 in the house.
Introductions, after the 2 clear weeks
Scent swap for 3 days: rub a cloth on each cat's cheek and put it under the other cat's bowl. Then barrier feeding for 4 days, 2 bowls 3 m apart on either side of a baby gate. Then 15 to 20 minute supervised sessions, 1 a day, ending while both cats are calm rather than at the first hiss.
Expect 2 to 4 weeks to a calm house, 6 months for 2 adults to share a sofa. Blood, urine marking, or a cat off food for 24 hours means back 1 step for a week.
5 red flags that skip the schedule
Call the clinic the same day for any of 5: labored breathing, no food for 24 hours, straining with no urine, a temperature over 39.7 C (103.5 F), a wound that smells. Day 14 is the wrong answer here, and the triple test results belong in front of the vet, not in a drawer.
With the numbers in hand, the rest is cheaper: the adoption checklist covers the paperwork, and the breed quiz takes 3 minutes.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
Can I skip the quarantine if the cat looks healthy?
No. Two of the most common problems in strays have no visible sign on day 3: ringworm, which needs a culture that reads at 10 to 14 days, and intestinal parasites, which shed eggs intermittently. Fourteen days is the window in which a fecal recheck and a culture both come back, which is why it is the standard rather than a round number.
What does a positive FeLV test mean for a kitten?
It means retest in 4 to 6 weeks, not euthanasia and not a final answer. Kittens under 6 months can clear the virus, and a positive result at 8 weeks is often transient. Keep the kitten isolated from other cats during that window, retest with a second method, and make the long-term plan only after the second result.
How much does the screening cost?
Typically 150 to 400 for the 4 checks at a general practice, with the FIV and FeLV test at 40 to 90, the fecal at 30 to 70, the skin work at 50 to 150 depending on culture, and bloodwork at 60 to 150. Ask for the total before booking, and ask which items run in-house, because send-out labs add 2 to 4 days to every result.
Related guides
- PKD Screening in Cats: Ultrasound Timing and Cyst Grades
- Feral Cat Socialization: A 6-Week Ladder and 3 Quit Signals
- Returning a Cat to Its Colony: 3 Assessments and 14 Days
- TNR in 4 Steps: Trap, Neuter, Ear-Tip, Return
- Trap Setup: 3 Points, Bait, a 4-Hour Limit
- Rescue Transport: 8-Hour Legs, 2-Hour Checks, 10-Day Cert