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Stray Cats
Is it safe to pet stray cats?
My apartment complex has a little mascot... a stray cat that roams the grounds that they keep food out for. I run into him a few days a week and he's super friendly.
I'm just wondering if it's safe to pet him?
Is there anything he can have that would linger with me even if I washed my hands afterward?
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It is generally safe to pet stray cats. A stray cat is a people friendly cat (most likely owned by someone before). He probably doesn't have any diseases that make it dangerous to pet him. You can tell when a tame cat is sick. They may act delirious, or cry out, or be more aggressive. With feral cats, because they tend to avoid humans, it's harder to tell. But that cat is not feral.
If the kitty is acting normal, then you really have nothing to worry about. Furthermore, most diseases can't be transferred from felines to humans. The worst thing the cat probably has is fleas, maybe ticks or ear mites. Wash your hands after you pet him, make sure you are doing laundry frequently, and vacuuming. This should discourage any flea population from developing. But petting the cat a few times a week probably won't be a problem.
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With the apartment complex, the likely situation is that this stray is not a feral cat but someone's pet that they cruelly left behind when their new place would not allow pets. So the cat has to fend for it self. The apt grounds are the only home it recalls and so it hangs around and goes for handouts from the people who live there. Due to its situation, it may not fully trust people enough to come inside their apt or maybe, it may be looking for someone to adopt him. You may be safe as far as possibly being attacked by the cat, and if you wash your hands, from animal dander if you have allergies. But without taking the animal under your wing and taking it to a vet for a checkup, you can't know for sure if it is suffering from any illness. My sister took in such a cat, abandoned at her apt complex. She fed it and paid it attention and soon it began to come into her apt and spend some time there. The cat eventually though it roamed the whole complex for it had made many friends, decide it liked my sisters place best and stayed there the majority of the time, sleeping there overnight too. So she considered it now her cat and when she had to move and new place wouldn't take cats, she asked me, a home owner to take the cat which I did. Ashley got along fine with our other pets and our kids and was a very loving cat. We had no problems with him.
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Depends
Most cats who are infected with rabies aren't exactly friendly. They are usually distant and show more aggressive behavior.
Most of my cats I have owned were originally strays. I took them to the vet got them spayed and updated on their shots. My last cat was a stray, She was about 7 when I found her. This cat lived to be 23 years! I have had many cats (some of them were my parents ) and they were stray. Made the best house pets! Just remember, Cats sometimes have fleas. Even so, A bath or frontline takes care of it. :-)
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