FIV
It has been a while since I have written about my cats on this site. That is mostly because I gave the cats their own site. But this morning (1:48am) while watching Animal Cops on Animal Planet, there was a little kitty that was saved from a house of a hoarder. We have all seen it on the news…a house with 50, 60, or more cats…The people genuinely think that they are helping all the cats or animals that they have, but often times, the animals are suffering from malnutrition, a varity of diseases, and lack of socialization. Hoarders do not realize that they are harming their pets more than helping them.
But back to the story. This hoarder, had a little orange boy kitty, who had an eye infection, several teeth that needed to be removed, and FIV (Feline immunodeficiency virus). I watch this particular program often, usually everyday. It is rare though, that the vet actually says that the cat has FIV. Usually they say that the cat has an “untreatable disease”, and that the cat was “humanely euthenized”. There are several other diseases that cats can have that make them “unadoptable”, such as FeLV, and FIP…both a cat can live with as a carrier.
Humanely euthenized…that is a phrase that makes me shutter. Abby, my little girl mama cat, lived for months, lingering on the verge of being put to sleep. One of the very few things that saved Abby, was that a wonderful person (I will call, D) kept up hope that Abby would find a home. I did arrive just in time though. If Abby had remained any longer, she might just not be alive now. But D, knew that Abby would find a home…and for that I am so grateful.
I first found out about FIV when my first cat, Socks adopted my family just over a year ago. He had been pecked by a mockingbird, and got an absess on his hip. They tested him at the vet and gave me the shocking news. I think that I probably looked like I had been hit in the stomach. I know my head started to spin. But the more I learned, the less frightening the disease became. Socks certainly doesnt act “sick”, he is happy healthy and living it up here.
Abby was brought into our family next. A couple weeks after that Blackie joined us.
Blackie originally joined us as a “foster kitty”, but his FIV+ status, has made it difficult for him to find a home. He is such a great cat. He is a Maine Coon and he just loves being scritched. Everyone who sees this large (17lbs!!) fuzzball just falls in love…that is untill they read or are told that he has FIV. Blackie has since become a permanent member of the family.
If you have not figured it out, all three cats in the pictures above, have FIV. They are happy, healthy and ruling the roost around here. FIV is not treatable, but it doesnt mean that a cat is not able to live a long happy life. When watching Animal Cops, I watched intently to see what the vet would say, or how the cat would be “handled’ on his road to recovery. I was very happy to see that that cat was fostered and that he stood a good chance of living a wonderful life.
I didnt intend this to be a “go adopt a cat today” campain, but I did feel it important enough to actually spend the time to write this rather long post. Thank you for reading, if you have made it this far, I am grateful. One more person that knows the truth and understand that these cats are in as much a need of being adopted, the better.
