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Sweet stray cat with Leukemia
"Brad Stone" wrote in message
... Hi there, I live in the Dallas area with two awesome cats (a 9 year old female and a 13 year old male). You can check out my indoor cat runs and outdoor cat enclosure here -- http://www.brushyland.com/cats/. They adore eachother and thus, I've been reluctant to introduce a 3rd cat during all these years. But a beautiful young "tuxedo" female showed up near my office yesterday looking for food. She's approximately one year old and is mainly black but with white paws (huge paws at that) so we named her "Socks". Man, she is so sweet. She demands petting from any human, which is fairly rare for a stray in the city. It's sort of a rough area so I figured it's not the right environment for such a kind kitty. I took her to the vet today with the hopes of getting all her shots, etc and then finding a new home for her. And *if* my cats accepted hert I might have taken her myself, but I was most likely going to find a new home for her. All the vets and nurses absolutely fell in love with this little love bug. Well, it turns out she tested positive for Feline Leukemia. Dang. I'm totally confused on what to do now. I've heard that there are shelters somewhere (I haven't found any in the Dallas area) that takes in Leukemia kitties. But I've also heard some sad stories of how upper resperatory infections occasionally spread through those shelters/homes pretty fast, greatly shortening the lives of the cats. I hate the thought of putting her some place where she might quickly get sick or not be loved on, but it may end up being the best solution assuming I can even find such a place. My cats always get their annual Leukemia vaccination, but I guess I shouldn't risk exposing them to "Socks"? The vet thinks she is in good health. She noted that Socks' secondary eyelids are not moving completely out of the way - but they are clear of her vision. The vet said this may mean nothing or it may be the very first signs of her body's reaction to the Leukemia. But other than that, the cat appears to be in very good health. I heard that *some* cats recover from Leukemia and will eventually test negative for it. Should I consider moving Socks into my guest bedroom where she can not have any contact with my cats? Or is that too risky for my other cats? I hear that the Leukemia virus *might* be transmitted via my shoes, hands, etc. Yikes. I'm sure life in my guest bedroom would be very dull for her, but maybe after 8 weeks or so I could get her tested again. If she tests negative then I can either keep her as a 3rd cat or find a good home for her. Of course, my *huge* fear is that I will fall in love with her in the mean time and then she will still test positive again. If she tests positive after that length of time in my house, it would break my heart. I guess, in that case, I could keep her permanently in my guest bedroom for the rest of her life (assuming that's safe for my other two cats) - but I'm not sure that's being realistic for me or Socks. Plus, I'm not sure that living like that is really fair to Socks. Any suggestions on what I should do in the near term and/or long term for this sweet little girl would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Brad Stone Your vet should be able to give you some idea as to the likelihood the cat can recover from the infection. Check your local area for cat rescue groups that have fosters to care for special needs cats. The SPCA and humane society are good places to start, but there also may be independent rescue groups for this special niche. Good luck! Bill |
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"Brad Stone" wrote in message
... Hi there, I live in the Dallas area with two awesome cats (a 9 year old female and a 13 year old male). You can check out my indoor cat runs and outdoor cat enclosure here -- http://www.brushyland.com/cats/. They adore eachother and thus, I've been reluctant to introduce a 3rd cat during all these years. But a beautiful young "tuxedo" female showed up near my office yesterday looking for food. She's approximately one year old and is mainly black but with white paws (huge paws at that) so we named her "Socks". Man, she is so sweet. She demands petting from any human, which is fairly rare for a stray in the city. It's sort of a rough area so I figured it's not the right environment for such a kind kitty. I took her to the vet today with the hopes of getting all her shots, etc and then finding a new home for her. And *if* my cats accepted hert I might have taken her myself, but I was most likely going to find a new home for her. All the vets and nurses absolutely fell in love with this little love bug. Well, it turns out she tested positive for Feline Leukemia. Dang. I'm totally confused on what to do now. I've heard that there are shelters somewhere (I haven't found any in the Dallas area) that takes in Leukemia kitties. But I've also heard some sad stories of how upper resperatory infections occasionally spread through those shelters/homes pretty fast, greatly shortening the lives of the cats. I hate the thought of putting her some place where she might quickly get sick or not be loved on, but it may end up being the best solution assuming I can even find such a place. My cats always get their annual Leukemia vaccination, but I guess I shouldn't risk exposing them to "Socks"? The vet thinks she is in good health. She noted that Socks' secondary eyelids are not moving completely out of the way - but they are clear of her vision. The vet said this may mean nothing or it may be the very first signs of her body's reaction to the Leukemia. But other than that, the cat appears to be in very good health. I heard that *some* cats recover from Leukemia and will eventually test negative for it. Should I consider moving Socks into my guest bedroom where she can not have any contact with my cats? Or is that too risky for my other cats? I hear that the Leukemia virus *might* be transmitted via my shoes, hands, etc. Yikes. I'm sure life in my guest bedroom would be very dull for her, but maybe after 8 weeks or so I could get her tested again. If she tests negative then I can either keep her as a 3rd cat or find a good home for her. Of course, my *huge* fear is that I will fall in love with her in the mean time and then she will still test positive again. If she tests positive after that length of time in my house, it would break my heart. I guess, in that case, I could keep her permanently in my guest bedroom for the rest of her life (assuming that's safe for my other two cats) - but I'm not sure that's being realistic for me or Socks. Plus, I'm not sure that living like that is really fair to Socks. Any suggestions on what I should do in the near term and/or long term for this sweet little girl would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Brad Stone Your vet should be able to give you some idea as to the likelihood the cat can recover from the infection. Check your local area for cat rescue groups that have fosters to care for special needs cats. The SPCA and humane society are good places to start, but there also may be independent rescue groups for this special niche. Good luck! Bill |
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