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#1
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FIV Cat Advice Please
Hello…. I have a cat situation that has arisen… I live in a rural area
of NJ. We have a lot of woods and animals that run around (Groundhogs Deer etc...) My wife and I are both animal lovers and we own 2 pure bred Ragdoll Cats. They are strictly indoor cats. They are treated like the king and queen of the world and I cannot even imagine a day without them. The area we live in is a prime dumping ground for unwanted animals. In the 2 years we have been here there have been several cats that we have seen roaming around that appear to be homeless. One cat in particular looked very ragged and always just walked by the house and keep going down the street. I assumed he lived in one of the house down the road a few blocks. About a week ago I was in my office when I saw this cat ramming his head into my office window. He looked like he was emaciated and starving. I feed him a can of food and he purred the whole time and then slept a while under a tree and split. He then started showing up every day since. He basically sits at the front glass door and looks in at my ragdolls and it was all very sad because you could tell he was sad and neglected etc… We continued to feed him and he already appears to be gaining weight and basically he has been hanging under the Japanese Maple tree by my front door. In my 35 years of owning cats he is one of the nicest cats I have ever come in contact with. He is just starving for food and for attention. I took a weeks vacation this week to "relax". Well on Tuesday I said screw it I am going to take him to the vet that our ragdolls go to. Well I had them give him a thorough checkup, tests and shots. He appears to have been fixed so at one point he was "someone's" cat. He has lost all of his teeth but one. Everyone at the vet loved him and he purred so much they couldn't even check his heart because the purring was so loud. He loved the ride in the car and he just seems to genuinely appreciate all of the help. I bought him a nice jewel collar and he is now walking around the yard proud as a peacock. My wife and I decided that we would try and keep him around but we knew he had to be an outside cat. It wouldn't be fair to our Ragdoll cats to bring an indoor/outdoor cat into the house and put them at risk of disease etc… Well I just got a call from the vet and it seems the cat is FIV positive. I am totally crushed. She said that although passing it to our cats through human contact was not possible and even though he has 1 tooth left he is a low risk spreader of the disease, however for him to be outside exposes anyone else's cat to the risk if they attack him. Also being an outside cat leaves him open to various germs etc… We are at a loss as to what to do. I DO NOT want to bring him to a shelter. The vet mentioned that there were FIV colonies and I should look on the internet but I haven't seen anything like this. Does anyone have some advice on this? WE WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS CAT!!!. He is so appreciative I cannot describe it. It is almost human. He eats a little and then comes back and rubs against you and he will sit with you for hours and just hang. I know we could continue to feed him and keep him close to the house but I think his chances on the outside are not good especially in the winter. I can tell that this last week has been one of the best in his life, he looks like a different cat in just one week of our care even outside but it is warm now. In addition I don't want him to spread it to anyone else's cat although it does not appear that any of my neighbors have legitimate indoor outdoor cats. I couldn't see this cat attacking another cat and being that he literally has one tooth the risk of him biting another cat is remote….. Please any advice appreciated this situation is breaking our hearts.. |
#2
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Can you keep him in your basement or a garage (heated)? He sounds lovely
and too nice a cat not to have a home. Also, maybe someone who has no other cats will take him. Gail "Simon Bar Sinister" wrote in message om... Hello.. I have a cat situation that has arisen. I live in a rural area of NJ. We have a lot of woods and animals that run around (Groundhogs Deer etc...) My wife and I are both animal lovers and we own 2 pure bred Ragdoll Cats. They are strictly indoor cats. They are treated like the king and queen of the world and I cannot even imagine a day without them. The area we live in is a prime dumping ground for unwanted animals. In the 2 years we have been here there have been several cats that we have seen roaming around that appear to be homeless. One cat in particular looked very ragged and always just walked by the house and keep going down the street. I assumed he lived in one of the house down the road a few blocks. About a week ago I was in my office when I saw this cat ramming his head into my office window. He looked like he was emaciated and starving. I feed him a can of food and he purred the whole time and then slept a while under a tree and split. He then started showing up every day since. He basically sits at the front glass door and looks in at my ragdolls and it was all very sad because you could tell he was sad and neglected etc. We continued to feed him and he already appears to be gaining weight and basically he has been hanging under the Japanese Maple tree by my front door. In my 35 years of owning cats he is one of the nicest cats I have ever come in contact with. He is just starving for food and for attention. I took a weeks vacation this week to "relax". Well on Tuesday I said screw it I am going to take him to the vet that our ragdolls go to. Well I had them give him a thorough checkup, tests and shots. He appears to have been fixed so at one point he was "someone's" cat. He has lost all of his teeth but one. Everyone at the vet loved him and he purred so much they couldn't even check his heart because the purring was so loud. He loved the ride in the car and he just seems to genuinely appreciate all of the help. I bought him a nice jewel collar and he is now walking around the yard proud as a peacock. My wife and I decided that we would try and keep him around but we knew he had to be an outside cat. It wouldn't be fair to our Ragdoll cats to bring an indoor/outdoor cat into the house and put them at risk of disease etc. Well I just got a call from the vet and it seems the cat is FIV positive. I am totally crushed. She said that although passing it to our cats through human contact was not possible and even though he has 1 tooth left he is a low risk spreader of the disease, however for him to be outside exposes anyone else's cat to the risk if they attack him. Also being an outside cat leaves him open to various germs etc. We are at a loss as to what to do. I DO NOT want to bring him to a shelter. The vet mentioned that there were FIV colonies and I should look on the internet but I haven't seen anything like this. Does anyone have some advice on this? WE WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS CAT!!!. He is so appreciative I cannot describe it. It is almost human. He eats a little and then comes back and rubs against you and he will sit with you for hours and just hang. I know we could continue to feed him and keep him close to the house but I think his chances on the outside are not good especially in the winter. I can tell that this last week has been one of the best in his life, he looks like a different cat in just one week of our care even outside but it is warm now. In addition I don't want him to spread it to anyone else's cat although it does not appear that any of my neighbors have legitimate indoor outdoor cats. I couldn't see this cat attacking another cat and being that he literally has one tooth the risk of him biting another cat is remote... Please any advice appreciated this situation is breaking our hearts.. |
#3
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Please let us know what you decide. This is such a sad story and I hope it
has a happy ending. Gail "Gail" wrote in message ... Can you keep him in your basement or a garage (heated)? He sounds lovely and too nice a cat not to have a home. Also, maybe someone who has no other cats will take him. Gail "Simon Bar Sinister" wrote in message om... Hello.. I have a cat situation that has arisen. I live in a rural area of NJ. We have a lot of woods and animals that run around (Groundhogs Deer etc...) My wife and I are both animal lovers and we own 2 pure bred Ragdoll Cats. They are strictly indoor cats. They are treated like the king and queen of the world and I cannot even imagine a day without them. The area we live in is a prime dumping ground for unwanted animals. In the 2 years we have been here there have been several cats that we have seen roaming around that appear to be homeless. One cat in particular looked very ragged and always just walked by the house and keep going down the street. I assumed he lived in one of the house down the road a few blocks. About a week ago I was in my office when I saw this cat ramming his head into my office window. He looked like he was emaciated and starving. I feed him a can of food and he purred the whole time and then slept a while under a tree and split. He then started showing up every day since. He basically sits at the front glass door and looks in at my ragdolls and it was all very sad because you could tell he was sad and neglected etc. We continued to feed him and he already appears to be gaining weight and basically he has been hanging under the Japanese Maple tree by my front door. In my 35 years of owning cats he is one of the nicest cats I have ever come in contact with. He is just starving for food and for attention. I took a weeks vacation this week to "relax". Well on Tuesday I said screw it I am going to take him to the vet that our ragdolls go to. Well I had them give him a thorough checkup, tests and shots. He appears to have been fixed so at one point he was "someone's" cat. He has lost all of his teeth but one. Everyone at the vet loved him and he purred so much they couldn't even check his heart because the purring was so loud. He loved the ride in the car and he just seems to genuinely appreciate all of the help. I bought him a nice jewel collar and he is now walking around the yard proud as a peacock. My wife and I decided that we would try and keep him around but we knew he had to be an outside cat. It wouldn't be fair to our Ragdoll cats to bring an indoor/outdoor cat into the house and put them at risk of disease etc. Well I just got a call from the vet and it seems the cat is FIV positive. I am totally crushed. She said that although passing it to our cats through human contact was not possible and even though he has 1 tooth left he is a low risk spreader of the disease, however for him to be outside exposes anyone else's cat to the risk if they attack him. Also being an outside cat leaves him open to various germs etc. We are at a loss as to what to do. I DO NOT want to bring him to a shelter. The vet mentioned that there were FIV colonies and I should look on the internet but I haven't seen anything like this. Does anyone have some advice on this? WE WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS CAT!!!. He is so appreciative I cannot describe it. It is almost human. He eats a little and then comes back and rubs against you and he will sit with you for hours and just hang. I know we could continue to feed him and keep him close to the house but I think his chances on the outside are not good especially in the winter. I can tell that this last week has been one of the best in his life, he looks like a different cat in just one week of our care even outside but it is warm now. In addition I don't want him to spread it to anyone else's cat although it does not appear that any of my neighbors have legitimate indoor outdoor cats. I couldn't see this cat attacking another cat and being that he literally has one tooth the risk of him biting another cat is remote... Please any advice appreciated this situation is breaking our hearts.. |
#4
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Please let us know what you decide. This is such a sad story and I hope it
has a happy ending. Gail "Gail" wrote in message ... Can you keep him in your basement or a garage (heated)? He sounds lovely and too nice a cat not to have a home. Also, maybe someone who has no other cats will take him. Gail "Simon Bar Sinister" wrote in message om... Hello.. I have a cat situation that has arisen. I live in a rural area of NJ. We have a lot of woods and animals that run around (Groundhogs Deer etc...) My wife and I are both animal lovers and we own 2 pure bred Ragdoll Cats. They are strictly indoor cats. They are treated like the king and queen of the world and I cannot even imagine a day without them. The area we live in is a prime dumping ground for unwanted animals. In the 2 years we have been here there have been several cats that we have seen roaming around that appear to be homeless. One cat in particular looked very ragged and always just walked by the house and keep going down the street. I assumed he lived in one of the house down the road a few blocks. About a week ago I was in my office when I saw this cat ramming his head into my office window. He looked like he was emaciated and starving. I feed him a can of food and he purred the whole time and then slept a while under a tree and split. He then started showing up every day since. He basically sits at the front glass door and looks in at my ragdolls and it was all very sad because you could tell he was sad and neglected etc. We continued to feed him and he already appears to be gaining weight and basically he has been hanging under the Japanese Maple tree by my front door. In my 35 years of owning cats he is one of the nicest cats I have ever come in contact with. He is just starving for food and for attention. I took a weeks vacation this week to "relax". Well on Tuesday I said screw it I am going to take him to the vet that our ragdolls go to. Well I had them give him a thorough checkup, tests and shots. He appears to have been fixed so at one point he was "someone's" cat. He has lost all of his teeth but one. Everyone at the vet loved him and he purred so much they couldn't even check his heart because the purring was so loud. He loved the ride in the car and he just seems to genuinely appreciate all of the help. I bought him a nice jewel collar and he is now walking around the yard proud as a peacock. My wife and I decided that we would try and keep him around but we knew he had to be an outside cat. It wouldn't be fair to our Ragdoll cats to bring an indoor/outdoor cat into the house and put them at risk of disease etc. Well I just got a call from the vet and it seems the cat is FIV positive. I am totally crushed. She said that although passing it to our cats through human contact was not possible and even though he has 1 tooth left he is a low risk spreader of the disease, however for him to be outside exposes anyone else's cat to the risk if they attack him. Also being an outside cat leaves him open to various germs etc. We are at a loss as to what to do. I DO NOT want to bring him to a shelter. The vet mentioned that there were FIV colonies and I should look on the internet but I haven't seen anything like this. Does anyone have some advice on this? WE WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS CAT!!!. He is so appreciative I cannot describe it. It is almost human. He eats a little and then comes back and rubs against you and he will sit with you for hours and just hang. I know we could continue to feed him and keep him close to the house but I think his chances on the outside are not good especially in the winter. I can tell that this last week has been one of the best in his life, he looks like a different cat in just one week of our care even outside but it is warm now. In addition I don't want him to spread it to anyone else's cat although it does not appear that any of my neighbors have legitimate indoor outdoor cats. I couldn't see this cat attacking another cat and being that he literally has one tooth the risk of him biting another cat is remote... Please any advice appreciated this situation is breaking our hearts.. |
#5
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Can you keep him in your basement or a garage (heated)? He sounds lovely
and too nice a cat not to have a home. Also, maybe someone who has no other cats will take him. Gail "Simon Bar Sinister" wrote in message om... Hello.. I have a cat situation that has arisen. I live in a rural area of NJ. We have a lot of woods and animals that run around (Groundhogs Deer etc...) My wife and I are both animal lovers and we own 2 pure bred Ragdoll Cats. They are strictly indoor cats. They are treated like the king and queen of the world and I cannot even imagine a day without them. The area we live in is a prime dumping ground for unwanted animals. In the 2 years we have been here there have been several cats that we have seen roaming around that appear to be homeless. One cat in particular looked very ragged and always just walked by the house and keep going down the street. I assumed he lived in one of the house down the road a few blocks. About a week ago I was in my office when I saw this cat ramming his head into my office window. He looked like he was emaciated and starving. I feed him a can of food and he purred the whole time and then slept a while under a tree and split. He then started showing up every day since. He basically sits at the front glass door and looks in at my ragdolls and it was all very sad because you could tell he was sad and neglected etc. We continued to feed him and he already appears to be gaining weight and basically he has been hanging under the Japanese Maple tree by my front door. In my 35 years of owning cats he is one of the nicest cats I have ever come in contact with. He is just starving for food and for attention. I took a weeks vacation this week to "relax". Well on Tuesday I said screw it I am going to take him to the vet that our ragdolls go to. Well I had them give him a thorough checkup, tests and shots. He appears to have been fixed so at one point he was "someone's" cat. He has lost all of his teeth but one. Everyone at the vet loved him and he purred so much they couldn't even check his heart because the purring was so loud. He loved the ride in the car and he just seems to genuinely appreciate all of the help. I bought him a nice jewel collar and he is now walking around the yard proud as a peacock. My wife and I decided that we would try and keep him around but we knew he had to be an outside cat. It wouldn't be fair to our Ragdoll cats to bring an indoor/outdoor cat into the house and put them at risk of disease etc. Well I just got a call from the vet and it seems the cat is FIV positive. I am totally crushed. She said that although passing it to our cats through human contact was not possible and even though he has 1 tooth left he is a low risk spreader of the disease, however for him to be outside exposes anyone else's cat to the risk if they attack him. Also being an outside cat leaves him open to various germs etc. We are at a loss as to what to do. I DO NOT want to bring him to a shelter. The vet mentioned that there were FIV colonies and I should look on the internet but I haven't seen anything like this. Does anyone have some advice on this? WE WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS CAT!!!. He is so appreciative I cannot describe it. It is almost human. He eats a little and then comes back and rubs against you and he will sit with you for hours and just hang. I know we could continue to feed him and keep him close to the house but I think his chances on the outside are not good especially in the winter. I can tell that this last week has been one of the best in his life, he looks like a different cat in just one week of our care even outside but it is warm now. In addition I don't want him to spread it to anyone else's cat although it does not appear that any of my neighbors have legitimate indoor outdoor cats. I couldn't see this cat attacking another cat and being that he literally has one tooth the risk of him biting another cat is remote... Please any advice appreciated this situation is breaking our hearts.. |
#6
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Please any advice appreciated this situation is breaking our hearts..
Contact Jonathan Rosenberg at Tabby's Place. It is somewhere in NJ. I believe it is tabbysplace.org or do a Google search to get the correct url. Jonathan is a longtime reader of this newsgroup although I don't see him post much anymore. Tell him you read rpchb and heard about him. He started/directs this no-kill shelter dedicated to his late cats. Maybe he has FIV cats at his shelter or at least has some good ideas or contacts for you. Poor kitty, I hope this has a happy ending. I would be tempted to try to keep him as an indoor cat if I were you since the risk to your cats is minimal and most cats can adapt to an indoor life with enough stimulation. But I also certainly understand your concerns your existing cats and the new kitty's happiness as well. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace |
#7
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Please any advice appreciated this situation is breaking our hearts..
Contact Jonathan Rosenberg at Tabby's Place. It is somewhere in NJ. I believe it is tabbysplace.org or do a Google search to get the correct url. Jonathan is a longtime reader of this newsgroup although I don't see him post much anymore. Tell him you read rpchb and heard about him. He started/directs this no-kill shelter dedicated to his late cats. Maybe he has FIV cats at his shelter or at least has some good ideas or contacts for you. Poor kitty, I hope this has a happy ending. I would be tempted to try to keep him as an indoor cat if I were you since the risk to your cats is minimal and most cats can adapt to an indoor life with enough stimulation. But I also certainly understand your concerns your existing cats and the new kitty's happiness as well. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace |
#8
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#9
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