# Stray we found



## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

We are bringing him to the vet today in an hr. I would love to keep him but I doubt my husband will let me...I asked my mom if she will take him if I can't find him a home and she said yes. Our vet gave us a hard time when we called to come grt the cat checked out before he enters our home... I don't want to get my pets sick... he's been living under my friends back porch for months... I think the previous renters abandoned the cat.. my friend is allergic so I picked him up... I'm nervous about what the vets gonna be like... he's not a happy camper in the carrier

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## kittiesmom (Aug 27, 2013)

Poor boy, I hope you can find him a good home. I have two feral cats we found as kittens and are now three yrs old.


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

We are sure to find him a good home.. I'm lucky to know a lot of animal suckers

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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

Thank you for rescuing him, you are changing his life, giving him a chance at a life now, so thank you so much for this. You are wise to get him checked out before getting around any other cats. I'm not sure where you live, if you don't have many vets to choose from, but if my vet gave me a hard time, I would probably find another vet. Of course, I love my vet and they are wise to be kind to me since I have three cats and a dog and have been with them for many years, but if they ever gave me a hard time, I don't know that I would go back. 

Thank you for taking care of this little guy, and hopefully he will be in his forever home soon.


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

I think it was the receptionist who was annoyed because my vet is skipping her lunch break to fit me in... she knows how much money we give her lol our pets are ALWAYS sick... we are still waiting tho bec an emergency came in.

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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

He has aids  so we can't keep him with our cat... I'm such a wreck

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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm sorry. 

But! There are false positives for FIV; the snap test a vet does only checks for antibodies for FIV, this could mean the cat was exposed but no longer carries the virus, either by fighting it off or simply from carrying positive anitibodies from a FIV infected mother. When I brought my indoor/outdoor cat to the vet for the first time, they said there was no point in testing for FIV since she appeared healthy and as we didn't know her history, she may have had the vaccination _against_ FIV and that in turn could show as a positive and needlessly worry us. The way to confirm if it is indeed FIV is something known as a western blot test.

Lastly, many people have FIV cats coexisting with uninfected cats. Between FIV and FeLV, FIV is far less serious in terms out the overall outlook. I'm not saying the outlook is great, but FeLV cats usually have a much shorter lifespan. Cats can often live a long healthy life when they have FIV, and FIV appears to be much less transmittable than FeLV from my observations. I volunteer at a cat sanctuary where occasionally a cat pops up in the general population that's sick, when this happens 99% of the time it's FeLV, not FIV they've become infected with. FIV is mostly only transmitted by deep bite wounds, so if you don't have a scrapping cat, things could be just fine in a multi-cat household. I understand if you are not willing to take the risk, though.

Will you mother still take him?


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## NebraskaCat (Jan 15, 2013)

Interesting timing. I was just talking to our shelter's special unit coordinator today and I said I'd take Bruiser home if I didn't have the girls at home. And she said why don't you? I said I thought we didn't allow FIV+ or FeLV+ cats to be adopted into homes with non-positive cats. She said we're allowing FIV cats now. They live normal lives and the virus is very difficult to spread - only in deep bite wounds usually. So the stigma is slowly dissolving that you can't have FIV cats and neg cats together. And now I have a maybe/possibly fostertunity.


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

My mother would have taken him in a year. I believe she would still take him. But we were planning on keeping him in our home for that time being. Jeremy and I are doing research now. I don't think we should put him down like the vet asked us to consider if we couldn't find a home. She didn't want us to release him as a stray because he could infect others. Currently he is in our bathroom. Separated from our animals. I asked a coworker if she would take him in. She said she will talk to her bf and let me know tomorrow. He is just such a sweet cat. Jeremy keeps asking me the simple question it comes down to... is it worth risking our current cat? I feel like its an unfair question. Of course it isn't worth hurting our baby... but how can they garauntee that it would.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

This is a pretty good site about FIV:
fivcats.com (check out the main page as well as the FIV transmission page)

Here, in fact, is a web page a vet recommended to me:
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) - VeterinaryPartner.com

The key thing there:


> *How did my Cat get Infected?*
> The major route of virus transmission is by the deep bite wounds that occur during fighting. There are other means of spreading the virus but they are less common. Mother cats cannot readily infect their kittens except in the initial stages of her infection. FIV can be transmitted sexually and through improperly screened blood transfusions. Casual contact such as sharing food bowls or snuggling is unlikely to transmit the virus.
> 
> 
> *Isolation of an FIV+ cat is not necessary in a stable household unless the FIV+ cat is likely to fight with the other residents.*


Here's another in depth site on FIV:
Transmission of FIV in Friendly Households


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Carmel said:


> This is a pretty good site about FIV:
> fivcats.com (check out the main page as well as the FIV transmission page)
> 
> Here, in fact, is a web page a vet recommended to me:
> ...


 
This is great news to know. We all need to spread this info!!


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

My husband and I are in love with him... we are not going to put him down and are willing to keep him until we find a home. We are still discussing and struggling with whether our home is the right one... oo n we named him seamus

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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

What a great name! I am glad you are going to help and love this little one. Thanks for caring.


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

We have decided that our home is not his forever home... but we have some good leads on no kill shelters and some people willing to help try and find a home for him... I cried and cried and cried about the decision, but Asia my cat would be the worst pet to get FIV. Her health history is not the best... and I love her dearly and cannot rationalize the risk even if it is extremely low. I may consider adopting an FIV cat though once she crosses rainbow bridge. My husband told me he didnt think I could do animal rescue if this is how I act because I am too emotionally involved... I used to want to own my own shelter...I think my problem is once I save them from the street I want to keep them and love them forever... its hard to pass them off to the next person and trust they will be cared for


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Katrina,
I know you may feel guilty about finding him a different home...
However, part of owning a cat or several of them...
Is to know your limit and what you can and cannot do, to keep them all healthy. 
You are doing a wonderful job to just give this little guy a chance to find a good and caring home!
Thank you for caring enough to do this, with all the sad and terrible stories, 
I see and hear...
This makes my heart happy!!
Prayers and Hugs! 

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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

Thanks! I feel terrible knowing it is only a 2% chance that she could get it... and I love him already so I keep doubting my decision to rehome him....i keep playing the what if game.... what if they never fought? what if they loved each other? what if i took the introduction process super slow? My vet is dead set against them being in the same household... But I ready testimonials online all night from people who did it. I wish she didnt have her health history to scare me away.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Katrina,
I think your Vet needs to do some "Refresher" courses in vet medicine...
I would be looking for a different vet...
Seamus is a Handsome little guy, by the way!
What kind of health problems does Asia have?


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

She has seasonal skin allergies... she gets upen wounds from it and sometimes a respiratory infection... we have to give her drugs thst suppress her immune system... so if she had FIV.then we would be dealing with an FIV cat that is always sick. I feel like that would indeed cost her a shortened life

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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

An Update, we have contacted almost every shelter in the book, and they are all at full capacity. Many of them have told us to keep him and that Asia has very little risk of contracting the disease. We met someone who is willing to come meet him and network to try and find him a home. She's coming over tomorrow night. I hope she can find him a home because i am falling deep into wanting to keep him. The more research i do the more I realize that we can make sure to prevent him from spreading it to Asia. Of course there is always that chance and people make me feel horrible for considering it. He finally pooped so thats great.. the fleas are gone and his skin is clearing up. We put Asia in his room, and let him have the run of the house in order to start the intro process... we have a loft so Asia is sitting staring at the cat and growling... lovely... just lovely


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

*Update on Seamus the FIV stray*

An Update, we have contacted almost every shelter in the book, and they are all at full capacity. Many of them have told us to keep him and that Asia has very little risk of contracting the disease. We met someone who is willing to come meet him and network to try and find him a home. She's coming over tomorrow night. I hope she can find him a home because i am falling deep into wanting to keep him. The more research i do the more I realize that we can make sure to prevent him from spreading it to Asia. Of course there is always that chance and people make me feel horrible for considering it. He finally pooped so thats great.. the fleas are gone and his skin is clearing up. We put Asia in his room, and let him have the run of the house in order to start the intro process... we have a loft so Asia is sitting staring at the cat and growling... lovely... just lovely..

I want to keep him :/

I went to brush Asias teeth tonight...and she has an open wound in her mouth... one of her teeth is irritating her...


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

He is is pretty precious! He even matches your carpet!


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

Haha he does match the carpet. J kept thinking the cat disappeared. I kept having to point out where he is. And he follows you around

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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

*Yay! We are keeping the FIV kitty*

We are going to keep Seamus. A nice lady from the shelter came and talked me about rehoming the cat..She loved him! She said it would be very possible to find him a home bec hes so outgoing... I found myself feeling protective... happy that he could get a home but wanting to keep him lol. She was really nice and she told me to try introducing my kitty to him and if it didnt go well that I could have her take him and rehome him. It's nice because theres not so much pressure. I am so relieved that he's not putting my kitty at as much risk as I thought.


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

I am really happy he is staying with you! I was hoping it would go that way. He seems like such a sweet boy and I could tell by your posts that you loved him already. Take it easy on the introductions, don't get in a hurry, give the kitties all the time they need. I have a feeling it is going to turn out wonderfully for all of you. Congratulations on your new fur baby!


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Any updates? How are you all doing?


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## katrina89 (Jul 30, 2013)

I'm at a stand still on their introduction. . I need help... I made a post in behavior about it... called new cat trouble

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