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Hello, kitty
You may remember that around a month ago, M and I took in a stray cat of long acquaintance, a one-eyed little guy whom we named Jack. The vet told us that he was likely eight-to-ten years old, that his bad eye was collapsed due to a puncture and loss of vitreous fluid, and that he had tested positive for the inevitably fatal feline immunodeficiency virus. Putting the cat down would have been a more responsible act than releasing him back into the wild, but we chose the more humane option of adopting him for our own. Actually, we didn’t have much of a choice: we had become terribly fond of Jack during his years in the wild.
We made this decision without consulting Venice, Baxter, Scooter, and Roxy - the four cats already part of the Waveflux pride - but we could easily guess what they would have said about it.
M put up a lockable door leading to the basement to accompany the retractable vinyl mesh pet gate, creating a double-entry that we think of as an airlock. Keeping Jack separated from the pre-existing livestock would have been important even in a situation that did not involve FIV; as it was, we didn’t want to take any chances. jack has been ensconced in the basement like the Cat of Monte Cristo, and while we felt bad about his administrative lockdown, we took some comfort in knowing that he was considerably safer and more comfortable than he had been before we took him in.
In reading up on FIV, however, we learned that the situation left us with more options than we had expected. Because the FIV virus is chiefly transferred between cats via biting and gouging - not though mutual grooming or shared litter boxes - the majority of vets maintain that there is no reason why an FIV+ cat could not be assimilated into an existing feline household, assuming that the household is a stable one.
Thus, our efforts over the past week or two have been devoted to working Jack into the general population. All I have time to share just now is the following video of Jack’s adventures in dining. It is already largely overtaken by recent developments, but still valuable as evidence to anyone who knew about Jack’s story and wondered how he was doing.
Jack wants you to know that he’s doing okay. Now let’s eat.
(Apologies for the small type in the some of the titles. Practice is needed.)
More on Jack in the days to come.
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Jack
Garden Cat update
Garden Cat goes to the vet
Sorry, Roxy
Jack in repose
Discussion
14 comments for “Hello, kitty”
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Phil and M — this is such great news! I have, in fact, thought about Jack a number of times since your recent post — and I’m very glad to get new info on FIV.
Good kitteh mamas and papas that you are, I imagine that Jack is a very happy feline.
PD
Thanks, PD! It had been a month, and I really wanted to let folks know that Jack was OK - better than OK, really.
The FIV info has been an education for us. We had been considering vaccinating our FIV-negative cats against the virus, but the vet consensus says not to - the vaccine may only guard against two of the five strains of virus, and all vaccinated cats will thereafter test positive for the virus using the standard test. That and the info regarding the transmissibility of FIV - lower than that of feline leukemia - have guided us as we began introducing Jack to the upper world.
Things have progressed in fits and starts, but they’re progressing. I’ll be blogging more about it soon.
Yeah, my vet had advised me against the vaccine, but counseled separation — great to know there’s new info out there.
As to this: Things have progressed in fits and starts, but they’re progressing. I’ll be blogging more about it soon.
I know WAY too much about blending kitty “families” LOL — around our house, when we’ve brought new kittehs into the mix, we just brace ourselves for the operatic drama of yowling and hissing and hope for the best.
It’s remarkable that you ever even got him inside, and btw — he looks absolutely beautiful.
…the operatic drama of yowling and hissing and hope for the best.
Jesus, yes. It’s like Macbeth every day around here. “Lay on, MacKittyCat, and damn’d be him that first cries, ‘Hold, enough!’” Or something. :-D
Jack does look pretty good, doesn’t he?
Oh he looks great! So full of energy and food. Also, he looks so much like my own kitty, so my heart melts for him.
So full of energy and food.
My God, Amy, his appetite is incredible. Jack’s not quite as ravenous as when he lived outdoors, and he’s comfortable enough to be picky about his food now and again, but he can put away some chow.
And he’s a sloppy eater on top of it. :-)
He does melt your heart, though, especially when you recall, as I often do, what his situation was not terribly long ago.
Jack does look pretty good, doesn’t he?
Indeed he does.
Many years ago My Mum wanted to adopt a cat, but I think he had the same virus, so the RSPCA inspector took him away to be euthanised.
If Mum had had more information she would’ve fought tooth and nail to save him.
That’s sad, Pip. You can only go by the information you’re given. I’ve had friends who had to give up kitties for the same reasons. Even though FIV isn’t as easily transmitted as FeLV, we’re still being as watchful as possible.
Last night, I was down in the basement with Jack and a fight broke out amongst the four cats upstairs. God only knows what started it - and they’ve never gotten into that kind of brawl before. I think they are all affected by the presence of the Mystery Cat downstairs. Sometimes the progress comes quickly, and then there are times like last night.
Oh, thank you so much for the update on Jack. I have been wondering about him ever since I read your first post about him. I am delighted there will be check-in’s on his adaption to his adoption. You and your wife ROCK!
Thanks, Level Best! I will indeed post regularly - monthly for sure, along with an interim post of two - on Jack’s situation.
I tried telling him that a lot of people were interested in his welfare, but all he said was “Mrrroww.”
I’ve thought about this for several days, and decided to go ahead and say it, which will make me sound like the Debbie Downer in the room.
If the “only” worry is biting and gouging — how will you ensure that no biting and gouging ensues, especially if the upstairs residents are already feeling uncharacteristically aggressive?
This aspect of my personality — looking immediately toward the potential disaster in any situation — was unfortunately ingrained in me by my well-meaning grandmother. To this day, I don’t do well with stairs.
Anyway, count me as one interested in Jack’s welfare.
As someone who once cared for eight cats, some mine and some fosters (one outside, three who had the run of the main part of the house, two in my office, and two in my bedroom), I well understand the stresses involved in keeping cats separated.
(Oh — and the wordless proof that you and M are Cat People is right there in the video. You are feeding him on your dining table, which to some would be occasion to throw the table out as ruined!!!!!)
Bitty, there’s no way to categorically ensure zero biting; all we can do is be watchful, judge the cats’ behavior, deploy plenty of praise, food, and redirection. And take things fairly slowly.
Re the dining room table: M has said that her mother (or was that grandmother?) would have disowned her if she’d been alive to see how our cats have the run of the table. Accordingly, we stock up on this stuff.
Well, yes, I knew you couldn’t ensure zero biting. And I knew you had thought it through. I guess I just needed to express my concerns for the rest of the population.
My cat currently lives on the dining table. I haven’t seen him off it except when he eats, visits the litter box, or joins me on the couch. I frankly wouldn’t mind his eating on it — or sleeping on it — but I just got the thing and I’m not ready for it to be weathered by the gouges from his rear claws. I have a solution for keeping him off, but not the time to employ it yet. It involves a cat pole and throw pillows.
And I love that stuff. Now I don’t mind cleaning the refrigerator interior, with the food in place.
[...] has been a fairly unhappy camper since the one-eyed wonder came to live with us. We tell him his place atop the hierarchy is unthreatened by Jack, but he just [...]