Kerry, Praises that you got the family leave approved (yea!) and I'll continue to pray for your dad, you, your kitties, and your family. Also, awesome that Mickey tested negative! I am happy for you.
:) Wendy --- Kerry MacKenzie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's some good news. > But first, the background for those who don't know > it: of the feral colony of 5 kittens (Caramel, Levi, > Flavia, Snoball and Mickey) and I adult cat (Momcat) > I took in in December 2003, 4 of the kittens > ---Caramel, Levi, Flavia & Snoball--tested positive > in Feb 2004 and all 5 kittens tested positive in > July 2004. Momcat tested negative both times. > All were quarantined in my 2nd bedroom, away from my > 3 existing negative cats. The 4 kitties that tested > pos twice succumbed between November 2004 and July > 2005. That left 1 pos, Mickey, and 1 neg, Momcat, > both of whom I continued to quarantine. They were > buddies and it would have been cruel to separate > them, particularly as Momcat appeared immune to > FeLV. > My dream has been that Mickey would revert to neg, > and I could then integrate them both in my > household. Hope springs eternal as they say-- I > dreamed of that before, and it didn't come to pass. > Nonetheless for about 10 months, I dreamed....and > procrastinated over re-testing them for a variety of > reasons, not least fear of Mickey testing pos again. > Today I trapped Mickey, had him re-tested, > and......he's NEGATIVE!!! > Because I'm anal, I'm going to trap Momcat next > weekend and have her tested. I fully expect her to > have remained negative. But, if by some horrible > twist of fate she is not (because she caught it from > the pos kitties before they passed away) I plan > ----at last----to vaccinate my negs and integrate > them all anyway. There is a much better vaccination > available now, and my vet has the special equipment > to do it. > This is such wonderful news on so many levels, not > least because it demonstrates -- again---that FeLV > is simply not as contagious as most people believe. > Mickey lived with his siblings all his life, tested > pos once, but has thrown it off. And Momcat, who > also lived with them all, never got it in the first > place. (And neither of them has ever been FeLV > vaccinated!) > It's also something I'm going to highlight in the > letter to Paula F in my lobbying for the new Chicago > PAWS shelter to have an FeLV annex. I had intended > the letter to be (finally) mailed on Friday. But I'm > glad that it wasn't! > I now want to thank Nina for coming to my rescue > when I called her at 11pm last night (1am my time) > in a panic because Mickey walked into the trap way > before I expected him to. How could I reasonably > expect him to stay there all night? What was I going > to do about his bodily needs?? Nina reassured me a) > that she has had to do that too on occasion (so I > stopped feeling like a monster) and b) advised me to > elevate the trap and layer the floor with paper. > Sure enough, everything fell through the wire mesh > on to the paper so Mickey was not in the discomfort > in which he would otherwise have been and he > survived the night. > And I have Hideyo to thank for the success of the > next stage--I was gearing up for a chase & catch > battle in transferring Mickey from the cage to a > carrier to take to the vet (I don't have a car; so > carrier is easier for standing in street hailing > cab). But Hideyo has a great technique that she > shared---uncover the cage the cat is in, and cover > (or provide dark-colored) carrier you want to > transfer the cat to. The principle being that they > will always prefer the dark option. (Correct me if > I'm wrong about the principle Hideyo) Sure > enough--my little feral Mickey WALKED from the cage > straight in to the carrier. No battle necessary!! > So, today is a happy day at no 603, to say the > least. > Also, last but not least, I want to say, I'm sorry I > continue to only post sporadically. I pray for all > your sick kitties and send healing vibes. And my > heart goes out to all those that have crossed the > bridge. > I hope that I will be in a position to post more > regualarly when I get back from UK mid-June. (I go > there mid May.) (I had a month's FMLA approved > yesterday, to be with my dad, who has Stage 3 > cancer.) I *really* miss being part of the everyday > list. This group is just the best EVER. > love and hugs to all of you and your furballs.Kerry > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
