If the only place you could be with your loved ones and not feel like a
prisoner, was to stand in thunder storms, (even with a pole in your
arms), I wonder how much more ready to risk
it someone might be. I don't know how well this analogy works, but
when you're talking about a pos being segregated away from family fur
members and confined to one room "for each other's safety", there are
other things to consider besides the "safest" course of action. There
is some debate about just how social cats are, how necessary to their
well being it is to interact with each other. I just know from
personal experience that it is important to my guys. I don't know how
I would have reacted if I'd had some warning about the status of my
felv kids. They had already been mixed, and even though it did give me
pause, there was really no decision to be made. I can only tell you
how grateful I am that I didn't separate them from the rest of the
household. Maybe I'm fortunate to not have had anyone else contract
the disease, the majority of this list has had the same experience, but
there are some that have not. I guess part of my decision making
process always includes the aspect of what I consider quality of life.
I've never been a proponent of quantity over quality. Cats need to
interact in as "free" and stimulating an environment as possible. Of
course it's important to keep them safe, but I wonder what their answer
would be if we posed the question to them directly. We could always
pole incarcerated humans and ask them if they'd rather take their
chances standing free in a thunder storm. Maybe my view on this has to
do with watching, loving and learning from my feral
colonies. Perhaps it's just a rationalization to help me cope with not
being able to fully protect the "wild" cats that I love, but I am
convinced that they would not be living as full or as happy a life if
they were
forced to live in captivity. So, as it's too late to not make this a long-winded response, I'll try to at least cut it short... Should the experts update their websites? You bet they should. Part of the problem is that the updating we are looking for is mostly from anequdotal evidence and the experts don't put a great deal of credence in what guardians like us have discovered. At the same time, no one seems willing to do the studies that might back up what we've learned here. There are still many vets that don't think shutting the pos away in it's own room is enough of a precaution. These are the vets that take it a step further and advocate euthanasia of asymptomatic cats, not only for the protection of the negs in the household, but for the pos as well! The owners unfortunate enough to put their faith in that kind of expert advice never get the chance to prove them wrong. I know that this list and the history of it's members was a breath of fresh air to me when I was confused, distraught and at the end of my rope. I know that the advice I've received here has proven to be as reliable as any I could receive about this unpredictable and insidious disease. Would I take the advice of some of our members over that of a trained, licensed veterinarian? You bet I would, and I have. Nina [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
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- Safety first? - On my soapbox again Nina
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox again etrent
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox again Tad Burnett
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox again etrent
- Elizabeth's talent Nina
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox ag... Terri Brown
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox again catatonya
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox again Stephanie E Caldwell
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox again gblane
- Re: Safety first? - On my soapbox again catatonya