Re: more on Lucy

[Lernermichelle]

She goes outside under our supervision. We have cat fence on the fence tops to keep them in, but because we live near a road I still get nervous letting them out without supervision. Plus she hunts if unsupervised.   The weather recently got cold here, and maybe we were not keeping the heat up enough.  It was 63 degrees in the house when I checked the other day.  In the spring that would be warm, but I think after the summer it feels cold. Today I have it up to 73, which is warmer than I would usually keep it, but I want to keep her warm. I also have a space heater on, though she is not laying near it.   Other than that, I don't know. Their immune systems are weak because of the FeLV. Many cats always carry herpes virus, which can cause URI, and it just rears its head every once in a while when their immune system goes down from stress or something else. .Lucy is on steroids for IBD and has been for a few months now. That can encourage Herpes.  Also, someone came to clean the furnace the other day, and she got scared and hid in the ceiling for a few hours. Perhaps the stress lowered her immune system further. I don't know.  I do not volunteer at a shelter anymore, and do not remember seeing other cats recently.  But who knows.  I was at my parents' house last week and they have two cats; they are not sick, but they go outside, and maybe they are carrying something.  But in my experience talking to other people, even people with single indoor-only FeLV+ cats still report that they get colds every once in a while. I just hope that is all Lucy has.   Michelle   In a message dated 10/24/2006 2:03:49 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Michelle, Do you know how Lucy got a URI?  Is she indoor only?  Do you work with other cats?   Just curious, always looking to protect my troublemakers. Leslie