Hiya Jennifer -- and welcome! Sounds like you've got a real snugglemuffin there :0) I bet he pulls through this. Five of my eight cats were strays...varying degrees of 'feral'...some are still very feral to anyone but me. A couple were very sick and beat up when they came to me and informed me that they would live here.
Some of the best investments I ever made for the kids were those multi-leveled 'kitty condos' (you can find them on sale sometimes - also on ebay). provides kitty a great place to climb...great exercise for them...and it gives them a great place to do their clawing (which is also a scent-marking thing with them). The ones with Sisal rope are especially good. If you have places you don't want them to claw or leave their scent...Feliway spray works very well for us. It's expensive - but ' entirelypet.com' has the best price i've seen. It's a cat pheromone spray (we can't smell it - also comes in a diffuser)...but it signals kitty to be peaceful and calm and they won't feel they need to do any scent-type marking. Sounds like he has a wonderful personality. Oh - another tip...I found these flat scratching board things at PetSmart...about 2ft long and maybe 6 inches wide covered in that sisal rope. They go nuts over those....but what really makes them go crazy is if I give them a spritz with this concentrated cat nip spray that you can find there too. Not all cats respond to catnip -- it's a gene...kinda like tongue rolling in people...some got it - some don't....but - if you're snugglemuffin has it - he'll go nuts. Some may disagree with me -- but if you really must discipline kitty...a spritz of water from a spray bottle will usually do the trick. after one or two spritzes...all you have to do is pick up the bottle and shake it. If you are persistent...it doesn't take long to learn what 'no' means. I usually lower my voice when I use that word but I don't have to say it very often. Kiss midnight for me and please keep us posted on how he's doing. Thank you for caring enough to realize that FeVL+ doesn't diminish the value of his dear life. Even if he doesn't throw the virus, he could still have a good quality of life for a long time. elizabeth On 1/18/07, Jennifer Madon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
You are correct about the antibiotics were for the abscess, and the vet seemed sure they were cat bites. I never heard about a faint pos., just pos. The vet guessed he is about 8 months. He has no symptoms at all. The vet said that he was shocked when the test came back pos. They didn't do any other tests or shots that day because he had a fever (due to the abscess ). As far as the puddles, they don't smell at all! He has gotten SOOO far since he has been here. He eats great. He also drinks water a lot, well a lot to me but I am new to cats. He does use his litter box, he doesn't appear to strain and he doesn't cry. Some times he walks around me and just meows for no apparent reason. I think he just wants to be held. What a lap cat! He is sleeping on the desk beside me now. He is very spunky. At night he is calm and loving, but at 5 AM, any things that moves is fair game for a pouncing! LOL. Any tips for getting him to use a scratching board instead of my couch and office chair. I am firmly against declawing him but my husband is threating it. I told him I would definger him if he did! Can you recommend a food, I am sure you would scold me over his current food. But take it easy on me, I am new to this! LOL Midnight will be neutered somewhere around the end of Jan. and beginning of Feb. I will make the appointment of Tues. Oh and stress free may be hard. We have 3 kids, but he seems to love them. They are crazy amongst themselves but the all calm down and get very gentle when dealing with him. All they know is that he is sick and very special. Thanks again Jennifer Nina wrote: > Hi Jennifer, > I'm glad you found us and so very glad Midnight found you. I take it > the antibiotics were for the abscess on his tail and not because he is > displaying any other symptoms of illness? Did the infection clear up > okay? How old does the vet think Midnight is? Adult, healthy cats > have a much better chance of clearing the virus than an older, sickly, > or young kitten. Because he was a stray, there's no way for you to > know when he contracted the disease. It may have happened when he got > the abscess on his tail. I'm not sure why your vet is having you > retest in only 3 weeks. If Midnight is in the process of clearing > felv, a three week interval between testing is probably too soon to be > reliable. Usually it is recommended to wait 3 to 6 months. Did the > vet tell you it was a faint pos? If the vet suspects the test was a > false pos, then a retest in 3 weeks makes more sense. It is also > usually recommended to retest using an IFA, (not the in house ELISA). > When you are ready to have him neutered, please ask us about protocols > and procedures to help reduce the stress on his body during surgery. > Felv cats need to be kept as stress free as possible and fed as high a > quality diet as you can. > I'm not sure what these "puddles" on the floor might be. Do they > smell like urine? Has he been using his litter box? Have you noticed > any straining, or does he cry when he urinates? It sounds more like > it might be vomit to me. Have you mentioned the slight blood tinge to > the vet? It doesn't sound "right", but I'm hoping it's nothing > serious. Has he been showing any other symptoms? Any coughing or > upper respiratory congestion? Is he eating normally? Keep a close > eye on him and see if you catch him in the act of excreting these > puddles. > > I'm sure others will be posting soon with suggestions. Ask as many > questions as you like. The people on this list are wonderfully > supportive and we all know how scary this diagnosis is. > Nina > > > Jennifer Madon wrote: >> Hi everyone! Let me start by saying that my name is Jennifer. I am >> new to the whole feline leukemia situation. We had a stray cat adopt >> us right after Christmas. When he wouldn't go away, we decided to >> adopt him. He is so sweet and loving, I am so glad my husband said >> yes!! We took him to the vet and he tested positive. He also had an >> abscess on the base of his tail. We are done with the antibiotics >> but I still put to ointment on him. We go back next Tuesday (3 weeks >> after original test) for a retest. After that, we are having him >> fixed. My question is that I have found (about 3 times) some puddles >> of water on the kitchen floor. I thought maybe he was peeing on the >> floor but the liquid is clear with a pink tint to it. Does this >> sound right? Any ideas? I am very new to this so any info or tips >> on this or anything else is appreciated!! Thanks! >> Jennifer and Midnight >> >> >> >> >> >> > > >
