A Good Support Story
My mom is friends with a lady that she used to work with years ago, that now works for her. We will call her A. I've been to lunch a couple of times with my mom and A, and even been to her house. I met her chubby old tom cat that, like Sugar, seems to just get crankier the older he gets, but is loved dearly by his mommy.
Well, I heard a story yesterday about this tomcat. A said she used to work in a shelter, and they have to test every kitty that comes in, because they're not allowed to pass them back out if they test positive for the major ones, like FIV, FeLV, and FIP. She said that a spunky little baby kitty came in, and tested positive for FeLV, so they were going to put him down. She just couldn't justify putting down what seemed to be a healthy baby (sound familiar?), so she told them that she would take him home with her, she would care for him until he got sick, and would bring him back when he did. She has had him for 11 years, and he's never been sick a day in his life. She said she's tested him, and he still tests positive so he is one of the 40% that has a latent infection or has become a carrier.
She also said that about 3 years ago she found a little baby that had been dumped in a dumpster. She brought her home because she would have died in that dumpster. She knew that her tomcat has FeLV, so she had her tested and vaccinated. She's made sure to keep up on this baby's vaccinations, and she's never tested positive in the 3 years she's had her.
I felt that was a tidbit of good news for our decision and our efforts. I also felt that was a little bit worse, because older cats are supposed to have built up immunities to FeLV for the most part, and babies are much easier to expose. With Sugar being vaccinated, we thought the chances were pretty low. We realize that there is still a chance, but with all the research we've done, and the different vets, we heard the vaccine is about 80% effective. That 80% plus Sugar being 8 years old, puts her in the lower than 20% range. A's baby had a much higher percentage, being as young as she was and dumped off in a dumpster, but is still not infected and the older she gets, the less likely it will happen.
I needed the extra support, and thank you A for giving me that extra boost of hope.
Well, I heard a story yesterday about this tomcat. A said she used to work in a shelter, and they have to test every kitty that comes in, because they're not allowed to pass them back out if they test positive for the major ones, like FIV, FeLV, and FIP. She said that a spunky little baby kitty came in, and tested positive for FeLV, so they were going to put him down. She just couldn't justify putting down what seemed to be a healthy baby (sound familiar?), so she told them that she would take him home with her, she would care for him until he got sick, and would bring him back when he did. She has had him for 11 years, and he's never been sick a day in his life. She said she's tested him, and he still tests positive so he is one of the 40% that has a latent infection or has become a carrier.
She also said that about 3 years ago she found a little baby that had been dumped in a dumpster. She brought her home because she would have died in that dumpster. She knew that her tomcat has FeLV, so she had her tested and vaccinated. She's made sure to keep up on this baby's vaccinations, and she's never tested positive in the 3 years she's had her.
I felt that was a tidbit of good news for our decision and our efforts. I also felt that was a little bit worse, because older cats are supposed to have built up immunities to FeLV for the most part, and babies are much easier to expose. With Sugar being vaccinated, we thought the chances were pretty low. We realize that there is still a chance, but with all the research we've done, and the different vets, we heard the vaccine is about 80% effective. That 80% plus Sugar being 8 years old, puts her in the lower than 20% range. A's baby had a much higher percentage, being as young as she was and dumped off in a dumpster, but is still not infected and the older she gets, the less likely it will happen.
I needed the extra support, and thank you A for giving me that extra boost of hope.
posted by Amanda at 9:36 AM
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