Hi again

Hi all, I'm not sure if any of you remember my situation. I have 5 cats, 1 with feline leukemia. Here's a link to my old thread:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...=108549&page=2

We have been trying to keep Joey the way we had planned, in our room off of our garage, but it just isn't working. He's constantly trying to go outside or inside our house, and with 4 negative cats, I just can't keep a peace of mind. I've never rehomed an animal, and it's stressing me out beyond belief. Just today I came home to find Joey and our indoor/outdoor cat, Ben together on the driveway. He must've slipped out without anyone noticing. Ben is up to date on his vaccinations, but of course it got me more stressed. There's a shelter about 45 minutes away from us who has an indoor cageless facility for positive cats, and they guarantee vet care because you pay them to house your kitty. It's $180 a year, which is hard for me to come up with, but I would if it saved me so much worry.

My question is, will he live a shorter life living around other positive cats? I put up a poster at the vet's office with his picture and story and asked if they knew of anyone with positive cats, and they couldn't think of anyone. I feel helpless and like there's a 50 pound weight on my shoulders.

I wouldn't think living with other FeLV+ would shorten his life. I would however, be concerned with the fact that he is more likely to be exposed to many other things(like ringworm, URIs, etc). He is going to be more susceptible to those types of things & being FeLV+ he is more likely to get them. It is harder for a FeLV+ to recover from simple things as well. The other consideration is the stress factor. It is going to be a higher stress environment, & speaking from my experience volunteering, that high stress environment can take down a healthy cat.

I'm sorry I'm being so negative, I just want to point those things out. I'm sure I'm stressing you out more.

Is it possible for you to build/buy a cat enclosure to put in your garage? Maybe a ferret cage on wheels that you could put Joey in so you are sure you can get out of the garage with him still in there? You could let Joey out to run/play like at night, or during the day while you're gone. Just whenever you open the door to go outside, have him in the cage.

anybody else have anything to add? i'm getting desperate. i would go for that enclosure idea, but i know the rest of my family would not.

Originally Posted by NatalieG

My question is, will he live a shorter life living around other positive cats? I put up a poster at the vet's office with his picture and story and asked if they knew of anyone with positive cats, and they couldn't think of anyone. I feel helpless and like there's a 50 pound weight on my shoulders.

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You could check with other vets in your area in addition to your own. I wish I had more to add, but I don't have any other ideas.

I agree with whitecatlover. He'd probably be worse because of the stress. Can you talk to your family about the enclosure? I'm sorry you and your kitty have to go through this. It is sad a cat and their owners have to go through this. *HUGS*

You could ask them for the info and names of the vets they use, and do a check with the vets to find out if the cats are kept healthy and are brought in for regular medical care, in addition to any problems they may see that come in from there. Perhaps even make a consultation appointment with the vet regarding the place you are looking into. If the vet seems on the up and up, and is aware of the shelter and what they do, and gives a good reference, then it might be an okay situation for him . Only you know how well he might handle living with several other cats .

I just thought of this. What about confining the positive cat to a special room or the basement? Do you think he would try to escape the garage?

Originally Posted by Sunshine'sKid

I just thought of this. What about confining the positive cat to a special room or the basement? Do you think he would try to escape the garage?

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The positive cat is in the special room.. he is the one that tries to escape.