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- Oct 11, 2006
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Yeah, I know : 2 weeks ago, it was a dog--we decided against that!
We're really cat people, I guess...
Anyway, as some of you may know, we lost 2 cats earlier this year; we're down to 7 now. I'm ok with 7, but I keep thinking that we have 2 slots open--in other words, we have plenty of space and money and love--and there must be some FeLV+ kittens out there who are "unadoptable". Let me explain why I want FeLV cats:
We have 3+ cats; we had fostered a litter of 4; 3 turned out to be faintly FeLV+. They are nearly 4 now, and seem very, very healthy. They are wonderful cats! We literally have not had any health issues with the, apart from a bit of the runs and some sniffles awhile back, when those things went through all of the cats--all got over them fine, etc. Anyway, 3 vets told us that we could integrate them with our existing FeLv- cats, as those cats were older, and had shots. They said that there is only a very tiny chance that those cats could get infected. All seem well, and I keep them current with FeLV shots. (The 2 that died, died from other causes, not related to FeLV, etc.)
My question is: do you think I'm crazy for wanting to get another cat, esp. 1that is FeLV+? I think a kitten may be better, since all of out cats are older. Opinions??? Suggestions???
I wasn't planning on replacing Hobbes & Willi, at least not for awhile, but DH suggested this, and I've been thinking the same thing--take in a needy cat that nobody want to adopt; and turn the FeLV+ thing into something good. We have the space, the money and the love in our hearts. We're old hands at raising cats. A cat is far easier for us than caring for a dog. I always have room for 1 more in my heart! It's funny--when we had 3, I thought, "Perfect number!" Then, we found 2 stray brothers, & I thought, "Ok, 5's our limit. Really." Well, then DH found the Gang of Four, and we had every intention of adopting them out, then we found 3 were unadoptable! I fear that I'm becoming the Michelle Duggar of cats...
Obviously, we have to draw the line somewhere--9 is it, I think. I don't want to on the front page of the local newspaper someday, with pics of Animal Control/Rescue cleaning out my house!
(Joking aside, I keep the place very, very clean. Visitors don't believe we have so many cats.)
Some concerns: will this increase the chance of my other cats contracting the virus, by adding 1 more to the mix? How will I handle death of the new cat, should it happen? (I'm still mourning Hobbes & Willi.) Will the stress of living with other cats (my FeLv+ boys are rambunctious!) put a strain on the health of the new FeLV+ cat?
Thanks for your input.
We're really cat people, I guess...
Anyway, as some of you may know, we lost 2 cats earlier this year; we're down to 7 now. I'm ok with 7, but I keep thinking that we have 2 slots open--in other words, we have plenty of space and money and love--and there must be some FeLV+ kittens out there who are "unadoptable". Let me explain why I want FeLV cats:
We have 3+ cats; we had fostered a litter of 4; 3 turned out to be faintly FeLV+. They are nearly 4 now, and seem very, very healthy. They are wonderful cats! We literally have not had any health issues with the, apart from a bit of the runs and some sniffles awhile back, when those things went through all of the cats--all got over them fine, etc. Anyway, 3 vets told us that we could integrate them with our existing FeLv- cats, as those cats were older, and had shots. They said that there is only a very tiny chance that those cats could get infected. All seem well, and I keep them current with FeLV shots. (The 2 that died, died from other causes, not related to FeLV, etc.)
My question is: do you think I'm crazy for wanting to get another cat, esp. 1that is FeLV+? I think a kitten may be better, since all of out cats are older. Opinions??? Suggestions???
I wasn't planning on replacing Hobbes & Willi, at least not for awhile, but DH suggested this, and I've been thinking the same thing--take in a needy cat that nobody want to adopt; and turn the FeLV+ thing into something good. We have the space, the money and the love in our hearts. We're old hands at raising cats. A cat is far easier for us than caring for a dog. I always have room for 1 more in my heart! It's funny--when we had 3, I thought, "Perfect number!" Then, we found 2 stray brothers, & I thought, "Ok, 5's our limit. Really." Well, then DH found the Gang of Four, and we had every intention of adopting them out, then we found 3 were unadoptable! I fear that I'm becoming the Michelle Duggar of cats...
Some concerns: will this increase the chance of my other cats contracting the virus, by adding 1 more to the mix? How will I handle death of the new cat, should it happen? (I'm still mourning Hobbes & Willi.) Will the stress of living with other cats (my FeLv+ boys are rambunctious!) put a strain on the health of the new FeLV+ cat?
Thanks for your input.