Well, it's official. Unfortunately, with 8 inside, we simply can't add a 9th, so Baloo has to remain outside.
Baloo showed up at the end of this past Winter, and was TNRd on Feb 23 (2011). The vet practice deemed him feral as he "tried to eat the vet."
But he became friendly FAR too fast, so we knew he'd been someone's pet at some point. He is probably about three years old.
He's been a regular since then, going on excursion VERY infrequently, and only once for more than a couple of days.
But he's a big ol' cuddle bug.
It can be hard to walk around outside with him wrapping himself around our legs. He welcomes anyone who walks by. The other (feral colony) regulars are all female (and spayed, of course), and Baloo loves being in charge of "his" harem.
We were worried about how his winter coat was coming in, and we were worried about a cough. Lung worm is a common problem with our ferals, and as Chum was FIV+, we suspected Baloo may be too. His coat reminds us very much of Chumley's when we first rescued him (Spring 2010).
So we crated Baloo today and off to the vet we went. He did have lung worm, and he is FIV+. As no shelters or foster networks will take an FIV+ kitty around here, Baloo is now officially our baby boy.
FIV can only be transmitted via a deep bite wound. As the cats that turn up here are usually feral, they're unadoptable anyway. Baloo is not the least bit aggressive. If an intact male turned up, Baloo might fight with him - he might not. We don't know. But we think the risk is small that he'd be passing it on, and the vet agrees.
So we brought him back home and released him on "his" deck.
He stepped out casually, went to sniff various spots, making sure everything was "right" in his world, then came to eat dinner and enjoy some pets, purring up a storm.
Our baby Baloo:
Baloo showed up at the end of this past Winter, and was TNRd on Feb 23 (2011). The vet practice deemed him feral as he "tried to eat the vet."
He's been a regular since then, going on excursion VERY infrequently, and only once for more than a couple of days.
But he's a big ol' cuddle bug.
We were worried about how his winter coat was coming in, and we were worried about a cough. Lung worm is a common problem with our ferals, and as Chum was FIV+, we suspected Baloo may be too. His coat reminds us very much of Chumley's when we first rescued him (Spring 2010).
So we crated Baloo today and off to the vet we went. He did have lung worm, and he is FIV+. As no shelters or foster networks will take an FIV+ kitty around here, Baloo is now officially our baby boy.
FIV can only be transmitted via a deep bite wound. As the cats that turn up here are usually feral, they're unadoptable anyway. Baloo is not the least bit aggressive. If an intact male turned up, Baloo might fight with him - he might not. We don't know. But we think the risk is small that he'd be passing it on, and the vet agrees.
So we brought him back home and released him on "his" deck.
Our baby Baloo:
