Just recently, I adopted a cute black kitten that was stranded in the middle of Hurrican Isabel. A neighbor of mine found this little kitten in the road alone hours before the storm hit. She's an animal lover and decided that she couldn't let this little guy die.
As it turns out, this one month old kitten was infected w/ feline herpes (w/ lots of scar tissue on one of his eyes), intestinal parasites, and was grossly underweight. She immediately took him to the vet and got drops/ointment for his eyes, and cured his parasites. Two weeks later, she decided that her dog wasn't going to get used to the cat and asked me if i would take it, and seeing the great disposition of this kitten, i happily obliged.
My problem is my other cat..an 18 year old female w/ a similarly great disposition, who was also ferral. I've not integrated the two cats yet, but i'm worried about the older cat contracting feline herpes. Neither of these cats are aggressive or rambunctious (at least so far)..so i don't think there will be an issue of hostilities between them . The older cat has had kittens of her own and was used to sharing her owners w/ other cats.
The older cat might even have feline herpes considering the fact that we found her wild, and her eyes have leaked since we found her (in 1987). My dilemma: I know that i'd never forgive myself if i got her sick or she died as a result of this kitten's communicable diseases. I've seen all the vet paperwork, the kitten is free of AIDs, leukemia, and the parasites are cured (in spite of his red ass). I'm just a bit unsure about this feline herpes thing.....
Can you give me any advise? What would you feline guru's do in my situation? Whaddya think?
As it turns out, this one month old kitten was infected w/ feline herpes (w/ lots of scar tissue on one of his eyes), intestinal parasites, and was grossly underweight. She immediately took him to the vet and got drops/ointment for his eyes, and cured his parasites. Two weeks later, she decided that her dog wasn't going to get used to the cat and asked me if i would take it, and seeing the great disposition of this kitten, i happily obliged.
My problem is my other cat..an 18 year old female w/ a similarly great disposition, who was also ferral. I've not integrated the two cats yet, but i'm worried about the older cat contracting feline herpes. Neither of these cats are aggressive or rambunctious (at least so far)..so i don't think there will be an issue of hostilities between them . The older cat has had kittens of her own and was used to sharing her owners w/ other cats.
The older cat might even have feline herpes considering the fact that we found her wild, and her eyes have leaked since we found her (in 1987). My dilemma: I know that i'd never forgive myself if i got her sick or she died as a result of this kitten's communicable diseases. I've seen all the vet paperwork, the kitten is free of AIDs, leukemia, and the parasites are cured (in spite of his red ass). I'm just a bit unsure about this feline herpes thing.....
Can you give me any advise? What would you feline guru's do in my situation? Whaddya think?
