Arcturus' journal: life with a FIV+ cat

reversedpolarit

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I figured a journal thread would be the easiest way of keeping track of Arcturus' progress and health, so here we are.


Above is from the first time I met him, he's a bear of a cat and seems in pretty good shape. He was taken in by Cats Protection having been a stray and during a routine check he was found to be FIV+. He was at the shelter from around the start of the year and has spent the last seven weeks living with his foster mum. He made a complete turn around from being miserable and hissy in the shelter to quietly affectionate and spent the first night sleeping on his foster mum's bed! We're guessing his age to be five/six, and from how he behaves in the foster home it's clear he's been a pet before.

I'm picking him up on 4th May and I'll be home quite a lot for several months so hopefully he'll settle in nicely. Onwards and upwards!
 
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reversedpolarit

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Boyfriend & I go to meet Arcturus - an amazing shelter volunteer drives us an hour out of the city! When we arrive he's curled up on foster mum's bed, he lets me/BF approach but hisses when I go to stroke his head. We leave him be and whilst we're sat talking he comes to sit in the adjoining room.

Foster mum happily approves me (and BF, although he doesn't live with me) instead of two other people who are interested. I think that we've both had cats, that I'm going to be home a lot and that I'm going to be training as a vet nurse helped a lot.

As we're leaving we go to see him again (he's back on the bed), this time he lets me stroke his head, the length of his back and scratch his ears with and without foster mum being near. None of us were expecting that, so I think he'll be just fine with us.

A week and a half to go, only things left to get now are food and litter.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Wat a great idea, keeping this journal.  I hope you have nothing but wonderful things to put in here.  He certainly LOOKS healthy


Thank you for taking him on.  Many people would pass
 
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reversedpolarit

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Thank you! Hopefully he stays that way!

There was actually quite a bit of interest in him, mostly I think because I live in a big city and there aren't that many indoor cats to be adopted! One couple worked long hours and the other couple had two dogs, so his foster mum and the shelter agreed before we even met him that we'd be the best home for him.

The next week is going to be a bit hectic - my parents are up for the weekend to finish the priority DIY in the flat I just bought and bringing up the last big furniture. I have my final university hand in next week and I'm starting to properly pack to move from rented flat to my flat. Crazy times! The only thing happening after Arcturus moves in is internet/landline installation the day after, but that shouldn't take too long.
 

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He looks like such a sweetheart! Thank you for keeping this journal--the younger of my two cats is FIV+ as well, though he's only a year old. 
 

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@reversedpolarit  He's pretty healthy, probably because he's still young! He gets colds sometimes, and we were unsure at first about having him and our other, FIV-negative kitty, but they've grown close and from what I've read it's not likely at all to spread between friendly cats. Right now they're curled up on the cat tower together and napping...!
 
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reversedpolarit

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Arcturus comes home today! I'm excited and a tad nervous. Everything is all set up for him, I think I'll try and keep him in the bedroom until tomorrow because someone is coming to fix the washing machine and Virgin Media are coming too and it'll involve moving furniture. We'll see how it goes I guess, if he's curious I don't want to stop him exploring but there's more hiding places in the rest of the flat.

Four hours until we leave to get him...
 

molly92

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Keeping a scared cat confined to one room is actually very good for the cat! It can be overwhelming to be exposed to too much new space at once. When he gets more confident and wants to start exploring more, he'll let you know!
 

Norachan

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Thank you for taking Arcturus out of the shelter and giving him a new life.

I have 2 FIV+ cats. Gin Kun is a former feral and is over ten years old.


I found Happy in a car park. She was very sick when I first picked her up, but she's doing much better now. She's about 1 year old.


I'm looking forward to hearing how he settles in to his new home.
 

rhondalee

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How exciting! I sure hope he settles in quickly. It is a wonderful thing your doing. You should read Norachan Norachan 's story about happy. It is truly a HAPPY story. Can't wait to read this journal. Great idea.
 
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reversedpolarit

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Norachan Norachan I've been silently reading about Happy, I'm so glad she's doing so much better!

Thank you all for the well wishes too!

He was fine being put in the carrier and quiet and calm in the car. He is currently in the bedroom, hiding in the only gap under the bed which is right at the end so I can still get to him. He's even quite happy to be stroked, I get a 'look' if I stop too soon. He hasn't hissed once and has let BF stroke him too. Currently going in every so often, but apart from being scared he's doing pretty good.

Car picture:

 
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reversedpolarit

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Ginger tabbies are very beautiful, Autumn is gorgeous!

I thought he was too big to get into the under bed boxes. I was wrong. He's currently sat in my yarn. He's not eaten or used the litter box yet, but he's still happy to be stroked. I might need to go get some chicken or something to tempt him out. I've moved the box so I can get to him, and taken out some yarn so he can at least get comfy. He's still quiet and calm, I sprayed most of the furniture in there and some of my clothes with Feliway so maybe it's working.

 

rhondalee

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Heehee. Cats sure get into some crazy, small spaces. He looks like he's saying, "you can't see me, I'm just another ball of yarn"
 
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reversedpolarit

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Haha yup, silly thing. He's pretty much the same colour as the bed on the cat tree and my floors, so there's better places he could blend in. :lol3:

Some progress, he was slightly rubbing his head against my hand when I was stroking him in the yarn. I've since moved the box out so I can cover it so he's back under the bed somewhere.

I can't remember how long my last stray hid for when we got him, but it was probably two days. Otto is a very confident cat though and was exploring and then hiding. Hopefully now that I've had to nip out of the flat Arcturus will explore a bit.
 
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reversedpolarit

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The shelter named him Sugar/Shug... Poor soul. So I named him after the fourth brightest red giant (which is also brightest in May) and Regulus Arcturus Black from Harry Potter. :lol3: I'm big on names that work on several levels, so he's my red giant who came home on 4th May. :D
 
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reversedpolarit

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He moved into the other under bed box of yarn, so I've just taken that out from under the bed too. I don't mind him being under the bed so much, because I can still reach him whereever he is, but I don't really want him in the boxes. He's not touched the chicken I got for him or the litter tray still, but he was snoozing in the yarn until I made him move. Hopefully he'll come out during the night whilst I'm asleep. 
 
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