Need input - FIV+ and FIV- cats living together. Risks/Concerns

[chaucer]

fionasmom Thank you for those kind words. He died peacefully - that was obvious. The vets at the clinic were surprised he passed because he had seemed okay there, but it was just eight or so hours after that. I think he was near the end that afternoon when I saw the wounds. I thought he was dead then, but he was still breathing and perked up when I put him in the crate for a few hours prior to the vet visit.

The cat in my profile picture - taken before he moved inside - also has FIV but is doing well. My hope is that this thread will encourage people to adopt FIV+ cats and will spay and neuter not only to prevent litters, but to help prevent FIV spread through intact males fighting (and sometimes females through aggressive mating)

I am so grateful to The Catsite. Everyone was so supportive and helpful when I first got Orville and was unsure, and they still are. I also hope this lengthy thread will help anyone who comes to this site with a similar concern and is patient enough to read it and find Orville's journey, plus some others as well. And this site provided a wealth of information for me when I took in a pregnant stray. So, thank you to all of you who make up this site.

 

[chaucer]

I thought I'd end on a funny note. I'm a novelist and these are my "editors." The one in the profile and Orville weren't interested, but the other two like to "help."

 

[fionasmom]

Henryetta certainly looks as if she has something to say about that page. I hope that Chaucer (wondered about that name and now understand it) and Henryetta are a comfort to you at this time.

 

[chaucer]

Henryetta James is a critic of everything. Before I discovered multi-colored cats were mostly female, I'd named her Henry James while she was still just stopping by to dine. After 8 years she answers mostly to "Henry." Jed and Orville didn't get literary names, but I fostered a kitten I named "Wordsworth."

 

[fionasmom]

I had no clue, years ago, when I helped an outdoor stray that most orange boys are male and so I named "her" Ginger. My literary pets have been Cosette, Eppie, Pangur Ban, and entire litter named after the characters in the Bette Davis movie All About Eve, and Loki.

 

[fionasmom]

Cosette and Eppie were "orphans", of course aren't all little strays or pound puppies? Pangur Ban was white and the sweetest adult rescue who lived for less than a year, having contracted Cryptococcus in his desperate attempt to survive outdoors. I think he was a dumped pet who did not have the street smarts that other more wild cats have. Loki was a black kitten found at a school and I was "sure" he was a she, so hence the trickster. All About Eve is one of my favorite movies and I needed a bunch of names quickly. Eve herself is still here 16 years later, having be predeceased a couple years ago by Bill who also became a house pet. Karen, Margo, and Addison returned to their feral lives, although Margo was able to be rescued a couple years later.

The two biggest "mistakes" I made with naming pets were GSD. ( Actually, my cat vet immediately knew who Pangur Ban was). Papageno was a bird catcher, until I retrained him. Everyone called him Papa Gino as if he delivered pizzas. Orlando was named after the Virginia Woolf novel and everyone immediately assumed he was named after Orlando Bloom. Once, in a vet's office, he walked over to a woman and kissed her and I corrected him. She put her arm around him and assured him that he was much cuter than the "real Orlando" with whom she had just worked on his latest movie.

I found Henryetta's thread with those adorable kittens! Just too much orange cuteness! Her kittens had delightful names and I hope that they are all still doing well.

Site was down yesterday but I found your lost post in my email, thankfully.

 

[chaucer]

Orlando is a great name for a cat. I'm unfamiliar with Papageno. Henryetta was my first rescue. What a way to start with a pregnant cat! All the kittens were adopted by people I knew. I see photos of the two females The boys went to one person who loved ginger cats. I hope they are okay. She's a friend of a friend and well-known in my town. I think a thread about literary names for cats would be great! Orville's middle name is Percival.

 

[fionasmom]

Papageno is a character in The Magic Flute. I take naming animals very seriously, including the outdoor ferals! And, yes, my animals have middle names....talk about going overboard with this!

 

[chaucer]

I see. My friends loved The Magic Flute. The arias are difficult to perform. I had a dinner party and my friend, a theater professor, began singing out of the blue from Pirates of Penzance. Some good cat names from that one. Okay, everyone, this has gone off-topic, but I do think a "Names for Cats" suggestion thread would be fun. Thank you for tolerating our little digression. .

And on the subject of Orville, he was a sweet boy, still a bit fearful of things, but very loved. Thank you for your support. Jedidah Harp is still with me and is the one in the profile picture. He is FIV+ and doing well.

 

[fionasmom]

It was probably okay to digress a little bit as you were the thread starter; it is not like we ignored your original issues and hijacked the thread....well, not exactly.

 

[chaucer]

I think it's time to lock this thread. It's been here for so long. Thank you to everyone who has offered support and advice, encouragement and sympathy. I appreciate it all. I hope that this thread has been helpful for readers who are concerned about introducing an FIV + cat to FIV - ones in their households and to those contemplating adopting an FIV + cat.

 

[Norachan]

The TCS team would like you to know that we are so very sorry for your loss. We invite you to place a tribute at http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge as an enduring testimony to your friend Orville.