This Wednesday, the good people of our globe marked World AIDS Day.

However, the good cats of Suite FIV did not mark World FIV Day. That is because, as far as these ten dreamboats are concerned, every day is World Galaxy Universe FIV Day.

 

 Then there’s the oft-overlooked fact that FIV is not AIDS. Not AIDS, not ”feline AIDS,” not any kind of AIDS. FIV is…well, it’s FIV. It’s not HIV any more than cats are human beans, or whiskers are beards, or I am the queen of Spain. Cats can’t give FIV to humans or dogs or three-toed sloths or great mole rats. They can’t even give it to other cats without very serious and penetrating bite wounds, the likes of which most cats never see (Katrina to the contrary). FIV never becomes anything like “full-blown AIDS,” and it truly lives up to its classification as a lentivirus, or “slow virus.” In most cases it takes years before it has any impact upon a kitty at all…and, even then, the impact can be quite manageable. FIV suppresses a cat’s immune system, making him more susceptible to infections. But, keeping things clean and making sure to get an FIV+ kitty to the vet at the first sign of illness can keep him happy and healthy for a loooooooong and happy, healthy spin around the sun.

 

Just ask our two old battle axes, Dusty and Nuttin. Each approximately 1,400 12 years old, they have been in an escalating battle to outlive each other for years. Each one keeps upping the ante. First Nuttin got diabetes; Dusty had to get heart disease. Nuttin raised him heart disease and IBD, so Dusty pulled out “the nuclear option” and got terminal cancer…and then proceeded to not only defeat the cancer, but to utterly humiliate it. (His diagnosis: April, 2008. His expected life span: several weeks. His status in December 2010: rockingly alive.) Nuttin has cancer now, too, and is handily whupping its heinie. FIV is barely a nuisance to these furry indestructibles.

FIV is not a death sentence. It’s not even a “lousy life” sentence. Edward, for instance, would be happy to dissuade you of this idea. Yes, he’s FIV+; yes, he’s also got cerebellar hypoplasia…but he’s also got more energy than Mick Jagger mixed with the awesome high-flying church people from the Blues Brothers. Then there was Nickey, who rocked FIV through age 21, succumbing ultimately to lymphoma and extreme ancientness rather than anything directly FIV-related.

If there’s one myth about FIV that may actually be true, it’s the idea that there’s an “FIV look.” No, you can’t tell a cat is FIV+ just by looking at him…but there does seem to be a profile that we’ve seen over and over:

       * Big, giant head
       * Tough-guy ears, with more than a few scratches and notches
       * John-Wayne-like walk

In fact, although I don’t know anything about the first cat pictured in this post (we got his face off the interwebs), I would bet you all my lunch money and a fistful of jelly beans that he is FIV+. ”The look” is all over his planet-sized cranium and smooshable face. I promise I am not making this up. (Although, looks can be deceiving…so I may not be eating lunch or jelly beans today.) Every picture tells a story, so I’ll let Kirk prove my point. This newbie is the epitome of every stereotype about what an FIV+ looks like.

 

  If you can believe it, however, his mushy, marshmallowy heart is even bigger than that epic head. 

 

 I think my favorite FIV myth to bust is the ridiculous lie that it renders a cat unadoptable (as if there was such a thing…but that’s another rant entirely). Actually, don’t take it from me; let the forty thousand eleven FIV+ cats adopted in the last couple of years tell the story. In Tabby’s Place’s first 5 years, we adopted out about 3-4 FIV+ cats, total. But in the last two years or so, Esmeralda, George, Rusty, Michael, Fuzzy, Rosie, Jose, Princess Zara, Leopold, Huckleberry and Chopper have all found forever homes. “Unadoptable” my heinie. With their energy, their beautiful big heads and their larger-than-life love, Team FIV is infinitely adoptable. Even more adoptable than John Wayne combined with Mick Jagger. Er…make that a lot more.

Happy FIV day week eon, Felis Catus family.

PS: Special thanks to Tabby’s Place uber-volunteer John M. for the gorgeous portrait shots of Nuttin, Dusty, Edward and Kirk. John blogs over at the winsome and touching It’s All Good. Stop by and tip your hat to the very good cats Casa John.

Tags: chopper, dusty, edward, esmeralda, fiv, fuzzy, george, huckleberry, jose, katrina, kirk, leopold, michael, nickey, nuttin, princess zara, rosie

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