Happy Almost-Autumn, FeLV fans!

Ready for another update? As usual, there’s a great deal of news, but we’ll start with some positive medical tidings first.

The teenagers who have been causing us so much concern with their FIP, Kitty Purry and Leonardo Dicatrio, are doing very well, so much so that they no longer have to have daily temperature checks. We are delighted, but we recognize that both still have quite a way to go with treatment.

For the present, they’re running around like crazy things again, climbing the tall scratching post in their suite and going to town on cat toys. They’re engaging with Regina again, too. Angela’s blog update on them is wonderful.

Speaking of Regina, we thought that she might have a urinary tract infection a couple of weeks back, but a urinalysis came up negative. Apart from that, she’s been doing nicely, although she was greatly annoyed with me recently for taking a chew toy away from her.

In reality, this “chew toy” was a thread she had managed to unravel from a cat bed and shouldn’t have been chewing on at all. I took the bed away from her, clipped the thread off, and gave the bed back, and to my amusement, Regina gave me a disapproving feline stare and went off in a huff. She must have been in a bad mood at the time; that behavior is not common for her.

Pisa continues to spend most of her time in the solarium, but it seems to me she’s out and about a little more these days, rather than continuously hiding.

If you thought I forgot to update you on our Sweet Pea, I didn’t; he’s been moved to a different suite. He was moved to provide companionship to Jovi. It turns out that Jovi, who is young, is also very playful (and something of a talker), and the thought is that Sweet Pea would be a better companion for him than Batty, Hoopla Green, or Clifford.

We originally considered moving Jovi into the same suite as Kitty Purry and Leonardo Dicatrio, but we didn’t want to introduce too much change or stress into their environment while they were undergoing treatment. We must wait to see if this move is going to work out.

The last time I saw Sweet Pea, it was his first day out of the crate in his new suite, and he was not a happy boy; he was growling at both Clifford and Jovi. However, we are aware that this can happen with cats occasionally, and we will give everyone some time to settle in. Breaking News:  see the video below to see how Jovi and Sweet Pea are playing now! And cute Jovi is in our header photo this month, too.

Meanwhile, given the lovely weather we’ve been having, both Clifford and Batty have been spending much of their time in their suite’s solarium. We had a medical concern regarding Clifford recently. He was noted to be urinating a good deal, but we ran blood work on him, and his kidney function was fine.

I like to think that Batty and Hoopla Green are becoming friends; I often see them in close proximity to one another. In fairness, this might just be wishful thinking, but I hope not; Hoopla Green could use a buddy.

Turning to our double-positive boys (FeLV and FIV), Mr. Rogers is settling in very nicely. I visited the first day he was out of his crate in that suite, and he was remarkably calm. He was using scratchers (both horizontal and vertical), sniffing Trifecta, and exploring the Quinn’s Corner lobby (his suite had access that day); he even chased after toys when I threw them.

For his part, Trifecta appears unimpressed by Mr. Rogers, and I believe Trifecta is somewhat jealous (if you remember, we’ve had this issue with Trifecta before). He wasn’t too upset to sit in my lap, but he did swat half-heartedly at Mr. Rogers once when the latter came close.

And Luke surprised me very much. I still cannot get close to him, but he’s getting braver. On the same day I visited Mr. Rogers and Trifecta, I went into the adjacent suite after I finished seeing the double-positive boys. I was throwing toys for Kitty Purry and Leonardo to chase, and they were playing enthusiastically.

As I’ve mentioned, the double-positive boys had access to the Quinn’s Corner lobby that day. While I was playing with Kitty and Leo, I looked up suddenly, and Luke was in the Quinn’s Corner lobby, looking in through the glass front door of the suite where I was playing with the teens! I’m sure he heard them running around and came to investigate, but I was not expecting that at all. When he saw me looking at him, he didn’t run. He sat there for a minute before walking away. That’s progress!

That’s all the news for now. Many, many thanks for helping us keep our FeLV crew comfortable, well fed, and well cared for.

Your correspondent,
Stephanie