As soon as you enter our FIV+ suite, Huckleberry will be the first one at the door to greet you. He is a very handsome, big and muscular black-and-white boy with an amazing personality! Prior to coming to Tabby’s Place, Huckleberry had been called “Mulberry.” We thought this was a bit too feminine for such a big, manly boy, and so he became Huck.

Huckleberry is a little over a year old (as of summer 2010), so he’s barely more than a teenager. Accordingly, he is very playful. Huck can be a bit of a bruiser, like many other FIV+ kitties (including his roomies Nuttin and Edward). Huckleberry gets along OK with some of the cats in the suite, as long as they don’t challenge him. Huck thinks he’s in charge at all times, and makes sure the other kitties know it. He’s not one to back down from confrontation, which keeps us humans on our toes. Because of his super-assertive personality, Huck is on a behavioral medication to help him live peaceably with his roomies. We don’t like fights in any of our cat suites, but it’s especially dangerous for the FIV+ kitties, as wounds can more easily become infected.

Huck most likely contracted Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) while living out on the streets, from a fight with another cat who was already infected. This virus disables or destroys the white blood cells, and leaves the cat susceptible to infections. Once a cat has FIV, he’s infected for life, and can transmit the virus if he or she bites another cat severely. For this reason, our FIV+ cats have their own suite, in which we are extra careful about disease prevention and control. Our staff is extremely thorough when it comes to cleaning the suite, since Huck and his FIV+ roommates are more susceptible to illness than the average feline. In addition, Huckleberry and the rest of Suite FIV+ feast on a high-quality diet, in hopes of boosting their immune systems.

In addition to having FIV, Huckleberry also has psychogenic alopecia, a skin condition. This causes him to get itchy sores around the back of his neck from time to time. A course of steroid medication clears this up when it occurs. Fortunately, at this time Huck does not require long-term steroid use to treat his skin problem.

We are really enjoying caring for Huckleberry, as he is such a sweet and wonderful boy with so much love to give. We hope that the right person or family will come along and give him the extra care – and kingly attention – he needs. In the meantime, please help us to give this sweetheart a happy, healthy life at Tabby’s Place.