One of our vets, Dr. C., was working at another of her part-time jobs when a woman walked in with a bloody, obviously injured cat.The young, black male cat had not been neutered.He had a large, nasty-looking gash on his shoulder and his left eye was shriveled and useless.The woman said that she did not want to pay for any treatment and asked the vets to euthanize the cat.

Dr. C.’s heart went out to this poor cat — she wanted to save him.She called us and said that she was willing to do the surgery required to patch him up and the vet practice would hang onto the cat, if Tabby’s Place would put him on our waiting list.We agreed, as this cat was clearly in a hopeless situation with nowhere else to turn.When Jack arrived at Tabby’s Place he looked a street cat who had seen the worst of a lot of fights.A large area on his chest and face had been shaved.There was a large scar on his side and his left eye socket was closed with stitches.

But, despite all of this, Jack was one of the happiest cats we had ever seen.He appeared to be completely at home in our Exam Room and he happily jumped off the exam table and began walking around the room, rubbing against our legs, purring and exploring.We were very happy to have Jack and were hopeful that he would be adopted once he had healed and looked presentable.

After three weeks, Jack was pretty well healed and we were ready to release him to one of our suites.But, one of our vet techs suggested that we again test Jack for FIV and FeLV, since he looked like your classic street cat (Jack had tested negative for FIV and FeLV when he had entered Tabby’s Place).After all, he had come in with a scar that could have been from a cat fight and he had been unneutered.We tested Jack and were stunned when he tested FIV+.The confirming blood test (Western Blot) proved that Jack was, indeed, FIV+.We moved Jack into our FIV+ Suite.Cats that are FIV+ have been infected with the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).This virus disables or destroys the white blood cells, and leaves the cat susceptible to infections. Once a cat is infected with FIV, the cat is infected for life and can transmit the virus if he or she bites another cat.

Our FIV+ cats have their own suite and we are extra-careful about disease control procedures in their suite.In addition, they are fed a higher-quality (and more expensive) diet than our other cats, in hopes of boosting their immune systems.After all he has been through, Jack remains one of the happiest, most friendly cats we have known.He craves human attention and purrs up a storm when he is being petted.But, because of his FIV+ status, Jack’s chances of adoption are pretty slim.Please sponsor Jack and help us care for him as he deserves.