Greetings, FeLV+ Fans!
Ready for another update on our crew? Let’s dive right in.
The best news first: Mango and Jalapeno were adopted! The icing on the cake? They were adopted together. I’m so pleased about this, as the two are very comfortable with one another and neither cat will lack for a playmate, an important consideration when adopting young animals.
Nobody is happier about Mango and Jalapeno’s adoption than Kitty Purry, who is back to chasing toys in her suite again, freed from what she clearly regarded as a pair of interlopers who monopolized toys that were meant for her. From playing with her, I believe she prefers fur mice to balls, but I’m not sure about other types of toys yet.
Brother Leonardo Dicatrio initially looked like he wanted to play, too, when I was in on a Sunday afternoon, but he was simply too sleepy and nodded off in a cubbyhole. It was a chilly, breezy day, and I thought it a bit odd that Braveheart was in the solarium until I realized he was curled up in a heated fabric house. Vincent was lounging on a low hammock and took up almost all of the space on it; he really is a big boy.
And Regina (pictured in the header photo) was not in a good mood, as she actually snapped at me when I tried to pet her. That’s unusual, but I think I accidentally startled her when I came into the suite.
It has been a busy month for our Shelly. She had an echocardiogram that indicated mild hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common kind of heart disease in felines. That sounds very scary, and it can be; HCM can range in intensity from mild to severe. Fortunately for Shelly, her HCM is mild. There was one episode of an arrhythmia noted, and our vet team will continue to monitor her heart rate for irregularities.
HCM can be managed with medications, but at present our sweet girl does not need medications, and she was cleared for…a dental procedure (talk about out of the frying pan, into the fire!). She had some teeth removed, not an uncommon procedure, and she’s been recovering well.
Amigo had a blood pressure check that was normal, but our vet heard a new arrhythmia, so we scheduled him for an EKG, and it turns out that he has mild HCM as well. However, like Shelly, he does not require any medications for it at this time. I love his big purr, which is noticeable as soon as you start to pet him.
Batty has been spending time in the solarium near Hoopla Green, but she came into the suite when I opened the human door for her. She has me perfectly trained now, and I know that my girl will jump into a cubbyhole and expect me to put down kibble for her, one or two pieces at a time. I don’t know if she eats kibble when I’m not around, but she certainly devours it when I feed her that way.
And Miss Hoopla was having a wonderful time in her solarium chasing after a moth. The insect was not well, but it was still able to flap its wings, and therefore, it was a cat toy.
You’ll recall that Francois, Luke, and Trifecta were placed on a GI-friendly diet last month, and it seems to be working nicely. We do weekly stool checks, and from these, we believe that Luke is the most sensitive to dietary changes, as well as the most prone to loose stool.
Trifecta had his annual medical exam over the past month, and our vet detected a heart murmur, so he is also scheduled for an EKG. All of the boys were sacked out last time I was in. Even Trifecta couldn’t be bothered to get up!
Clifford has a history of ear issues, and over the past few weeks, we’ve noticed he has been scratching his ears more than usual. Upon examination, his ears were found to be slightly dirty, but right now we’re just monitoring that condition. We also detected some inflammation around his upper incisors; we’ll watch to see if this causes him discomfort while he’s eating. If it does, we might need to remove those teeth.
To my complete astonishment, I saw a young volunteer pick up Clifford and cuddle him for about two minutes before depositing him in a clean cat bed.
I had not realized he would tolerate that sort of behavior from people, but maybe he’s more relaxed since he’s no longer in proximity to other felines.
I wish all of you could meet our FeLV+ crew and discover what great cats they are. I know that’s not possible for all of you, as some of you live too far away or have other reasons. But I’m very grateful that you’ve chosen to help us give these felines the love and comfort they deserve. Thank you!
Your correspondent,
Stephanie