Hello, FeLVie Fanciers,

We must start this update with some very sad news: We have lost Tucker.

He had seemed so strong and so full of his usual zest, and then, suddenly he wasn’t. Our staff had seen him coughing once or twice, and we knew he had eaten some litter, which is not normal feline behavior, but we could not have foreseen what would happen next.

Tucker stopped eating completely, swiftly became dangerously anemic, and was clearly very ill. We suspected lymphoma in his bone marrow and tried to treat him, but nothing helped.

Two years ago, Tucker defeated lymphoma, but his system was simply overwhelmed this time. Everything happened only a few days before you’re reading this update, and honestly, we’re still in shock. True, cats are masterful at hiding illness, but nothing ever seemed to faze our big black-and-white guy. Our FeLVie crew won’t be the same without him, but the last years of his life were filled with love from adoring staff, volunteers, and fans.

However, the news has not been all unhappy in our FeLVie realm, as Sammy was adopted! We are over the moon for our girl, though we’ll really miss her. She had a pre-adoption physical exam, and our vet team was very pleased by how well her mouth inflammation has resolved. We are continuing to taper down her steroid dose and are hopeful she’ll be able to stop the steroids entirely in her new home. We’ve featured her in our banner at the top of this update.

It’s finally happened: I actually saw Sweetie emerge from a cubbyhole in broad daylight. He looked around for a few seconds, then saw me and ducked back inside again, but at least it was a start.

Oram is very fond of the Quinn’s Corner lobby. Each day, we’ll open the door of one FeLV+ suite in turn so that the cats can wander in and out of the lobby as they please, and Oram loves to sleep in a cardboard scratcher box there.

On a recent Sunday, I walked through the Quinn’s Corner lobby to visit the Boys’ Club. Oram was snoozing in the lobby, as it was his suite’s turn that day, but I wanted to visit the double-positive cats first. I went into their suite.

Trifecta came up to say hello immediately, of course. Abacus was relaxing on the cubbyholes facing the lobby and couldn’t be bothered to move. I didn’t see Checkers, but more about him in a minute.

I sat on a bench and was talking to the boys when Abacus suddenly jumped up, ran over to his suite’s door, and started crying repeatedly and pawing as though he wanted to get out. At first, I thought he had seen Oram sleeping in the Quinn’s Corner lobby, but I figured out very quickly that Abacus had already been able to see Oram from where he’d been lounging on the cubbyholes, and Oram had not moved.

Seconds later, Trifecta also moved over to the door and began crying. Abacus was in a state of near-hysteria, but I couldn’t imagine what was happening. I jumped up, stepped over to the suite door, looked out, and beheld…the lunch lady. The Sunday volunteer who feeds our boys their lunch was approaching with trays of food for them. She and I had to work together so she could get into the suite and make sure our boys got their food. I understand that many cats prioritize food over everything else, but Abacus has elevated this to an art form!

It turned out that I didn’t see Checkers in the double positive suite because he had been moved to the suite with Puff, Regina, and Company. Now, Checkers is both FIV+ and FeLV+, but we are not concerned about the possibility of his transmitting FIV to the other cats in his new quarters. FIV is a bloodborne disease, so only a cat fight resulting in deep bite or puncture wounds would pose any risk. And if there’s one thing we’ve found out about Checkers, it’s that he’s not a fighter.

He is, however, becoming something of a lover. He has let us know that he is delighted with his new digs. He’s out and about most of the time, he’s eating well, and he’s even coming up to people to ask for attention, albeit briefly.

Because Checkers gets along with Trifecta so well, they are now part of the Quinn’s Corner lobby rotation. Once a week, the two boys are let out into the lobby by themselves with a water bowl and litterbox set-up. The suite doors remain closed that day so the two friends get to spend some time with one another. In other news, Checkers has started receiving some medication for mild eye irritation.

There is a young volunteer who spends a good deal of time with Hoopla Green. I often see him when I’m in on Sundays; he’ll spend quite a long time just sitting on a bench in the solarium with her, or he’ll stand near her when she’s on the cat tree there. He can stand quite close to her at this point, not more than a couple of feet away. It’s always nice to see progress being made with our shy felines.

This volunteer enjoys interacting with Batty, too, and she’s clearly very fond of him. Batty is starting to accept more and more human attention, though she still keeps mostly to a cubbyhole.

I was encouraged to see Puff acting more like her old self last time I was in. She scrabbled at her suite door with her front paws when she saw me sitting with Oram in the lobby, obviously wondering why I was wasting time with him when I should have been paying attention to her. And she appeared brighter than I’ve seen her in some time.

When I entered that suite, Regina was very busy trying to grab something with a front paw under a sheet of paper, but I don’t know whether she was unsuccessful or whether she was just playing. And Mr. Man, after another attempt to settle in my lap didn’t work out, settled down for a rest right next to me on the bench in the suite. He really is a very sweet boy.

Here’s a quick video for your enjoyment:  Abacus and Trifecta play fighting!

That’s enough news for one update! If you live within reasonable driving distance and haven’t yet met our FeLV+ crew, please come by at some point. We’ll be happy to give you a tour, and you’ll be able to see these wonderful felines for yourself. Thank you so much for helping us care for them.

Your correspondent,
Stephanie