Two Beloved FIV Boys

Sweet Taz  (SM)

There’s a steady trickle of FIV+ cats who arrive to our care from rescues all over the province.  Where there are people doing TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release), you can be pretty sure that some of the cats trapped will be FIV+ because it’s almost exclusively a virus passed by unneutered tom-cats. Once the cats are neutered, the testosterone that drives the fight-and-bite instincts is gone, and like the rest of the Sanctuary cats, they usually learn to get on well enough with each other.

Dust Bunny  (BC)

Our FIV+ boys are either ferals or strays. The ones who have come in as ferals may or may not tame up, and if they do, it may take awhile. Cypress was an aggressive, angry boy when he arrived in 2018 and now he wants in on laptime and treats. Obelix was very shy when he came a year later, and now looks for petting and love. A feral cat may appear settled, but the stress of a relocation, if we were to consider adoption for either, would probably drive them back into a place of fear. A stray, on the other hand, has known a home and human touch. The strays often appear very scared initially, and then blossom under touch and attention.

DB  (BC)

In the last six months we’ve had two new boys come to us, and settle so easily that it’s pretty obvious that they are strays rather than ferals. They began in different areas of the Sanctuary; Taz was in the Val Jones pen, and Dust Bunny in the larger New Aids. Dust Bunny arrived in March, from Foster Critters rescue in Duncan. His rescuer tells us that he was an occasional visitor at a small colony where they were doing TNR, and it was supposed that he was a barn-cat from a nearby farm. It soon became obvious that he was probably more than just a barn-cat; though initially very scared, it only took a few approaches from the Kitty Comforters to have him asking for petting and love.

Summer lounging in the back pen  (BC)

Our guess was that he has been stray for some time; he had earmites and bad skin and broken teeth. Skin and teeth are a common FIV+ problem, and it didn’t take long for the vets to whisk him in for urgent dental care. He’s not lost all his teeth, but they’re greatly reduced. Cage time was hard for him – he SO wanted human attention, and now he’s out and about he’s loving petting and laptime from volunteers and visitors.

May I come up?  (BC)

Unfortunately, as the new kid in the schoolyard, he was something of a target for Angus, who in turn was out of sorts that his favourite bed had been taken over by Kicks. Angus started taking out his frustrations on Dust Bunny, and we made the decision to move DB across to the Val Jones area.  At time of writing, he’s in a cage (short term), going for a vet check, and then he’ll be out and about with the Val Jones cats.

Taz loves his humans  (SM)

He’ll soon get to know Taz, who came to us in early summer, and who has proved to be a real love-bug. When Taz first came to us, it was hard to visit him in a cage, because a visit was never long enough, and he would cry when left. He had been in fosterage, and his foster-mother loved him, but had other FIV- cats, and her vet recommended not mixing them. In fact, we know that FIV+ and FIV- cats can live together safely, but as we saw with Angus, personalities do come into play, and territorial issues in a multiple-cat situation led her to the cautious decision.

Whatever the weather, Taz loves the heat-lamp! (BC)

In fact, Taz is loving with humans, and even more so, with other cats. Jim is delighted; he has been the resident Val Jones love-bug and his love has not always been reciprocated (not that it put him off much!); Taz and Jim can often be found playing or snuggled together.
Taz may have some vision problems; he’s slightly squinty, and possibly had entropion surgery for in-turned eyelashes. I’ve found that he doesn’t always see just where treats are, though he is aware of movement. But he moves with confidence and doesn’t feel his way around like a blind cat.

Enjoying the sunbathing....   (SM)

Both Dust Bunny and Taz are entirely adoptable. The fact that they’re in the Val Jones area and therefore living with the bladder-crystal cats doesn’t mean that they have that problem, though they’re living with that diet for now – it just means we wanted them near the front courtyard and more accessible to visitors.
We are so pleased when visitors fall in love with the FIV+ cats. In the last couple of years, first Biggie and then his brother Simon found homes, as did handsome Goose, Hank the hunk, and brave tripod Trooper; this summer sweet Kicks has gone to a foster-home where they hope to get his skin itchies under control. They may carry the FIV retrovirus, but it doesn’t mean they’re sick; it just means we need  to take a bit more care in keeping them healthy – and thereby benefit from all the love that a cat like Dust Bunny or Taz is ready to share with the right person.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Selena Marchetti