Leukemia Losses

We lost Kojak this week.

Kojak - by Carol

This sweet boy has been a resident of the Old Aids area, where many of our leukemia cats live, since early 2013.  In that time he progressed from a scared, angry cat to one who would occasionally hop up into a lap – especially if chicken was on offer. We got to know his anxious little cries as he anticipated food being given out. He was loved by many volunteers – Carol, whose photo this is, Alice, Candy, Allison…  He was one of my own sponsor cats.

by Brigid

Feline leukemia affects the immune system, and cats carrying it have less resistance to infections – hence our emphasis on washing/sanitizing before handling them. It’s not to protect us – leukemia can’t be  transmitted to or through humans – it’s to protect them from something carried in from handling another cat.

by Michele

Kojak’s been unwell in the last few weeks, showing cold symptoms; he was caged for extra care, and a lot of loving from his human friends and the Kitty Comforters. But, as is typical with leukemia cats, his system just said “enough!” and shut down on him.  We know it can happen any time – we give them all the love we can, because we never know how long we can keep them.

As I lay in bed that night, having a little weep, I found myself naming the leukemia cats of Old Aids that I have loved and lost, and imagining them welcoming Kojak among them:  Aurora, Spot, Bella, Jeremy, Jasper, Panther, Bingo, Bobby, Frieda, Blue, Jessie, Butterbean, Bubba, Brady, Sabrina, Jackson, Max, Todd, Raven and probably many others.... I’ve included some of their previously unpublished photos here, and links where profiles have been featured.

Bella - by Phaedra

 Frieda - by Claire

Jackson - looking for handouts

Jessie - by Michele 

Blue & Sabrina - by Michele

 Aurora - by Michele

Bubba & Brady - by Debbie

We have them to love for all too short a time – but heaven wouldn’t be heaven without cats, and I’m sure these will all be waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Carol Porteous,

Debbie Wolanski & Michele Wright

Footnote: As you will see from the initial Kojak blog, he was one of the cats that found us; he was trapped in our own parking lot, and as was traditional for cats like this, named for a fictional detective.

On the day Kojak died, another cat was found and trapped in the parking lot. He has been named Watson (for Sherlock Holmes' sidekick). I'd like to think that Kojak's spirit had something to do with a homeless cat finding a new home with us.



Houdini

With somewhere between 800 and 900 cats at the sanctuary, visitors and volunteers can find themselves making friends with cats whose names are a big "?"

Since I work inside, many of the cats in the front courtyard carry question marks.

Take Houdini:

This engaging, highly photogenic tuxedo cat visited and posed for me on two occasions several months apart before I finally cracked and asked Leslie just who he was.

It seems he got his name after proving a bit of an escape artist in his youth:

"When he was a really young kitten, he escaped through the bars of his cage a couple of times.  Then, when he returned to the shelter after being neutered, he somehow switched from the boys' cage to the girls' cage next door.  Since he was still feral at that point, I figured that the volunteers wouldn't have been able to handle him, so there must have been some hocus pocus involved!"

Meeting him now, it's hard to believe he came in as a feral. Leslie tells me he has two brothers at the sanctuary, Spot and Pongo, both as sweet-natured as he is.

Updated October 19, 2010: The latest in what's turned out to be a week of unfortunate passings, Houdini had to be put down this morning after his health had continued to deteriorate since late summer.

 Houdini & friend, April 2009

photo by Barbara Doduk

Spot

At the sanctuary can be found friendly tame cats, skittish feral cats, tame cats who occasionally forget they’re supposed to like humans (I'm talking to you, Baby), and feral cats who gradually forget to be scared. Spot is one of the latter.

photo provided by RAPS

“Of all the feral kittens we have tamed,” says the text accompanying his photo on in the sanctuary gallery page, “Spot turned out the best by far. He likes to climb onto our backs and snuggle.”

He also likes to participate in the international cat sports of Sunbathing...

photo provided by Michele

... and Finding Oddball Places to Nap.

photo provide by RAPS

Although Spot's name makes sense in terms of his markings, I thought most people are probably more used to coming across this name as a classic dog name. So I hit Google to check and discovered an amusing pop culture reference...

- any Trekkies lurking about out there will be way ahead of me already -


Apparently, the character Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation had a cat named Spot which was featured in a number of episodes. Yes. There's even a section on his Wikipedia page.

Even more entertaining, there exists poem by Data addressed to said cat. I suspect our Spot would quibble with the idea that a cat is "not sentient", but other than that he'd probably take the tribute in the spirit meant.

"Ode to Spot"

Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature, 

An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature; 

Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses 

Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.    

 

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations, 

A singular development of cat communications 

That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection 

For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection. 

 

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents; 

You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance. 

And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion, 

It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion. 

 

O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display 

Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array. 

And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend, 

I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.