Remembering Herman

 Karen Jo: This is Herman's birthday and I try to do a post like this at least once a year, so new posters who come across this blog will know what's going on here.  A new reader might wonder: "Who's Herman and why is this blog still named after him if he's gone over the Rainbow Bridge?" The main reason that this blog is still named Herman's Hideaway and always will be is that I can't bear to change it.  It is also a tribute to Herman, the founder of my present houseful of kitties.  Without him, this wouldn't be the home of FeLV+ kitties.  This is an early photo of Herman, taken shortly after he arrived.

Let me start at the beginning.  I have always loved cats, but could never have one because my mother was extremely allergic to them.  After my mother died, I decided to get the house the way I wanted it and get rid of the cat unfriendly stuff and get a cat.  It didn't work out that way.  I saw a poster with that face on it saying that Herman really needed a home, but he was FIV+ and FeLV+ so he had to be an inside only only cat.  I went home and looked up the diseases and decided that I could live with the limitations and called to say I was interested in adopting him.  First I had to pass an interview and meet Herman to see if he liked me.  He did.  His foster mother said that he had reacted more positively to me than he had to any one else who had come to see him.  A few days later, Herman moved in and stole my heart completely.

 This is a much later picture of Herman taken after he had put on his weight.  He got really sick a few months after he moved in and lost a lot of weight and almost died.  After he recovered he put on quite a bit of weight and ended up at 14 pounds, as you see him here.  His ideal weight was 12 pounds.  He was a big cat.  He is  in full floof here.  He used to get the most awful matts and had to get a summer haircut every year.  Once I had adopted Herman, I could only adopt other FeLV+ cats.  Herman let me know that he wanted some feline company so he wouldn't get so lonely while I was working, so I brought home Emma one day.  That didn't work out.  Herman liked her, but she was a tiny little thing and never got over being terrified of him.  This made him unhappy and he started bullying her by backing her up against the bathtub and just staring at her.  She would scream and I would go break it up.  He also wanted her to know that he didn't appreciate her trying to take his place in the bed at bedtime.  Emma ran off to the Rainbow Bridge after only 8 months of living with us.  Then something wonderful happened.  Spyro moved in.

 Spyro:  I didn't want anything to do with the safe room when Mom brought me home.  I demanded that she open the door and I ran into the living room to meet Herman.  We sniffed each other over and were buddies from then on.  He was my rasslin' buddy and my nap buddy and my everything else buddy.  Here we are rasslin' in the living room.  I am very grateful to Herman, because without him, Mom would never have adopted me.  A few months after I arrived, Oja moved in.

Oja:  It took me a month to get the nerve to come out of the safe room and get to know Herman and Spyro.  I had already met them, as they would sneak into my room almost every day, but I would hiss at them and Mom would eject them.  Once I got over being scared of Herman, we became cuddle buddies.  I would groom him until he was sopping wet and he would groom me, too.  This is the last good picture Mom took of Herman.  I am very grateful to Herman, also, because without him, Mom wouldn't have adopted me, either.  Herman is the reason that Karen Jo's house is the home of the FeLV+ kitties.

Fantastic Friday

 Bambino:  I feel a little better every day.  I am eating like I used to and drinking and using the litter box and doing the little things I used to, except play.  That may be coming.  Mom saw me running twice today.

Karen Jo:  The blood test showed just what I expected it to.  Bambino is definitely FeLV+.  I found out something I didn't know before.  Sometimes the virus causes FeLV+ kitties to develop a low grade fever with no other cause.  When the fever breaks they are back to normal.  I am encouraged to know this.  Bambino has been eating like he can't get enough again.  There is never any Stinky Goodness left, except the kitten food.  No cat seems to really like that stuff, though some of it disappears.  If Bambino isn't back to normal by Monday, he has to go back to the vet.  At the rate he is improving, I have hopes that he won't have to make that trip.  Thanks for all the purrs and good wishes.  With all that going for him, he should be well soon.

 I'm up on the couch with the Halloween bear.  Mom hasn't cleaned up since the last time the blurpy was here.  Horus and I both escaped the other day.  The fun thing is that Mom always goes after Horus first because he is harder to catch and I never leave the yard, but he does.  That means that I get to stay outside longer.  I don't like the cold white stuff on the ground, though it isn't everywhere and I can find some grass to munch.

 Oja:  Here I am in the cushioned chair again.  Mom is complaining that every time she gets out the clicky box, I am under here where it's really hard to get a good picture of me.  She should get out the clicky box when I'm out.  I don't know what's up with Bambino.  Mom was lying on the bed, watching TV and Bambino was lying on her, getting petted.  I came up close to get some petting, too, and Bambino whapped me.  He has never done that before.

 Rocio:  I understand now why this is Horus' favorite spot.  It's really comfy.  I have gotten fed up with Horus trying to intimidate me.  This time I growled and charged Horus.  That'll teach him.

 Horus:  Julius was playing with this stuffie a little while ago.  I'm trying to see what the attraction is.  Or maybe I'm looking for stray treats.  The blurp tosses them all around.

Julius:  Mom was a little slow with the clicky box.  When she started trying to take my picture, I was up on the pillow with Spyro.  I cuddle with Spyro lots.  Mom keeps trying to get a picture of my snuggling Spyro in the blue cat bed, but she has to get too close to get a good picture and I always run away.  The only time I come near her is when she is giving out treats or if she is lying in bed with other cats around.  Then I will lie next to her feet.

Purrs for Bambio

Update: Bambino was making motions in his mouth with his tongue like he was thirsty, so I thought I should syringe some water into his mouth, but I remembered that kitties generally don't like that.  Then I remembered that Herman would eat Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys when he refused to eat anything else, so I went to the store and got some.  The Elegant Medleys have a much higher moisture content than the pate style, so I would be taking care of two problems as once.  I gave Bambino just a little bit of the Elegant Medleys and he ate most of it.  I'll try to get some more down him later tonight.  Right now it's "Yay!  He ate!"  Thanks to all of you for the great comments and the purrs.  I know they are helping.

Update:  I had a long conversation with my friend who is an experienced Mom and foster Mom to special needs kitties and we came to the conclusion that as Bambino is not terribly sick yet and his vet knows him and has dealt with FeLV+ kitties before, it would be best to wait until tomorrow and get him an appointment with her.  At the emergency vet you never know who you will get and it's a long trip.  His regular vet also has a new treatment for FeLV+ kitties that the emergency vet might now know about.  Many thanks to Ann of Zoolatry for the badge on the sidebar.  Please feel free to put it on your own blogs.  I know the power of the purr.

Karen Jo:  I am worried about Bambino.  He hasn't eaten much since Saturday.  I have tried putting him in front of the food and the food in front of him, but he sniffs it, licks it and walks away.  He ate a few treats yesterday, but today he walked away from them.  He hissed at Horus this morning, which really worries me because he has NEVER hissed at another cat.  He spent most of the day yesterday sleeping.  I can't take him to his regular vet today because they are closed.  I left a message with a good friend of mine about maybe taking him to the emergency vet, but I'm not sure they would see him.  He is still walking around with his tail up and jumping up on the furniture, so he's not deathly ill.  This could be something minor like a kitty cold or it could be a FeLV flare-up.  Please purr for him.

Meet Bambino

 Bambino:  It's about time my lazy Mom got around to letting me introduce myself.  I've been here since April   7th.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Bambino.  I was greatly affected by Austin's running off to the Bridge.  Then I got involved with my income taxes and that along with the return of winter really got my spirits down.  I'm OK now and will start blogging more again.

Bambino:  I love this nifty cushion.  See all those papers?  I pushed them all off on the floor the other day.  I'm good at pushing things off.

Karen Jo:  I've noticed.  The last three mornings I have been awakened by loud crashes.

Bambino:  It gets your attention and I get hungry in the mornings.  I guess I should tell you how I got here.  Several months ago a nice lady found me as a tiny kitten wandering around on a busy street in Santa Fe.  She took me home and took care of me, but when she discovered that I was FeLV+ she had to keep me in a playpen most of the time to keep me from infecting the cat who was already there and started looking for a new home for me.  She was a volunteer for Felines & Friends, who rescued Austin and Rocio.  There were plans made to pair me with Rocio, but then Austin came along and they were perfect together, so I had to wait.  When Mom first brought me home and put me down in the living room in the carrier, no cat hissed at me, not even Oja.  Things soon changed.

I noticed right away that Rocio and Spyro were both bigger than I was and Oja was stockier and stronger, so I decided that it was best to stay in the safe room for a few days.  Monday, I stuck my head out of my room and promptly got hissed at by Rocio, so I scurried back into hiding.

Karen Jo:  I was surprised that Rocio hissed at you.  He had never hissed at any cat before.  I think he was still missing Austin a whole lot.

Bambino:  Monday evening, I crept out into the hall in slink mode and Oja growled at me, so I ran back into my room again.  Tuesday morning and afternoon, I ventured out just a little, but when running back to my room when I got hissed or growled at.  By Tuesday night, I had figured out that these bigger cats were all talk and no action, so I came out and stayed out.  I spent part of Tuesday night on Mom's bed, until Oja got hissed off that I thought I could sleep ON Mom instead of beside her.

Bambino:  It was only a few more days before I made friends with Rocio.  He saw all the fun I was having with Spyro and decided that I was OK after all.  Here we are playing with Da Bird together.  Spyro, Rocio and I all play chase and rassle together, though not all three at once.  Well, not rasslin' anyway.  By the amount of stuff that gets knocked off of tables Mom strongly suspects that all three of us play THoE at once.  Oja isn't always hissy with me any more and I try to stay out of her way.

Karen Jo:  Bambino may not be the Sultan of Swat, but he is the Prince of Pounce.  He loves pouncing Spyro and Rocio.  From some yowls I have heard, he may have even pounced Oja.  I know that Rocio has been teasing Oja by jumping up the foot or side of the bed and taking a swat at her, then running away.  As a side note, I filed my application to adopt Bambino yesterday.  There is just a little more paperwork to do and he will be an official member of the family.

Serious Sunday

When the director of Felines and Friends New Mexico gave me permission to blog about Austin and Rocio, she said that she hoped it would encourage other people to adopt cats with FIV or FeLV.  That got me to thinking and I decided to make a post based on things I have heard people say about adopting FIV+ and FeLV+ cats.

1. A cat with FIV or FeLV would make the cats I already have sick.

This one is mostly true.  Though it is not recommended to mix FIV+ and cats without the disease, the only way that it can be passed from cat to cat is through sex or a bite deep enough to bleed.  FeLV is much more contagious and it would be irresponsible to bring a FeLV+ cat into a household without the disease.  There are reported cases where a FeLV+ cat has lived with other cats for years without passing on the disease, but it would still be a very bad idea to mix them knowingly.

2.  I want a normal, playful cat, not a sick one.


How about these cats?

                                                                      Herman

                                                                             Emma

 Spyro

 
                                                             Oja        

Rocio and Austin

                                                           
All of these cats had/have FeLV and Herman had FIV as well.

3. Don't they get sick all the time?

Not in my experience.  Herman is the only one who got sick and recovered before his final illness.  The others have remained well and happy.  Because they must be indoor only cats and not have contact with other cats, they don't catch kitty colds or other communicable diseases.

4.  I think it's cruel to keep a cat indoors all the time.

It would be irresponsible to let a FeLV+ cat roam the neighborhood because of the possibility that he/she would pass the disease on to other cats, but that doesn't mean that your cat can never go out.  I solved the problem this way:

When the weather is warm enough, Spyro and I go out and explore the back yard.

5. FIV+ and FeLV+ cats are too expensive.

This isn't necessarily true.  I won't try to hide from you that Herman was a very expensive cat.  When he first got diarrhea he got medicine after medicine trying to stop it; then he got really sick, requiring numerous trips to the vet and more medicines.  At the worst part of his illness I was spending $70 a month to keep him alive.  After he got well, he was still on two medicines to keep him from getting sick again for several more months and one more for the rest of his life to boost his immune system.  However the other cats have all remained healthy.  The only time Emma got sick was just before she went to the Rainbow Bridge.  That was one trip to the vet and one medicine.  It is recommended that FeLV+ cats be giving L-Lysine every day and Interferon as the vet prescribes.  These medicines are not terribly expensive.  In its most expensive form you can get 120 doses of L-Lysine for $12.  I get a bottle of Interferon that holds 200 doses for $35.

6.  All cats testing positive for FIV and FeLV should be put to sleep as soon as they are diagnosed, as their lives will be short and miserable.

I really hate this one.  Their lives will probably be short compared to other cats, yes, but they are far from miserable.  FIV+ cats can remain in remission for most of their lives and live almost as long as any other cat. There was a FeLV+ cat adopted from Felines and Friends New Mexico ten years ago and he is still going strong.  Just look at the pictures of the kitties above and consider this:  Herman was diagnosed at 1 1/2 and lived to be 5 1/4.  He had a wonderful life with me.  Emma was diagnosed at just over one and lived to be 1 3/4.  Look at her playing and tell me she shouldn't have been given those months.  Spyro was diagnosed at 1 1/2 and is as healthy as he can be and really enjoying life at two,  Oja was diagnosed at two and she is having a wonderful time.  Austin and Rocio were diagnosed as kittens.  They are running, playing, leaping, wrestling, eating, sleeping and having a ball.  All of them deserve the chance to live out their (probably) short lives.