Re: Nina's Greeting and Question

[Nina]

Ah Presto, you and Everett sound like our kind of people!  We seem to have some things in common, I devote myself to rescuing those animals I can, (not on your scale though!).  I maintain two small colonies of ferals and my house is full of rescues.   I have even enclosed the back of my house, (with bedroom window!), into a "habitat" of safe outdoor space.  I too was introduced to the joys and tribulations of pos through the motherly devotion induced by the sweet innocent needs of a litter of kittens.  I came upon my litter of 6, 2.5 week old kittens in a box placed outside the door of a closed spay/neuter clinic.  The poor little angels were near death, starving, bloody from flea infestation and so very pitiful!  I had had experience with bottle feeding and blindly jumped into the task of being surrogate mom to these new additions.  At the time I couldn't figure out why anyone would pull such tiny babies from their mother's breast to abandon them in this way.  When the first of the kittens, Flash, died 6 months later, (we had no experience with felv and never had them tested), I figured that the momma had probably succumbed to felv from the stress of delivery.  We had adopted out 3 of the kittens, (the two that died within their first 8 months had been adopted out to the same home), the other kitten adopted out, (to a dream-home), is still healthy at 2.5 yrs old.  Of the 3 that remained in my home, 2 have passed, Jazz at 18mos and Gracie at almost 2 yrs.  Tim the 6th kitten tested neg and remains healthy, (thank God). We live in Oxnard CA.  There's a site where you can add your name, location and a picture: http://www.frappr.com/felvtalk  My husband Bruce and I share our home with 6 dogs and 5 other cats, a nice even dozen.  Although, there is a newcomer to my feral dishes that looks to be a stray so... I'm very glad to have you with us.  I'm sure you have much to contribute and this group is unparalleled in it's compassion and knowledge.  I was close to losing my mind from grief and ignorance when I found the list.  I truly don't know how I would have coped without everyone's support.  Once again, welcome! Nina Presto wrote: Hi Nina, thank you for welcoming us.  I'll describe our arrangements, and how we got started.   Over three-hundred cats have come through my home, wherever it was, in the past twenty years.  In CA, so many healthy cats are killed yearly because of overpopulation that I chose to have the positives euthanized, so that remained my policy.  In '96, we returned from Zaire and moved to MA.  We immediately became extensively involved in rescue work.  In '01, a co-director of a humane society begged me to take in a litter of 8-wk-old kittens, six of whom had tested positive for leukemia.  We were their last chance.  We decided to take them.  That was the turning point in our policy.  Initially, we kept the kittens isolated, but eventually integrated them.  The first kitten died at six months;  the last, at 3 yrs. 10 months.  The seventh is still negative.   In the mid-eighties, I took in positives, thinking that the Felv vaccine was sufficiently effective to protect my other cats.  It wasn't.  That's why I stopped keeping positives.  But now, although not foolproof, the vaccination is much more effective.   We did our rescue work from apartments until '03, when we bought a modest house.  We had the carpets removed and wall-to-wall vinyl flooring installed throughout the house.  The vinyl is imitation marble:  white with gray tracery, and shows anything that spills on it--hairballs, urine, anything.  We can spot anything and clean it up immediately.  We have eleven jumbo litter pans in several rooms, and change them often.  Our back yard is enclosed with cat-proof fencing;  only certain cats are allowed to go out there.  Everett built an outdoor enclosed, roofed cat porch behind our bedroom window.  It is accessible 24/7, 365, by an enclosed tunnel that runs to it through the window.  All the cats are able to use that.   We have quilted calico cat-pads throughout the house, on semi-high surfaces, for the cats' comfort and privacy.  We feed the cats on two enormous polished wooden tables in our kitchen.  This makes clean-up easier, and the cats enjoy being on a high surface.  We have a supplementary snacking station on the floor.  The kitchen is actually quite lovely.    Newcomers are isolated in our study, a large room with a picture-window, until two weeks after they've had their second FVRCCP/Felv vaccination and have been spayed etcetera.  Then they are introduced.   We live with thirty-six cats, which is too many, but will go down through the sad attrition of death.  Only two are placeable.  The others are feral or positive or both.  We have resisted taking in any more, unless the case is extreme and there is no other alternative.   Alley Cat Allies recently asked me to take in some positives from their hurricane rescuees.  I couldn't do it.  I was devastated.  We sent them twenty Tomahawk traps and cash, but we're full-up and cannot adopt.  They have a group of sweet, feral positives they call the "Circle K's," who are fed in a store parking lot.  Does anyone want them?   Our cats get along beautifully.  I attribute it to the following.  Careful engineering of the household to reduce stress upon them.  A combination of love and respect.  An attempt to understand them, and to meet them half-way in communication styles.  No anger, only gentle redirection.  And total integration of them into our lives.  It also helps that I am home 24/7, a luxury to most people.   Thank you for your inquiry, Nina.  May I learn about you?   Presto