Hi Janet, That simple act of rescue can certainly become complicated.
I joined this list months ago after trapping a litter of feral positive kittens. I was looking for sound advice, which I got, and I should really sign off the list now since I can't keep up with the volume of emails but I hang on because this is the most sensitive, caring, THINKING list of people who love cats, so you couldn't have landed in a better place. That said, having seen too many hard-luck moms actually look grateful to have someone take over the care of yet another litter, I spay pregnant females in precarious positions for the mother's sake and the fact that there are already so many healthy, homeless kittens (and cats) out there already. Not a perfect answer, but one that makes sense to me, for now. Janine --- wendy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Janet, > > I have to agree with everything that Nina said. > Having the cat spayed would probably be the humane > thing to do. My cat Cricket was born with Feline > Leukemia; his mother had it. I would like to urge > you > to consider keeping this cat if you are at all > attached to it, and caring for it yourself. FELV+ > positive is not necessarily a death sentence; many > cats throw off the virus after they've been exposed, > expecially those with good health care and a lot of > love. FELV+ cats are hard to place, and many times, > are euthanised because a lot of vets recommend it. > But we do not agree with this policy. These kitties > deserve a happy life being loved just as much as a > cat > that isn't FELV+. Cricket lived 4 and a half years, > and probably would have lived longer had he not been > stressed out by a house full of Hurricane Rita > evacuees for a week, when the virus kicked in and he > became anemic. Because he was born FELV+, his life > expectancy was a lot less than he actually lived. > Many kittens die by 6 months because their immune > systems are so weak, and even more by two years old. > > No one can make this decision for you, but learn a > little more before you make the decision and I wish > you luck. Let us know what you decide. I'll keep > you > in my prayers. > > :) > Wendy > > --- Nina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Janet, > > As Terri and Tonya have already mentioned, many of > > us mix adult negs > > that have been vaccinated with pos. It's a > > judgement call and of course > > no matter what our success rate in doing this is, > > there's no safer > > protection for your elderly cat than to not mix > them > > together. That's > > what most vets will tell you. Being that your > > current kitty is older, I > > might not mix them together either. That said, if > I > > were in this > > situation, I'd figure God sent her to me for a > > reason and I'd personally > > dive in with both feet and do whatever I could to > > save her and her kittens. > > > > I am all too familiar with the heartache involved > > with pos kittens. My > > experience with felv came when my husband and I > > found a box of kittens > > that were just 2.5 weeks old. Because they were > so > > young, I assume the > > mother succumbed to felv from the stress of having > > them and the people > > who abandoned them didn't know how to care for > them. > > Why else would > > they take them from their mother at that age? We > > lost 2 of our babies > > when they were about 6 mos old and two more before > > their 2nd birthday. > > The other two are doing fine and are reaching 2.5 > > yrs. Their lives were > > filled with love and concern and I'm not a bit > sorry > > that I made the > > commitment to try and save them. > > > > Janet, you have some tough decisions ahead of you. > > > You don't know me, > > so you might think I'm a monster for even bringing > > this up, but given > > what you've said in your post... It's going to be > > hard enough to place > > the mother, if she's healthy. I can't say what I > > would do in your > > place. I'm not you and I have no idea what you > have > > to contend with. > > If someone steps up very quickly to adopt her, > > knowing she's pregnant, > > well that's a different story altogether. If you > > just found out she's > > pregnant, I'm supposing she's not too far along. > > Under the > > circumstances you describe, if you have her > spayed, > > the kittens would be > > aborted at the same time and praying that she > > remains asymptomatic after > > the stress of the operation, you might have a > chance > > of placing her. I > > couldn't bear to think about what might be in > store > > for those babies if > > they lose their mother, and don't have a human > > willing to step in and > > care for them. My 2 cents on the harshness of > > reality. Now, what I'm > > praying for is that you've fallen in love with > this > > little stray and > > you'll want to adopt her yourself. If so, there > are > > many wonderful, > > knowledgeable people on this list who will support > > you no matter where > > that decision takes you. I'm also praying that > > someone, if not you, > > will hear this little girl's story, take her in > and > > give her the kind of > > life every kitty deserves. > > Nina > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > > Hello, > > > Two weeks ago I took a cat in that had been > > abandoned. Today, I took > > > her to the vet and found out she was tested as > > positive for feline > > > leukemia. I also found out today that she is > > pregnant. > > > > > > I have a 15 year old cat that does not have > > leukemia. Thus, I cannot > > > keep this new cat but I need to find a shelter > > that can take her or a > > > family that this will be their only help. > > > > > > Please let me know if you have any ideas. I > live > > in Florida. > > > > > > Thank you in advance, > > > Janet > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam > protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > >
