Hello everyone,
I'm so sad and I'm reaching out to you guys for comfort and ideas about
what to do for my new charge, Starman. I know I've mentioned him to some
of you already, (we were calling him Manix, because he has a nub of a tail).
The first time I saw him was a couple of months ago, eating at the feral
dishes in my front yard. He's a big 'ol intact Tom, (we weighed him at
the vet's last Friday and he's 16.8 pounds!). I have a fenced in habitat
along the back side of my house. I used to keep the door open and food
in there for anyone that wanted it. One day, about a month ago, Star
wandered in there and I simply shut the door. It was the easiest
"capture" I've ever experienced with a feral cat. I could tell he had
had some association with humans because he was so vocal, but he was
definitely hostile toward me and my animals. He spent most of the first
two weeks hiding under the house.
I didn't feel comfortable bringing him in immediately for neutering
because he had URI symptoms. I made an appointment with a very
expensive vet that is incredible with handling feral cats. I had to
wait for an appointment, and in the meantime, I did my best to show Star
not all humans are to be feared. I took it slow and used all my love
and knowledge to gain his trust. He's come such a long way! He now
rubs against me and allows me to clean his eyes with cotton balls and
saline solution, (his eyes are better, but they're still runny with
clear rusty brown tears and the occasional yellow/green goo in the
corners). His lungs still sound congested, but I haven't heard him
cough, or sneeze in a few days. He's spry and active, he comes running
to greet me when he hears me approaching the habitat now.
The poor little angel wants so desperately to be with me all the time.
He's discovered what it's like to be loved and he can't get enough
attention. My bedroom window is contained within the habitat and there
are climbing shelves that lead up to it. Star cries pitifully
throughout the night and early morning hours, I don't think it's because
he wants to escape, he never trys to bolt the gate when I open it. He
just wants me to come out and keep him company. He's begun climbing the
shelving and scratching at my bedroom window. The other night when I
opened it to pet and comfort him, he tried to bull his way past me into
the bedroom. This was with a couple of dogs and cats on the bed beneath
the window at the time! It broke my heart, but I couldn't let him in.
I still didn't know what was wrong with him and I can't jeopardize the
rest of my cats.
So far, he hasn't done as well with making friends with my other cats,
(poor little man doesn't seem to ever have had a buddy, not human, not
cat). He doesn't hiss, or strike at them through the fence, (my cats do
plenty of hissing at him), but he's still "charging" the fence when he
sees one of them looking in.
Last Friday we were finally able to get in to see the East/West vet
that's so good with ferals. Oh, I was so proud of Star! He was scared
to death with the experience, poor baby peed in his carrier. But he
went completely limp and while covered head to toe in a towel, allowed
the vet to draw his blood! I'm telling you there were tears in my eyes
at the level of trust he's gotten to! After we brought him home he was
even more affectionate with me.
Yesterday I got the results of his tests from the vet. He tested
positive for FIV. I'm devastated. There go all my hopes of acclimating
him to my household. I can't take the chance that he won't bite someone
and spread his FIV and I can't release him for the same reason. I'm so
sad. I don't know what to do for him. He's so lonely in the habitat, I
can't keep him in there too much longer. Since he's still symptomatic,
I'm not even sure I should schedule his surgery for neuter.
I'm going to take pictures and get his info out in the hopes that
there's someone out there willing to give him a chance at the forever
home he truly deserves. I'm doing my best to remain optimistic about
his future, but I'm so darn disappointed. My mother and sister have
both told me that I should pts "for his own good". I know there are
plenty of people that believe the same thing, I'm just not one of them.
I appreciate you taking the time to read Star's story. Any ideas,
thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I get so tired
facing battle after battle. Nothing's ever easy. But maybe I'm just
feeling discouraged right now. Maybe things will seem brighter soon.
Love to you guys,
Nina
