Featured Furry-Scotty UPDATED

Last week I told you about Sinatra. This week I want you to meet his BFF (best furry friend) Scotty.

Like Sinatra, Scotty is FIV positive. He spent some time on the streets and you can definitely tell by looking at him. His ears are in a permanent "airplane ear" position and he's missing the fur on the backs of them, but it gives him character! And that Elvis lip? Mama can't get enough of that!

Scotty is definitely a lap cat and likes to be petted. He'll sit on your lap as long as you'll let him.

Scotty is 9 years old, but he plays like a kitten! One of his favorite toys is actually Sinatra's tail. He's also a champion jingle-ball chaser.

He loves other cats and is friends with just about any cat he comes across. Of course, Sinatra is his favorite. They don't need to go home together, but Scotty needs a cat friend, so why not adopt them both?

Photo collage by Catherine Sherman.

If you are interested in making Scotty and Sinatra party of your family, now is the time to adopt. Wayside Waifs in Kansas City is running a great special and these guys can be adopted for just $10 each! What a steal!

UPDATE
Scotty and Sinatra were adopted together yesterday!

Featured Furry-Sinatra UPDATED

Mama met a very handsome boy at Wayside Waifs last night. His name is Sinatra and he's a flame-point Siamese. Talk about Old Blue Eyes! This guy has some peepers!

Sinatra, a youngun' at 2 years old, came to Wayside from another shelter. He has had some issues with skin allergies and ended up with a few hotspots. Now that the allergies have cleared up, his fur is filling in where it had been kind of thin.

Sinatra is also FIV positive, but like I have explained before, FIV isn't a big issue. As long as a kitty has regular veterinary check-ups and is kept healthy, he can live a long, normal life.

He is a friendly guy who gets along with other cats. Right now he's rooming with another FIV positive kitty, Scotty. (Look for more info about Scotty soon.)

If you are interested in adopting Sinatra, you should probably act fast. A kitty that handsome won't last long!

UPDATE
Scotty and Sinatra were adopted together yesterday!

Featured Furry: Chris

Sometimes Mama meets a cat at Wayside Waifs and just knows that she needs to give him a little extra love and a little extra help finding his forever home. This week she met one of those kitties.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Richman.

Meet Chris. He's 8 years old, came to Wayside as a stray, and is FIV positive. He's a handsome black cat with a bit of a salt and pepper coat. He's a sweet boy and super friendly.

If you come to meet Chris, don't let his looks put you off. His ears always stay a little flattened, but he's not mad at all! When he came to the shelter, he had some pretty bad wounds around his ears. Staff thinks it was probably due to a serious ear mite problem that caused him to scratch around his ears to the point that they bled. He still has scars from these wounds, but his ears are much better now!

He also had to have some teeth pulled when he came to the shelter. After living on the street for who knows how long he certainly didn't have proper dental care and his teeth weren't in very good condition. He even had to have a fang pulled! Because he doesn't have all of his teeth, he sometimes drools a little. Mama told him not to worry about it though, he didn't need to feel embarrassed by it.

Chris is going to need a special kind of home. He'll need to be an indoor only cat. He will also need to be watched closely for any sign of illness. Since he's FIV positive, he could get sick more easily than a healthy cat and it could mean a longer recovery time. As long as he's kept in a healthy environment and isn't subject to stress, he should lead a long, healthy life.

Featured Furry-Herbert

There is a great cat at Wayside Waifs waiting for his forever family to come along. His name is Herbert and he's a pretty nice guy.

Herbert-a.k.a. Herbie the Love Bug-came to Wayside as a stray. He's four years old and is ALL man-cat. Mama says he has a big, solid head, so watch out if he gives a head butt!

Every time someone walks into his room, he politely says hello. He likes to be petted, but can get overstimulated and nip at your fingers. Because of this, he should go to an adult-only home or possibly one with mature teens.

Herbert is also FIV positive. All that means is that his immune system isn't as strong as it should be. If he were to get a cold, he would need to see a vet to keep him healthy.

If you'd like to meet this good looking man-cat, go check him out at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City!

Featured Furry: Andy

Mama has a new shelter love.

His name is Andy and he is 3 years old. He is very sweet and right away was climbing up on Mama to give her a hug. When he did that, Mom could feel immediately that he was very skinny. She gave him a few treats and noticed he hadn't eaten the wet food in his kennel. She got him a different kind of food and encouraged him to eat.

And eat he did!

In between eating, Mama would pick Andy up and carry him around. He loved being in her arms, carried like a baby. Mama really misses having me to cuddle, so Andy was a blessing to hold.

Andy is waiting to be retested for FIV. Since he came in as a stray, the folks at Wayside Waifs want to make sure about his health.

Andy says "Adopt me!"

Andy is a super sweet boy who would give tons of love to the family that gives him a forever home. If you're interested, go meet him at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City.

UPDATE

Andy spent a week with Mom and Dad on furlough from the shelter. He and Harvey got along great, but he and Dad just didn't connect. It was good for him to get out of his kennel for a few days, though.

Check out the video shot by Lisa Richman, Mama's favorite friend and fellow volunteer.

Featured Furry: George

Here we go again. Mom has a new shelter love. His name is George and he's a one-year-old brown tabby. He is also FIV positive, so he's special needs and harder to find a forever home for.


For a refresher on FIV, click over to a great article by Best Friends Animal Society.


Mom fell in love with George when she saw the white stripe down his nose.

He's kind of skinny and looks like he's had a rough go of it, but that doesn't make him any less handsome in Mom's eyes.

George is very sweet and didn't hesitate to get in Mom's lap for a long cuddle session. It was just what she needed since my new Earth brofur, Harvey, isn't a cuddly kitty. She sat with him on her lap for the longest time, both of them content to just sit there.

George is also a talkative kitty and said "Hello" as soon as she walked in his room.

George would make a great pal to have around the house. He'll follow you around, keep you company, and be a top-notch lap cat! He'll need to be the only cat in the home or go to a home with other FIV positive cats. He'll also need to be kept strictly indoors and his health must be a priority.


If you think you're the right match for George, go spend some time with him at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City and see for yourself how wonderful he is!

Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week: Snowflake

This is post #3 in the series. You can read post #4 at A Tonk's Tail...err, Tale...


Today's guest blogger is Michelle Cour, one of the dedicated volunteers at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City. Michelle is known for getting the inside scoop from the Wayside kitties. She spoke with Snowflake, a two year old male, domestic shorthair, FIV+ cat available for adoption, and has relayed his story for me.

Hello

My name is Snowflake and I’ll bet you can guess why if you look at my photo. Yep, all white with beautiful blue eyes, very soulful people say. I’ve had kind of a hard life living on the streets getting bitten by another stray, and having to find food where I could. Things are better now with regular meals, medical care and nice people to talk to and play with me. But I could really use a permanent home.

The one challenge to quickly finding me a family is that I’m FIV positive. Don't be a scaredy cat! Many people don’t understand it and are afraid, so let me explain a little. It’s not a death sentence for me and doesn’t require expensive meds to keep it under control as is often needed with the human form, HIV. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus is an active viral infection causing an increased susceptibility to other infections. I can live a long healthy life if you take me to the vet if I develop an infection, like respiratory or urinary tract, easily curable with low cost antibiotics.

FIV isn’t communicable to dogs or humans; only to other cats through bites, not through sharing food or water dishes. If you would like a cat and have none, I’d be a super sweet and special friend, so come meet me today! In fact, why not take me and one of the other FIV positive cats too? Two is always more fun than one. Also, cats who test positive can develop neutralizing antibodies and clear the infection. Yep, it's true, so I should be retested about 3 months after the initial test that confirmed my FIV positive diagnosis. I might be just fine. Please come meet me. You won’t regret it and you’ll be my hero forever.

Until later!

Snowflake

Thank you Michelle and Snowflake! I hope they cleared up any confusion about FIV+ cats and their adoptability. If we get information out about FIV, more people would probably adopt cats like Snowflake.

I hope you consider an FIV+ cat the next time you're in the market for a new family member. If your local shelter has any FIV+ cats, please help spread this message: