Help Save a Kitty!

Since July this year, the house that I live at has had an outdoor-only kitty. She's a beautiful orange tabby that started hanging around as a kitten, and we started feeding her. Recently we suspected that she was possibly pregnant, and in an attempt to confirm that and try to take care of her and find homes for her kittens, I took her to my vet today. In doing so, we found out that she has feline leukemia. The disease is eventually fatal and very contagious (but only to other cats! Not dogs or people). Those of you that have cats know that there is a vaccine for this, but unfortunately it is only about 80% effective. Since there are three other cats that live in various areas of the house I live in, I wasn't able to bring her home with me tonight:-( She is being boarded at my vet's for a few nights, while I try to find her a home.

Even though Skinny-B has the disease, it is possible for her to live happily and healthily for years to come. Some cats with the disease that are lucky enough to be placed in loving homes and have good vet care often live just as long as any other indoor cat does (8-16 years).

We have two choices. The first, and one that I am doing my utmost to make happen, is find her a good home. Ideally one without any other cats, or with other cats that also have leukemia. A home with cats that do not have the disease is also possible, so long as the owner is aware of the risk involved in having Skinny-B around. One thing that I must emphasize is that she ABSOLUTELY MUST be indoor-only. If allowed outdoors, she will be exposed to other diseases that would greatly shorten her life-span, and she would also be infecting other cats in the area.

The second choice, and what will have to happen if a home for her is not found by Thursday night, is to have her put to sleep. It will already be necessary to have her spayed ASAP, and the kittens put to sleep. Chances are, they would not survive more than a few days past birth, because they would be so sick. And allowing Skinny-B to give birth would put so much strain on her that it would severely lessen her chance of being healthy and happy for any length of time. Having this done to the kittens is terrible enough, and I really do not want to have to do the same to Skinny-B.

Everyone here adores her. She is very sweet and affectionate. You hardly even have to look at her and she starts purring:-) She loves attention and cuddling. She endures kitty baths very well and also does very well in the car (as I discovered today while taking her to the vet). She isn't extremely fond of dogs, but I'm sure when given a little time to adjust, she would become friends with one. She is an orange and white tabby, with big green eyes. Right now, she weighs about 8.5 lbs (but could definitely stand to put on a little weight), and we are guessing that she is maybe a year old, at most. She was a little kitten when she first started showing up here at the house, last summer. Aside from the leukemia, she is perfectly healthy. Her heart and lungs are great, her teeth are fairly healthy (she seems to be getting a little bit of gingivitis from not having proper food and care) and amazingly enough, she doesn't appear to have any fleas.

Please e-mail all your friends and pass the word around. Many of us here at the house want to do everything possible to avoid having to put her to sleep while she is still so young and healthy. Because we are operating under such a time constraint, please pass my cell phone number around as well, and encourage people to call me with any questions that they might have, at any time (day or night). If someone is willing to take her, I will gladly help raise money for any vaccinations and health care in the near future, and she will already come to you spayed, flea treated and cleaned up:-) Even if you are in another state, please pass the word around and feel free to get in touch with me. I'm going to be traveling in the next month, and it might be possible to arrange for me to drop her off.

If you have a myspace, please write up a short bulletin and post it (including my # and email). If you have a livejournal or a blog, please do the same. I'm posting an add on craigslist, and also contacting various shelters and animal sanctuaries tomorrow. Please help me find her a home!

Thanks Everyone.

mims.katie at gmail dot com