It's amazing, walk through Tree House Humane Society's cageless Uptown location,
and go from room to room. There will always be cats who want to say
'hi,' but when you enter the FIV room, you'll be swarmed with
affection. I don't know what it is about FIV positive cats, but they truly tend
to wear their hearts on their paws; they knead and purr in laps of
perfect strangers. Tree House Humane Society is one of the few shelters who offer these cats a second chance.
The feline immunodeficiency virus or FIV is similar to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), however people can not get FIV, which is reserved for cats only. Most often FIV is transmitted through cat bites. Someone allows their big guy outdoors, and he gets into a tussle with the neighbor cat who happens to be infected.
Over time, infected cats may lose ability to resist disease and as a result, some FIV cats do come down with illness more readily. But kept indoors and with preemtive veterinary care, and twice-annual wellness visits (a good idea for all cats and dogs anyway), many (some would argue the majority of) FIV positive cats live out a normal lifespan.
Because they're infected, FIV cats were thought to unadoptable in multi-cat homes. It turns out - that - yes - you must be careful, and discuss the situation thoroughly with the adoption counselor...but certainly many FIV cats co-exist just fine in homes with another cat or two. Of course, if there is no other cat in the home, adopting an FIV positive cat is a no-brainer. Increasingly, people are considering adopting a cat with a dogor two currently in the home. FIV can not be transmitted to canines, so that's an easy and safe consideration. For reasons unknown, these FIV positive cats truly do tend to be incredibly loving. Perhaps you can comment, sharing your experiences with FIV cats.
Carol Nordstrom
I also want to mention that the Tree House Bucktown location currently has 4 spectacular FIV+ cats: the magnificent Adonis, sweet and cross-eyed Sox, former Uptown resident Glimmer. and lovely Chica. All looking for a forever home.
I fostered an FIV+ cat in my home with my 3 FIV- cats, a dog, and 2 guinea pigs. He had gone from street to shelter to home. When the owner had to give him up due to foreclosure, I didn't want him to go back to the shelter again. He was healthier than my own brood, and after 6 months, I was able to find him a forever home. If I knew then what I know now, I would have started with FIV+ or FELV+ cats. If they are not euthanized by vets who still think FIV is a death sentence, they languish in shelters because of fear and misinformation. I hope anyone considering adoption will consider one of these special cats!