Hi folks,
I have just received an e-mail back from their editor Sue saying that they are happy with what I've written and seeking elaboration on a few points so I have revised the article a little the new draft appears below and I will be sending it, along with pics to her tomorrow.
Living with FIV.
In early 2006 I had not long moved into a new second floor flat and I had started contacting local cat charities with the aim of adopting an indoor or "flat cat" as they are sometimes called. I knew that I could give a cat a loving home and that, he or she, would be great company. I approached several local cat re-homing charities but they hadn’t
got any suitable cats on their books at that time but a chance remark by one lady who visited me to do a home check changed everything. She asked me if I
would consider giving a home to an FIV cat explaining that FIV cats make perfect indoor only cats which suited my domestic circumstances perfectly. I decided
to do some research into the disease and was re-assured to learn that FIV cats can lead long, healthy and normal lives provided that a few sensible
precautions are taken, such as keeping them indoors, and the disease is not transferable to humans or other species.
Very soon afterwards I had found Alfie or Little ‘Al as he was then called on the website of a local cat charity, I've got to say that it was a case of "love
at first sight" and soon the eagerly awaited day arrived and this small tabby and white, approximately two year old, bundle of fun was curiously and
cautiously exploring his new home. Alfie had had a quite miserable start in life, after being found as a stray by a local dog warden and he had been
diagnosed by the charity’s vet as having contracted FIV. Not only has Alfie and his FIV+ companion Frankie whom I adopted a few months later, proven to be very loving,
normal and fun cats but, apart from Alfie having a few minor health concerns, they have both been in excellent health. Alfie suffers from the occasional
bought of conjuntivits in one eye which, I'm told, was inadvertantly caused by being treated with the "live" version of the cat-flu ivacinne at the
charity's vet before he was subsequently diagnosed as having FIV when he should, I've learned, have received the "dead" version of the vacine. In the last
three years that we've been together I am happy to say that these episodes have become less and less frequent and shorter in duration. Frankie on the other
hand has never had any cause to visit a vet in the last two and a half years so, when I say "minimal" there really hasn't been any serious cause for concern.
They have both adapted very easily to their indoor lifestyle so-dictated by the requirement to keep them free from exposure to any cat-related illnesses
which their compromised immune systems couldn’t defend them against and also from passing it onto non-FIV infected cats. Transmission of the disease is most
frequently caused by saliva entering a wound after receiving a penetrating bite by an FIV-infected cat. FIV is more prevalent in territorially-minded male
cats a risk that can be greatly diminished by neutering. The virus is a very fragile virus and cannot live outside of the host for long and thus I accepted
the risk of mixing FIV and non-FIV cats when I adopted my mother’s elderly cat who happily lived alongside the boys for two years without contracting the
disease until she passed away, at the ripe old age of 17, of a feline age-related illness in late 2008. According to all the available scientific evidence
that I've read FIV cats can live as long as any other cat. I don't know how long we've got together, who does?, but does that really matter, not to me it
doesn't, as long as we have each other and, in my opinion, the euthanasia of an otherwise healthy cat is such a hideous alternative that personally-speaking,
it doesn't bare thinking about.
Adopting Alfie and Frankie has had a real and very positive impact on my life. Not only are they both great fun and great company but the experience of
living with FIV and the realisation that this illness is traditionally misunderstood and often quite wrongly the ignorance surrounding it has been
interpreted as a death sentence has encouraged me to get more personally involved in publicising and sharing my experiences of FIV. This involvement led to
the creation of
www.alfie-cat.co.uk in late 2007 an attempt to harness the power of the internet to share my experiences and facts on FIV. The website is an
eclectic mix of fun and information on FIV mixed in with my first-hand anecdotal experiences of the disease and has been very warmly received by many
visitors from around the world. My work largely involves multi-media and last year I created a short fun animated video of, as far as I am currently aware,
the world’s first FIV Cat Rock band “Letterbox” which appears on the website and, I hope serves as an entertaining vehicle to further publicise the website
and thus help to increase awareness of FIV. The video, featuring “Slow-Paw” Alfie on lead guitar, “Fat Boy” Frankie on bass guitar and “Sultry” Suzie on
drums was recently awarded a prize in an online video contest the winnings going into the boys’ rainy-day fund to help with any veterinary costs that might
occur. I learned quickly that obtaining health insurance for an FIV positive cat is very problematical if not impossible so I took the decision to put money
asside for them to help cover future health-related contigencies. I should mention that the charity from whom I adopted the boys has been absolutely
marvellous not only for their friendly support but also they have kindly provided financial assitance to help cover veterinary bills which, as I have
previously mentioned, have, to-date, been absolutely minimal.
In conclusion, when I look at Alfie and Frankie I don’t see two cats with FIV, I see two normal fun-loving cats that just happen to have FIV. FIV cats
deserve just the same opportunities of a happy home and a happy life as any other cat and I cannot even begin to describe the many ways in which they have
enriched my life.
---
Cheers
Leigh
