Rufus - FIV positive needs home ASAP Update 2.8 #40

[lvpets2002]

Has AnyOne Checked With Pilots-n-Paws?? I am a member with them & I will see if where in WA state they fly into.. Does anyone know what town this lady lives in of WA state.. You can PM me if you dont want it public on here..

[kuhio98]

Has AnyOne Checked With Pilots-n-Paws?? I am a member with them & I will see if where in WA state they fly into.. Does anyone know what town this lady lives in of WA state.. You can PM me if you dont want it public on here..

Sorry for going AWOL. I'm still recovering from pnemonia.
As I understand it, the rescue will check with transportation groups WHEN they find a home for him. As far as I know -- at this point -- Rufus STILL needs a home.

Does anyone now of a rescue in your area (hopefully within 400 miles of Michigan) that will take an FIV+ kitty?

[SinbadsMom]

You're welcome, Pat!

Helene, that's great that you're with Pilots-N-Paws. The shelter is aware of your group (and one of our Lighthouse members has a dog transported by your group). But as Lisa said, arrangements can't be made till they're sure of a home.

Lisa, I'm so sorry to hear you have pneumonia!

Rhoda's posted another update on our private board (the larger of our boards), and it's not at all certain yet that the sanctuary will offer Rufus a forever home -- it might, but there were some misunderstandings about just how settled this was, and how much it might cost. The one definite offer so far is from our member in Seattle.

Rhoda's worried about flying Rufus to Seattle in a plane's hold, by regular air routes. This would be very stressful for him. There are truckers who can help with transport, too, and I've sometimes seen transport relays organized by individuals on pet boards and pet loss boards to take pets long distances, but that would mean days of driving, and possibly with very bad road conditions. Pilots-n-Paws would be ideal, for getting Rufus to Seattle, if this could be arranged.

But at this point, because of the distance, the shelter is still hoping to find someone without cats who can offer Rufus a forever home within a few hundred miles of Midland, Michigan.

Cindy

[jennielynn1970]

Any news on Rufus? This thread just breaks my heart. I hope he can find a home close by. I'll throw my cards in on this one... I have FIV+ cat here at home, if need be, I can be a player as well. I'd hate to see him end up in a shelter for the rest of his life. So... put me in as a player if needed, ok? I'm in Allentown, Pa. I can be a foster or a permanent home. I just don't want to see him end up being put down or stuck in a shelter.

Most of my fosters were FIV+, and I loved them all. I just hate seeing them stuck in shelters.

[kuhio98]

Jenn ~ You would be the answer to all of our prayers if you were able to give Rufus a permanent home.

The current plan is for Rufus to go to a rescue in Pennsylvania! How far is this rescue from Allentown?

Here's Rhoda's latest update:

My dear friends, I have been so depressed, exhausted, angry, and just a gamut of emotions and I haven't been able to come to the Lighthouse much or find time to do my housework or any other projects that are pressing me. I don't know where to begin.

My New Year's resolution was to get my life in order again.

Rufus has weighed on my mind something terrible. His wounds are abscessed. Yesterday he was neutered and has had all his vaccines and his wounds were flushed out while he was under and injected with antibiotic and also medicated salve. He was laying on the desk in the front office wrapped in warm towels, still out, and staff and others were cooing over him and I kissed him so tenderly. And when he started coming to, I cradled him in my arms and put him back into his tiny cage.

We have heard nothing as yet from the sanctuary in Wisconsin and now the director is saying we have to make some decisions. We all know what that is - and it includes putting cats down, I'm sure. Let's face it, we've taken in about 55 cats now since the 3rd of January and they are contained in a very small space.

Sylvia contacted our rescues because I have been working at the shelter. One of our rescues will take 4 of our cats. Another rescue will take the 4 feral kittens and I will call Capital in Lansing to see if they will take our 4 black kittens.

But I just had a phone call from Sylvia as I was getting ready to respond to a post by Cindy and Best Little Cat House in Pennsylvania has said they will take Rufus.

http://www.thebestlittlecathouseinpa.com/

We have a member willing to drive him there. Lynn from Pennsylvania has said that if we can deliver him Thursday or Friday that will be fine. They want no money. Can you believe that? She said that since we were just getting started to please put anything we might get toward the shelter. I just talked to Ryan earlier today. I saw him at Vet Med where I had taken Vivian to get spayed.

When Vivian was shaved, it was discovered she had already been spayed previously in her life. And she now weighs 9.2#. She weighed just a bit over 7# when I got her. She and Lucy Mae both drove me crazy this morning from 3 a.m. on because I had to pull all the food away last night. And Vivian has done nothing but eat since she has been home.

But back to Ryan - I talked about a transport for Rufus if we couldn't get the truckers or the pilots. He said for money for a cheap motel and gas he would drive Rufus anywhere we wanted, even out to Washington to Syvia's.

So it appears right now that Rufus is truly saved. He will be going to Pennsylvania. And perhaps my life will go on, minus the wine bottle for awhile. Well, I wasn't too concerned about that. Last night and the night before I couldn't finish my glass. I just wanted a sip of it and threw the rest down the drain. I was too depressed to even drink wine.

I should never, ever get so tied to a cat. But Rufus was very special to me because I never believed he was really feral. And Animal Control would have put him to the gas chamber but they didn't have time for a 48-hour notice.

Hugs and love,

Rhoda

[jennielynn1970]

I'll be glad he's going to a shelter, but sad that they do not do adoptions from their facility. That is SAD. I'd still love to give this boy a home, pending that he would not be aggressive with my guys. My FIV guys have for the most part been docile, but you never know what happens to some of them at times.


Send an email to Rhoda, will see what she has to say. Even offered to help with transport.

He just seemed right to me. Like I was getting a sign from my Macker, my first FIV+ kitty. Shelters are great, but a home is a HOME.

Oh well.

[jennielynn1970]

[QUOTE=kuhio98;2329728][SIZE="3"]Jenn ~ You would be the answer to all of our prayers if you were able to give Rufus a permanent home.

The current plan is for Rufus to go to a rescue in Pennsylvania! How far is this rescue from Allentown? [/QUOTE=kuhio98;2329728]





Allentown is a few hours drive to Harrisburg. Not far at all, I'd say 2 to 2 1/2 hrs and nothing for me to drive.

[Bibette & Lulu]

I had an experience with an FIV+ kitty that adopted me back in the late 80's. I was living in a community of duplexes and quadraplexes in Portsmouth NH that had been built in the early 1900's for workers in one of the local privately owned shipyards. So the homes were pretty close together. The neighborhood was a mixture of different socioeconomic strata and there were a number of feral and wandering cats around. Tommy Tom Cat appeared on my door step one very cold February and I invited him in. At the time, I had a border collie-mix dog who really didn't give a hoot who she shared our abode with. I discovered that Tom had what appeared to be a growth on his ear and contacted a local vet about bringing him in for it to be checked out. He was still coming/going on his own. Needless to say, the morning of the appointment, he was out. A friend and I went looking for him and that's when I discovered he had several look-alike (black and white short haired) kin he was hanging out with - which one was Tommy? He wasn't ready to come to me. The vet said bring him in when you catch up with him and leave him, which I was able to do. A call later, she told me they would need to put him under and did I plan to keep him (they wanted to neuter him at the same time) - I said of course!!! It turns out his ear was badly infected and they discovered that he had several BB's in him (someone in the neighborhood thought it was great fun to use these roamers for target practice!!!). Thus began a companionship that lasted a number of years. Tom was one of those tough guys who was of an indeterminate age. When I moved into Maine and my partner and I joined households (by this time Sapphire dog had made her trip over the Rainbow Bridge), Tommie was joined by Geraldine (actually another neutered male - but that's a story for another time). When Tommie developed an infection in his gums that just wouldn't go away, the vet we were seeing ran the blood test for FIV and he came up positive. At that point, both cats became totally indoor (well, except for Geraldine's occasional spring forray around the yard's perimeter). They were not fighters and peacefully co-existed. Unfortunately, the compromise to Tommy's immune system left him unable to fight the recurrent infections he encountered and I tearfully bade him good bye, freeing him to join Sapphire over the Rainbow Bridge. Geraldine never tested positive and lived to a ripe old age of 20 something, we think. I had never heard of FIV (I was well acquainted with HIV in humans and was active with one of the Seacost organizations at the time - but I know they are not the same thing). It's sad that it has been such a difficult time to find Rufus a forever home. I trust that he is settling in with his new setting. But reading this thread brought back many of the happy memories of my time with Tommy and the sad time when he was losing his battle to the recurrent infections. God speed to all who have been a part of Rufus' tale.

Mom1 (with Bibette & Lulu watching along)

[jennielynn1970]

Jennie, thank you so much for your very generous offer to take Rufus. Had it come through a day earlier, you would have had an additional cat.

However, arrangements have already been made for Rufus at the sanctuary. He has the bad bite or claw wound that needs treating, also and it takes two people to do this so the sanctuary is equipped to handle those sorts of things. The Best LIttle Cat House in Pennsylvania is located near Harrisburg and we do have transport for the boy, but I am extremely touched at your love and concern for our boy way down here in Michigan. If the situation should change between now and Thursday, I will let you know.

With as many cats as we have coming in to our shelter from the unconcerned people in my town, it is people like you who make a difference to all these abandoned, abused, neglected, and unloved ones.

It is wonderful to know you are willing to take an FIV positive kitty. We don't get many that test positive but if you don't mind, I would like to keep your e-mail address on file with our society as one willing to take in a positive kitty when we get another one or if the situation should change with Rufus. I wouldn't hesitate a minute to take one myself if I didn't have my own Lucy Mae and if I weren't fostering. Also, An FIV positive cat will not adopt out in my town. People just don't understand that they live full lives and make wonderful pets.

We were thrilled to hear back that the sanctuary in Pennsylvania would take Rufus because the other sanctuaries that responded to us are full already. It does look a comfortable home for FIV positive cats and they also have a fully caged area where the cats can go outdoors in the nice weather.

Thank you again for your kind and generous offer and for your love of FIV cats. One thing you can do to help us is to say a little prayer for Rufus that he will tolerate the trip well and also that his wounds will heal so that he will feel more comfortable being picked up. He loves to have his head scratched and pet but he experiences some discomfort in his back when he is picked up.

And may God bless you always for your compassion toward animals.

Rhoda

[kuhio98]

From Rhoda ~

I don't have a long distance carrier and really try to reserve minutes on my pay as you go cell phone, but I couldn't resist this morning calling Lynn at The Best Little Cat House in Pennsylvania to see how Rufus is doing.

She said the drainage on his back has stopped and his hair is growing back in and she is ready to stop using the antibiotic ointment that we sent with him. She said it has worked very well on his injuries and he's about healed over and looking real good.

She said the words "partly feral" have been crossed off his chart because he is one of the friendliest guys and gets along with the other cats and that he found the pet door to the outside right away. She said he wanders out into the screened area through one of the pet doors but doesn't stay long because it is still very cold there but she knows that when the weather warms up, he will be out there a lot.

She said he has found a favorite spot and stays where it is about 70 degrees and he snuggles right in with several other cats in the same room.

She said Rufus was right next to her as we were talking and that he absolutely LOVES his food and yesterday was tuna day and he was the first one in line for his tuna. He rubs against the legs of humans he has grown to trust, and he loves to be pet and he follows them around. She said he wasn't anything like what they expected. They expected him to be more feral since he was brought in, in the trap to the animal control center before our humane society took over. I had told them in advance that he was determined to be a feral but that I didn't believe it.

She said that yesterday they put his collar and tag on him so he is now like all of the other cats.

Lisa, if you could pass this on to Pet Talk because I still haven't signed up. Gosh, I don't know where my days go.

But after hearing about Rufus today, I have been smiling all day.

Hugs an love,

Rhoda

[phesina]

Rhoda and Lisa, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

from your friends in Ann Arbor

[Catty1]

WONDERFUL! Rufus, welcome to your furrever home. Tuna days! Oh MY! You so deserve that and all the joys and spoiling you can get!

[jennielynn1970]

So glad to hear good news about Rufus!! Still wish I could have adopted him, but I'll be here for another FIV+ kitty!