The Bot Does Not Need Photoshop.

And he's offended that you even thought that for a second.

It's A Scorcher.

We're having our first truly hot day of the year today. We opened the windows overnight and Joy shut them pretty early this morning, so we've managed to keep it somewhat cool inside. The blinds are drawn, the fans are blowing, and the boys are laying low and trying to beat the heat.

The Bot is in his normal spot on the couch, though sprawled out a tad more than usual.



Bilton flopped out of one of his beds and he's been letting it all hang out on the floor.



And of course, Bits is still trying to get to the sunshine.



I told them I'd take them swimming later, but they didn't seem too interested.

Health Update - The herpes eye has calmed.

Well the eye has cleared up (it took about 5 days) and he is looking handsome. Sometimes I find myself staring at him and wondering how we found such a good looking cat. He's like the George Clooney of cats, this guy.



I just decided his new nickname shall be Cloone Cat. I love iliteration.

Feline Chin Acne

A while back, I took Bits to the vet on account of some scabbiness on his tiny chin. The doc took one look and diagnosed him with acne. Apparently, feline chin acne is fairly common in FIV+ kitties because of their crap immune system.

The doc gave me some antibiotic to wash his chin with every day and also some stuff to squirt in his mouth. This was to last until the acne cleared up - possibly up to 10 days. Bits was not a fan. The administration of the medicine actually resulted in me earning some serious scratches on my forearm which led to some awesome purpley scarring. I have to explain to someone at least once a week that it's a cat related injury and that I'm not a cutter. (My mom continues to tell me that Neosporin will help. How is this possible if the scars are already healed?)

The doc advised that in addition to washing his chin and squirting the medicine in to his (pried open) mouth, that I would need to make some changes to his feeding apparatus. Specifically the food dishes.

Due to their porosity, plastic and ceramic food bowls hold bacteria very well (even when washed often). When a kitty's chin rubs against this bacteria on a regular basis, it causes an irritation and a clogging of the pours. Hence the appearance of acne on the chin and/or lips. To prevent the acne from returning we were instructed to replace our ceramic dishes with glass or metal ones. These are to be washed every day.

When it was just Bits and The Bot, we were using some rather hefty glass cereal bowls that we already owned, as their feeding dishes. When Bilton came along, there just weren't enough appropriate bowls/enough room for six large bowls. (We like them each to have their own seperate dining experience. I think they appreciate it.)

That's when I hopped online and bought three perfectly sized "Double Diners".



Now our cats have room enough for all 3 to enjoy their 2 daily meals at the same time. It's magical and when all three are crunching at once - adorable.

Hoorah!

It's Nice To Have Options.

If your big bed gets boring, you can always arise, give yourself a nice big stretch, and head on over to your buddy's bed.

Bilton: getting it done.

It's Perching Season.

The boys got their own little structure today. The dangly thing it came with is a bit bulky, so Joy added some of their other toys with some shoelaces.

I don't think The Bot even knows it's here, but Bits and Bilton have already done a little scratching and a little sitting. We hope they like it.

The Bot.

After the loss of my longtime cat and companion, Amy, at the beginning of March, we were a single cat household, with Bits having his run of the place. He and Amy weren't the closest of friends (she was more of a people cat), but it certainly seemed that he felt the void after she passed. After the initial devastation subsided, we began to feel the void, too. And, by the overly excited way in which Bits was greeting Joy when she came home from work, it was clear he was spending some lonely days at home during the workweek.

We talked about it, and decided that while we were still grieving for Amy, getting a pal for Bits might be in his best interest. I was hesitant, and made it clear to Joy (and subsequently myself) that if we did get a new cat, it wouldn't be done under the guise of attempting to replace Amy. To make this even more transparent, I proposed some guidelines: no girl cats, no gray/blue cats, and no fat cats (Amy was wonderfully all three). The search criteria was agreed upon, and we started to feel out the internet for what our options were.

We talked to a few shelters, and one asked if Bits had been snap tested for FeLV. He hadn't, so we immediately made an appointment to get him checked. Turned out he was negative for leukemia, but the test revealed he was positive for FIV. We were disheartened, to say the least. Our longtime cat had just died, and now our remaining cat had been diagnosed with an incurable disease. After some kind and reassuring words from the vet, we began to look on the positive side, and accepted the fact that we could indeed get another cat, but he would just have to be FIV positive as well. So, after discussing the new scenario, and also determining that we wanted to get a cat that was roughly in the same age bracket as Bits, we went to the OHS and asked 'em what they had in a male, FIV positive feline.

The first cat we were shown was named Silver. He was described as "depressed" and preferring affection "on his own terms." The intrigue was mounting. We were taken to his cage, where we were presented with a curled up mass of thick, metallic fur. We said hello, and he raised his oversized cranium to look our way. He was a unique looking cat: glossy, umber eyes, huge paws, and a flattish face. Not bad. We were asked if we wanted to meet him in one of their little rooms where we could let him walk around, and we anxiously said yes. They brought him in, set him down, and after seeing him stretch his back legs out, we looked at each other and knew he was a good one. During the adoption process, we found out that he had been at their facility for three months, and was rarely let out of his cage because of his FIV status. We couldn't blame him for being depressed.

Silver came with a care package and story. He was a stray, a cat who came through a woman's cat door one day and helped himself to the food she was providing for her own cats. This became routine, and after making sure that he didn't belong to anyone, she took him to the vet with plans to make him part of her family. When she found out that he had FIV, she had to, in the best interest of her other cats, take Silver to the Humane Society and hope they could find a good home for him. She left a bag with him, containing ribbons for him to play with, a bag of the food he had been eating, and a really sincere card thanking the folks who were getting such a great cat. The ringing endorsement made us even happier to be taking him home.

He was quiet on the ride home, and he remained that way when we got there. He was scared, and we stepped back and let him settle in. One thing was immediately clear: he wasn't a Silver. After kicking some names around for a few days, we eventually settled on Nimbostratus, because we thought he looked like rain clouds. And, it seemed like a pretty sweet name. We called him Nimbus for short. That eventually morphed into Nimbot, then The Nimbot, and finally just The Bot. And now, more than ever, he is The Bot. It somehow sums him up perfectly.

The Bot's fur was severely matted when we brought him home, and after feeble attempts at combing some of them out, it was clear we were on the losing end of the battle. So, when we took him to his vet for his initial check-up, we asked what we could do. The option of combing out was suggested as doable, but probably extremely time consuming, and certainly not fun for either party involved. The other option: get The Bot a haircut.
He didn't mind a bit. He still had his leg warmers and a little puff on the end of his tail, I thought it made him look quite dashing. We agreed that he looked like he was wearing a short sleeved sweater. It's growing back now, and we're making sure to comb it whenever we can to prevent him from getting those snarls again.

The Bot keeps to himself quite a bit, but he also loves to lay on my chest and watch TV, or walk on us while we're sleeping. He does enjoy a good ribbon, and he'll chase the laser pointer before he remembers it's uncatchable. He likes to be pet while he eats. He'll wait by the edge of the kitchen, patiently, and when I walk in there, he swivels around and makes a little noise, letting me know he's ready. He'll stand in front of the food bowl, and after I rub his sides for a few seconds, he's revved up and ready to eat. Then he digs in.

But that is The Bot, he plays by his own rules.

Health Update - Bilton

I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture of it, but Bilton's eye is watering like crazy. We have an appointment with our vet tomorrow afternoon. So cross your fingers that he just has a hair in his eye and it's not an infection. I will update this post after the appointment tomorrow.

Word.

****Ok, went to the doc and it's looking like Bilton has herpes in his eye. So we're putting antibiotic drops in the eye in order to murder the bacteria. According to the doc, it should go into remission sooner than later and it's not going to get rid of the virus, just the bacteria that's causing the current infection. His eye isn't as bad as the first picture on the link, It's just watery and creating a brown stain below his eye. So once the bacteria is gone, he should be fine. It's just something we're going to have to deal with throughout his life.

One eye was shot out with a BB gun, and the other eye has herpes. Poor Bilton.

How This Whole Thing Started

Stepen Conrad Bitsarelli (Bits)

January of 2007 Brad and I moved into a townhouse in deep SE Portland. It wasn't the best neighborhood, but the inside of the townhouse was nice and we made it our own.

When we first went to look at the place, a little white kitten came out to say hello. He had huge blue eyes and was incredibly friendly. Being January, it was cold and rainy. I was pissed that his owner had let him outside. Our future property manager, Janet, told us that the cat belonged to the neighbor, but she had just gotten brain surgery and was staying with her sister. Her four sons were staying with their father. Janet mentioned that maybe we could take the cat in, since there's no one around to take care of him. I was excited by this idea.

There was a community of feral cats in the neighborhood. They were tough, smart and hungry. We would put food and water on our back porch and they would congregate back there. There were at least 10 of them, probably more.

The blue eyed cat, who we later learned was named "Bubbles" hung out with these cats. He wasn't feral himself. He loved human attention and, in the most technical sense, had an owner.

We started feeding Bubbles and the rest of the hungry cats in the neighborhood. They hung out on our back porch, knowing that they'd be safe back there and would never want for food or water. They wouldn't let us near them though. Only Bubbles made friends with us.

After a couple of weeks I asked our property manager if she had talked to Tabitha, our post-op neighbor. She said she had left a message with Tabitha's sister several days ago and hadn't heard back. She took this as a sign that it was OK for us to take him in. So we did. We renamed him Bits.

At that time we had a 11 year old cat named Amy. She was an amazing girl and she and Brad were absolute best friends.


She was an only cat and tolerant of other animals only if they left her alone - which means staying out of swatting distance at all times. Bits was an unaltered tomcat. This was going to be interesting.


Above is a picture I took right after I first brought Bits in the house. I hadn't yet learned the technique of slowly integrating a new cat into the house, so they faced off almost right away. You can see Amy's dark grey head at the top of the stairs. Now imagine the sound of a 25 lb cat hissing and a 6 lb cat whimpering. A lot went down.



Amy was irate and refused to be in the same room as any of us. Bits, was unfazed by her (mostly) and immediately got to doing what he does best - snuggling.

I got home from work the next day to find 3 dirty young boys standing on my front porch waiting for me. I had never seen these kids before and I have to say, I was terrified. (I later learned that their ages were 12, 10 and 8. Their oldest brother was 18 and nowhere to be found.) They clearly had already given up on life. They had a problem with me, it was clear from the look in their beady eyes. That, and the youngest one was holding an axe.

The oldest, dirtiest boy spoke up.

ODB: Do you have our cat?

Me: What?

ODB: We saw our cat in your window. That white cat belongs to us.

Me: You need to talk to your mother. The property manager left a message for your aunt letting her know that we were going to take the cat in and take care of him.

They stared daggers at me while I dug in my purse for my keys. I finally got the front door open and dashed in and locked the door behind me. About 30 seconds later I heard a loud banging on the side of our apartment. I looked out the side window and saw the youngest dirty boy beating on the side of our home with a large stick. I was appreciative that he had abandoned the axe.

YDB: (With a full on speech impediment.)I'm gonna bweak you house down! Give me my cat back owe I'm gonna take a s#*% on yoow powch!

I called Janet immediately.

Me: Janet, 3 boys just confronted me and asked me to give them their cat back. Now they're beating on our apartment with sticks and the youngest just screamed he was going to poop on my porch.

Janet: Don't you dare give that cat back. Let me call Tabitha.

Well I could drag this story out, but I'm not going to. The cops got involved because Tabitha threatened to charge us with burglary 2 (aka catnapping). Everyones hands were tied. So after living with us for 4 days, Bits went back outside and went back to being neglected. We continued to feed him and be friends with him. He just couldn't come inside. Amy was happy.

Tabitha and her sons never once took Bits to the vet. He became as skinny as a rail and was still unfixed. His balls were gigantic and by God, he used them. (Janet even offered to take him to the vet for Tabitha to get him fixed. She refused. Whitey's are a proud people.)

Presenting...Mini-Bits!Quite possibly the cutest cat ever.

Now, of course Tabitha took no responsibility for Mini-bits. He quickly became part of the feral community and almost as quickly was run over by a car. His little life lasted from March 2007-July 2007. May he rest in peace.

Later in July, Tabitha and her sons were evicted. They were set to move to a new place that only allowed 2 cats...they "had" 3. By that time, she was recovered from surgery and had let the catnapping incident fall by the wayside. She approached us and asked if we'd like to take Bubbles. I immediately said yes. Brad was unsure. He was concerned that A.) Bits wasn't the same sweet cat that we took in 8 months before and B.) That Amy would be mad at him. After about 30 seconds of discussion, he realized that it would be easiest to support my decision.

I took Bits into the garage and made him a vet appointment. He was skin and bones and covered in sores and fleas.














He had 2 large abscesses at the base of his tail. I cleaned them and put Neosporin on them every day. I got him to the vet and got him fixed. They treated him for fleas and gave him a clean bill of health.

Janet (Myers Property Management) found us a nicer place to live in August. Bits, Brad, Amy and I packed up our stuff and moved east to almost Gresham. We now live in a nice neighborhood, with clean neighbors and so far, no one has threatened to poo on our porch. Bits fattened up and he and Amy had learned to live with eachother.

Then came one of the worst days of our lives. On March 5, 2008 Amy passed away. She was old and overweight and her body was done. She lived a happy life and we miss her very very much.

It's a terrible thing to lose someone that you love so much. I still have a hard time with it. (As much as I miss her, I know Brad misses her 100x more.) She was the cat that made me fall in love with cats in general.

After a couple of weeks we could see that Bits was getting lonely (and destructive) so we decided to get a second cat. Before we could do that I wanted to take Bits to the vet to make sure all was well. I was paranoid now after watching Amy go from healthy to deceased in less than 72 hours.

I took Bits to a different vet this time around. They noticed on his chart from the first vet that he hadn't been tested for FeLV/FIV. They said they thought it wasn't necessary since he had been indoors for almost a year. I insisted that they test him for my own peace of mind.

Obviously, Bits tested positive for FIV. I was in shock. Amy is dead and our remaining cat has AIDS. The vet quickly reassured me that he can live a long healthy life. We just have to keep him indoors, keep his food dishes clean, and be hyper aware of his health. These were all things we were already doing and will continue to do.

And then some.

I love you Bitsarelli.

Breaking the Ice

"So why did you decide to get a third cat?"

I should have known this question was going to come, but somehow I hadn't prepared for it. It just hadn't occurred to me that someone might question our third cat decision.

"Um, well..."

Then Bits disrupts proceedings by rubbing his head against the adoption coordinators hand.

"He loves attention doesn't he?"

Not really a question, more of a statement. Not sure if she's sourly judging me and my attention whore of a cat. Now I'm starting to think that she is trying to find reasons not to give us our potential third cat, Bilton. Barb and Janice from the Washington Humane Society left him in the car for the duration of the "home visit". They're here to ask Brad and I a few questions and make sure that we're a good fit for Bilton. I start to panic, thinking maybe that my charismatic ease with middle-aged women isn't what I thought it was.

She turns her attention back to me. I smile real big.

"Um, well we just want to expand our family. We thought, you know...well we really love cats." Then a light bulb goes off. FIV! Yes, that's what this is all about! We want to help sick kitties find a good home! "Yeah, well, as you know, our cats are FIV+ and we thought if we can fit a third FIV+ cat into our home, then that would be the right thing to do. We just really want to do right by them."

They like this answer. So begins our journey. We now have 3 FIV+ cats.

Feline Immunodeficiency virus (FIV), is relatively new to us, as our O.G. cat Bits was just diagnosed with FIV in March. The same day that Bits was diagnosed, we went to the Oregon Humane Society and got The Bot (his Christian name is Nimbostratus). Now, 2 months later we have 3 cats who are immunodeficient.

This blog is meant to be a journal for us and also a touchstone for other caretakers with FIV+ kiddos. We're planning to start them on some sort of holistic protocol and also we need to start administering dental care as these cats are prone to gingivitis. We'll include recipes, routines, pictures and any helpful hints we learn along the way.

FIV is not a death sentence. We're going to prove it.