FIV Positive

Artsy iPhone Photo of Bits.

2009-11-10T02:32:00.000-08:00

He looks so serene. Yet he's thinking about wrecking something of value to me.

Seems Like We Should Just Get a Trough.

2009-09-23T00:09:00.000-07:00

I'm Pretty Sure Bits is Part Snow Leopard.

2009-09-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

Discuss.

Captured Forever on Canvas

2009-08-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Mama and Daddy got married on July 19th. Now that we're all legally a family, I decided to paint the kiddos portraits. I included their new surname. Before the wedding, Bilton and Bits were Robison's because technically I had adopted them. Now we are the Bushes and we are a lovely little unit.

Why We Do This.

2009-08-02T02:11:00.001-07:00

Because when we brought this little guy home from the Humane Society, he used to cower when we tried to pet him.

Now he hops up on my lap and helps me work. And he isn't afraid of guests. And he seems to understand that the world isn't always a frightening place.

Not trying to pat myself on the back here; I'm just sayin'.

It's a good feeling.

How to Anthropomorphize Your FIV+ Cat

2009-04-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, when you anthropomorphize your cat (or any animal) you assign them human qualities. For example, we refer to our cats as our children. This is classic anthropomorphization.

In addition to thinking of the cats as our offspring, Brad and I have adopted different human voices for the cats. I think it's hilarious. So I've decided to share them with you.

The first is Bilton.

At first, we weren't sure what his voice would sound like. Then we both read Malacy McCourt's memoir, "A Monk Swimming" and we had our answer:

Next is The Bot.

It was pretty obvious from the get go that The Bot was not a happy go lucky sort of cat. There is a sadness to The Bot and we immediately started comparing him to Eeyore. Though, giving him Eeyore's voice would be too easy. Oh no, this cat is more complex. This cat has the voice of a younger Ed Asner:

Finally, there's Bits.

As soon as we saw Squidbillies on Cartoon Network, we knew that Bits had the same voice as Rusty Culyer. In this NSFW clip, he's the squid with the spiky red hair:

There's no possible way that anyone could find this as groin-grabbingly hilarious as Brad and I do; but I thought I'd share it with you, you know, because I felt like it. So go out there and anthropomorphize your animals! You have my blessing.

Now I have to go spray Bits with the water bottle because I can hear him climbing on the kitchen counter.

The Special Technique of ShadowBilton.

2009-03-12T03:37:00.000-07:00

Allow me to demonstrate.

He Must Be Hard of Smell.

2009-02-05T04:02:00.001-08:00

Or maybe he likes the reek of shoes that have been worn every day for five years.

Well, he did used to sleep in a dumpster...

The Cuteness

2009-01-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

I woke up Saturday morning at 11am and fed the boyos. Before I decided I needed more sleep (don't you judge me) I had a little photo session with the cats.

The Bot was really excited to be my first model.

Ford Models here we come!

Bilton wanted to know why I was holding a camera instead of petting him.

Bits wanted to know what the camera smelled like and if it was edible.

The Bot Is Better.

2009-01-26T03:21:00.000-08:00

The day after we took him to the vet, he was still hanging out around his bathroom quite a bit, but the next day he seemed to be getting better. We kept giving him his medication, and it must have done the trick. Now he's back to sleeping the day away and only hitting the litter box when he needs to.

He'll still be on that special prescription food forever, but it's a small price to pay. (Actually, it's a bit expensive and the other cats try to steal it from him, but we're working out the kinks with the feeding schedules.)

It's good to see The Bot back to his old dormant self.

The Bot's Peeing Blood.

2009-01-20T01:51:00.001-08:00

It's not as bad as it sounds, but we're worried about the little guy.

This weekend, we noticed he was making an inordinate amount of trips to the litter box area, and never spending too much time in there. We kept an eye on him, and he continued to wander in and out his bathroom. However, he did pause to crash for a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. We tried to get him into the vet Monday, but they couldn't see him until Tuesday. When he copped a squat in my office this evening (which is unheard of for the very well-behaved Bot), we made the decision to take him to the animal hospital down the street.

They took him to the back when we first got there to make sure his bladder felt normal, which it thankfully did. I was worried he had an obstruction, which would have been some serious business. (The internet's great for getting us to assume the worst, isn't it?) So they ruled that out for the time being, and we eventually took him back to see the doctor. She gave him the once-over, and while she was talking to us The Bot flopped down to the floor and squatted over a heater vent against the wall. Joy grabbed him, but not before he squirted out a little puddle of pee with some swirly red in it. The doctor didn't seem too alarmed, so that put us at ease. In fact, she needed a Bot urine sample, so she collected it off the floor. It was compromised, she explained, but they may not be able to get another one out of him. Turns out they couldn't, so they ran some tests on that one.

It seems The Bot has some type of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, but we're not yet sure what form it's taking. He's been put on a special diet (that he'll have to be on for the rest of his life), been given some pain medication and antibiotics, and he was also administered some fluids to help lower the concentration of his urine.

The food's expensive, but he wolfed down a whole bowl of it as soon as we got home, so at least he likes it. Now we have to figure out if we need to separate his food from the other cats', or if we'll just have to bite the bullet and feed all of them this stuff. We also have to wait and see if he improves. Tonight, he's still in and out of the bathroom. Poor guy.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye.

2009-01-13T03:12:00.000-08:00

The Bot has found himself a nice box to sit in, and he wants to tell you all about it.

Is It Just Me...

2009-01-07T04:02:00.000-08:00

Or does Bilton appear to be applauding sarcastically in this photo?

In case there was any doubt, I would later find the ironing board toppled against the coffee table and its contents strewn around the surrounding area.

Get A Room, You Two.

2008-12-18T04:10:00.001-08:00

That's what I always say.

And then we laugh.

Oh, we laugh.

A Typical Afternoon.

2008-10-31T01:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, they've got a rough life.

All the boys are doing well. Bits went to the vet a few weeks ago and had to have his anal glands expressed, which was not fun for him, or anyone in the room. But, he was pretty good about it. He had been scooting his butt on the floor a little bit, Joy thought she saw a worm back there, we weren't sure what was going on. So, the vet gave us tapeworm pills for him and the other guys, one of which they took (not without a struggle) that day, and another that we'll give them as a follow-up next week.

Bits also got microchipped (we took him in off the streets, so he didn't have one) and was administered his legally required rabies shot. So, he's good to go.

As you can see, The Bot's fur is almost fully grown back in, and he seems happy with that. It gives him the confidence he needs to walk all over us when we're sleeping.

The Bot Is Fairly Proud of Himself.

2008-09-18T02:31:00.001-07:00

Sadly, when he reached the sink, he found it was not filled with chicken giblets.

His instincts were way off.

Look At This Guy.

2008-08-29T01:48:00.000-07:00

Bilton enjoys some good ledge-layin'.

We were talking the other day about how it's odd that Bilton hasn't really acquired a nickname since he's moved in with us. "The Biltonian Institute" is catchy, but it hasn't shown any serious staying power.

Now I've just moved on to using his name in sentences, like, "The hospital was Bilton an ancient Indian burial ground."

It's working pretty well.

Bits: Living on the Edge.

2008-08-23T02:15:00.000-07:00

He's always been a little nuts.

This is Bits' new thing. If there's a bug (or a shadow, a hallucination, etc.) on the ceiling in our downstairs bathroom, he leaps from the dryer to the top of the door. He makes it, but it's often loud and not usually pretty. I was finally able to catch him before his dismount today.

I would like to say he's pretty proud of himself, but I really don't think he thinks anything of it. It's quite the tightrope act.

Bits + Bot = Deep Sleep Pile of Gray and White Secret Friendship.

2008-08-14T01:51:00.000-07:00

I've been working from home a bit lately, and it's given me insight into how our cats spend their weekdays.

This is pretty much it.

Gentle Dental

2008-08-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Their mouths stink.

FIV+ cats are more susceptible to gingivitis, so we have implemented regular (we try for once a week.) toothbrushing for Bits and The Bot. Bilton will start to get his teeth cleaned as well, but we want to get a cat bag so that we can restrain him properly. He's huge and strong and his claws are like needles. It's terrifying. We also apply some medicine to their gums that is supposed to keep gingivitis away.

Saturday night Bits got the treatment and last night it was The Bot's turn. I thought of taping it for your enjoyment, but decided against it - maybe next time.

Our Tools:

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Cotton swab

Gum Meds

How we do it:

1. Brad wraps cat in towel, creating a "cat burrito".
2. Brad struggles to keep all cats limbs inside burrito.
3. I pry open mouth and try to keep it open with one hand.
4. I work to get toothbrush inside of mouth with other hand.
5. I attempt to make actual bristle-tooth contact (approx. 2 min.)
6. Medicine soaked cotton swab is placed in mouth.
7. I attempt to make actual swab-gum contact (approx. 1 min.)
8. The cat is released and given a Feline Greenie for his troubles.

The holistic and the what now?

2008-08-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

I bought a couple of cat books on treating your cats various ailments with natural remedies. Though, none of them seem to specifically adress treatment for FIV.

I found this article written by a fellow FIV caregiver. It is the most helpful thing that I've come across so far. Bits has a vet appointment next month, so I'll bring the article in to the vet and see what she thinks.

If she gives the OK, then we'll start them on this regimine. I think The Bot will love the vanilla flavored Ensure.

Bilton

2008-07-29T12:23:00.001-07:00

After two months as a 2 cat household, we still felt like we had room for more. I had volunteered a couple of times at the Cat Adoption Team and knew first hand that cats with FIV are practically ignored at shelters.

It broke my heart to see family's avoid the FIV+ cat room as if they were going to catch it themselves and/or give it to their other cats at home. I'm sure they thought "Why would I adopt a cat that's just going to die?" If they had taken the time to understand what FIV+ means, then maybe they would also understand that infected cats can have a life expectancy that is just as long as a "healthy" cat.

It seems to me, and this may just be in my head, that FIV+ shelter cats are extra sweet and wonderful, because they seem to know they're at a disadvantage. So if you are going to be "brave" and go into an FIV+ cat room at a shelter (known as Paul's Library at C.A.T.) you would be met with some of the most grateful, sweet felines rubbing against your ankles and purring like crazy.

So now I'm going to step off my soapbox and continue with the story of Bilton.

Like I was saying, after two months with just Bits and The Bot, there was still an empty space in our home. The Bot is so very docile and timid. He never causes any trouble...ever. I'm not exaggerating. He keeps to himself and is happy to lay on the couch with you for hours. Then there's Bits, who is so very energetic and playful. When Bits tried to play-wrestle with The Bot, it seemed more like bullying than fun. So we decided that there was room for a third cat, and that this third cat would be the final piece in our family puzzle.

This new cat would be a friend for Bits, so maybe The Bot could feel a little more safe in his own home. He would also add some feline energy to the house that seemed to be lacking since the passing of our beloved cat Amy back in March. (Amy was all the cat you needed and then some - a true lady.)

I went on Petfinder.com and searched for a 2-ish year old cat with FIV in our area. Bilton's (named Sesame at the time) picture popped up and I fell in love. I could see right away that he only had one eye. Which made him quite charming in my opinion. He was the perfect age and in reading his bio, the perfect temperament for dealing with both Bits and The Bot.

Bilton came in to our home on June 2nd and we quickly discovered that he was absolutely what we were hoping for. He climbed out of his cat carrier and immediately started purring and rubbing his head against our hands. We kept him in the bedroom for a little while, but he ended up meeting his new brothers just a couple hours after being brought home. There were no fights and no hissing. Just some booty sniffing and nose touching.

Everything fell in to place much better than we ever could have expected. Bits and Bilton love wrestling with each other. They could tussle for hours. Afterwards, they lay on the ground and groom the others head and neck for a while.

The smart money's on Bilton.

Once they're all tuckered out they both climb on to the couch with me and we watch Animal Cops: Houston together while The Bot lays on Brad's chest, safe from any bullying.

I tell Brad almost every day how much I love our family. The five of us compliment each other so well. I never ever regret the decision to care for our FIV+ kitties. They are my children, how could I ever regret them?

Bilton has found his forever home, and we have found our missing puzzle piece.

2008-07-28T12:11:00.001-07:00

vs.

We live in a 900 sf, 2 story townhome. I believe it to be the perfect size for our five member family.

That being said, I also believe it is far too small for for the three litterboxes we keep in the hidden in the front closet. (We keep the closet door open for feline access, of course.) Our entire downstairs, which includes the kitchen, a half bath and our living room, stinks to high heaven after only two days worth of cat droppings. I try scooping every day, but it barely helps with the stink.

Here's the rub - the litterboxes fill up rather slowly. Each cat has his own box, and after a day there are maybe 3 or 4 piles for each box. Yet it stinks to high heaven. Here's my reasoning - if you were to combine the contents of all three boxes into one box, it would be full and ready for changing. So when I wonder how the heck the cats smell like they just had Mexican food, when I know for a fact they've only had kibble, I remind myself that there are three cat butts to deal with. We signed up for this when we decided to care for them.

So I change the litterboxes at least twice a week. Which I am happy to do, because I love the crap (pun intended) out of my cats.

Note: I have discovered something that helps fight the stench. As a gift from Brad's stepmom, I got a Scentsy System. The Ocean scent is really effective against the smell from the boxes. Check it out if you're interested.

Bilton Hits The Big Time.

2008-07-22T01:21:00.001-07:00

The big guy was featured on the front page of the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society newsletter this month. Click on the picture to make it all big and readable.

Friends.

2008-07-09T23:56:00.001-07:00

Awwwwwwwwww.