Dorian kitten

[yourdesertrose]

So, I had Dorian neutered and the vet did bloodwork that I didn't authorize and found out he has Feline Leukemia Virus, which is the equivalent of HIV in humans. He really shouldn't live with other cats, though Raina's cats have been tested and they're fine. They've also been immunized, but I guess that's only 70% effective

Comments

[yourdesertrose]

I don't think it's practical for us to separate everything. It's kind of a small apartment.

I dunno, it seems like if I have to keep him confined to only my room for his entire life that he'd be better off dead.

[yourdesertrose]

Right now he's not separated from the other cats. I'm not sure what we're going to do.

The vet seemed optimistic that they'd lived together for months already without catching it and that Raina's cats are older and now are immunized.

[yourdesertrose]

Yeah, Raina's cats are a little over 2 years old now I think.

[yourdesertrose]

They also never groom each other or play together.

They fight occasionally, but have never left marks, mostly just amounts to loud hissing.

[arturis]

But if most cats live long healthy lives with the disease, what's the point in preventing its spread?

[yourdesertrose]

Cause it's hard to keep them healthy. They can't be outdoor cats, they have lots of checkups, they need extra medicine in they do get sick, ect.

[arturis]

Well, I'm not exactly sold on preventing the spread of HIV. There are too many people in this world and while HIV may be a tragedy for the people who have it, so is the extinction of 50% of Earth's species because humans have destroyed their habitat because they aren't dying of AIDS. Would you rather live in a world plagued by AIDS, or a world in which 90% of the land is desert and the collapse of whole ecosystems wipes out entire nations worth of crops? AIDS is a fantastic disease because even if it reaches global epidemic proportions, individuals have control a good deal of over whether or not they contract it.

But a lot of that doesn't apply to cats. I mean, the fact that there are millions of stray cats in this country is something of a problem for various reasons, and there aren't very many easy ways to solve it. Disease is definitely one of them.

[yourdesertrose]

ditto

[tharasix]

"This is Matt. He's an asshole."

[arturis]

Talk about terrible typing errors, that should read:

"AIDS is a fantastic disease because even if it reaches global epidemic proportions, individuals have a good deal of control over whether or not they contract it."

But you probably figured that out.

[spidertea]

Note to Self: Don't ask Matt to contribute to your team for the Aids Walk in May.