Good-Bye Apollo and Hera

I was at a DSO (now D'sO) retreat this morning with my cell phone on vibrate. Around 9:30, I could hear it buzzing away in my purse. After about 1/2 hour of this, I excused myself to see who was trying to reach me. Turns out it was Dan from Hobbes House (the guy who took Apollo and Hera while we were in NY) with some alarming and potentially very bad news.

Three other kittens he's been fostering who are now 8 weeks just tested positive for Feline Leukemia; a very nasty, nasty disease. Also, it is highly contagious and easily passed between cats/kittens.

Although some people (especially those with no other cats) might keep a cat with this disease, it's usually a death sentence for ones you are fostering/trying to adopt out because not too many people will adopt a cat that already has health issues right off the bat. So, it's very likely these three (and another one who was exposed to them, had already been placed in a home, and also tested positive) will have to be put to sleep.

Needless to say, there is a lot of fallout from this and there are general questions this has brought up for me (the current situation aside) about their testing process which I am hoping to get answered soon to put my mind completely at ease regarding our four (although I will probably have them all tested with Uncle Chuck, anyway, next time they go in for shots).

As for Apollo and Hera, it's highly unlikely that they contracted the disease because a) they were isolated (in a bathroom together) and b) so were the infected cats (no chance there was nose touching going on from underneath a door, for example). There needs to be some sort of fluid transferred involved (e.g., shared food/water bowls, litter boxes, grooming one another, etc.)

The only way they could have become infected is slim and that would be if Dan petted one of the infected kitties in an area where they'd just licked/groomed themselves, went in (without washing his hands) and petted A or H and then A or H licked themselves (or each other) in the exact same spot where he'd petted them.

Still, we have to be safe and keep any future potential exposure to OUR cats limited so Dan came by this afternoon to take Apollo and Hera back to his house where they'll be in isolation for two months or so, at which point, they'll be tested. Actually, he's going to test them in four weeks, and, if they are ok, retest them in another four just to be sure. Why? Apparently, the disease can take up to 12 weeks to manifest such that a cat would test positive (although it's usually much sooner, around 8 weeks, and it also seems to manifest quicker in young kittens (they have no way to fight it off because they have zero immune systems)).

Anyway, the other very important piece to all of this is as follows: In addition to it taking 4-12 weeks for an infected kitten or cat to test positive, it also takes 4-6 weeks for them to start "shedding" the virus (which means be contagious to other cats). So, they were over there at Dan's one week and have been back here one week. That's two weeks. Even if they are infected (which is hopefully NOT the case given the slim possibility), they wouldn't have had it long enough to pose any danger to Pete, Lily, Ares and Athena. Which is obviously a big relief for us.

Let us all hope Apollo and Hera test negative because we hate to think of what it will mean for them if they don't.

If they are given the green light to go back out to Thons, it's likely we won't take them back for fostering. No, not "it's likely we won't"; WE WON'T. For a lot of reasons but the main one is it would be too hard of an adjustment to bring them back after two months. And, to his credit, Dan didn't suggest that. He said, "I'll just keep them and find them good homes, it wouldn't make sense to bring them back to you".

Suffice it to say, The B's are DONE with this fostering experiment!

But, we can always go visit them as we'll know where they will (likely) be on Saturday afternoons, hanging out at Petsmart.

Anyway, a lot of scary drama today and, also, a bit sad. I wasn't expecting to have to let them go today so I wasn't prepared to say good-bye. It WAS hard to watch them go away, even though I know it's for the best. Mostly because I'm worried for them, but also because I'm going to miss them.

Especially my pal Apollo.

Mrs. B

Love 'Em and Love 'Em Apollo

Of our five (original) Greeks, we were initially told that Apollo was the scared one of the group. This has turned out to be not entirely true as Hera has definitely taken the title of the one who is the least friendly. But, we've worked harder with Apollo than Hera; probably because we had a lot more energy at first than we do now (almost 2 months after getting them). You might recall Apollo spent several days in solitary confinement while we (mostly me) attempted to get him to stop relying overly much on his siblings to interact with the humans (us).

When Apollo was in lock up, he was extremely sweet, loving, cuddly and NEEDY. Pretty much the moment we let him out, though, he reverted back to skittering away from us when approached. At the Thons he's fairly friendly (while Hera cowers in a corner of the cage) but, then again, he's sort of a captive audience.

Over the weeks, he HAS gotten better; meaning, he doesn't run away as fast and sometimes he doesn't run away at all (especially if he thinks food may be involved!)

While we were in NY, one of the other foster volunteers took both Apollo and Hera for about a week. Because of his situation (a lot of other foster cats), he kept them in a bathroom. Well, you can imagine how loving both of them were after a day or so. When he returned them to me last week he said, "They are such sweet little love bugs!" Uh huh.

After he left, I put the carrier containing them on the table so I could look at them. Both of them were near the front, curious; and Apollo was purring and obviously wanted to be petted. I gave him a little feel through the wire and then opened the door and let them out.

About two seconds later, both of them ran away from me like they'd never seen me before and thus ensued a bunch of pissing and moaning and hissing and spitting from three of ours who did not appear to be in the least bit happy to see Apollo and Hera again (Athena was the only one who didn't seem to care but we've discovered she has a very sweet and easy going temperament).

In my heart I am sure that once Apollo and Hera get to their forever homes, they'll be fine after a few days; I think animals have an instinct about being "home" (take Ares and Athena, for example; they seemed to know before we did that they'd come home).

Now, here is the reason for the title to this entry!

Saturday night, Mr. B fell asleep relatively early (10:30). I wasn't tired yet, so, I spent an hour on email/Facebook and then went upstairs to read. A few minutes after I got settled, Pete jumped up on the bed, followed by his little star-struck love slave Athena. I absent mindedly petted both of them as I read my book. Although Pete does not purr loudly, he has a low, comforting rumble while Athena has a very loud motor for such a tiny little thing. I was enjoying their contended sounds when I heard a loud purr intercepted every few seconds with a little squeaky meow. I glanced up from my book to see that Apollo had joined the party! And, to further my amazement, he walked over to me, climbed up on my chest and started to beg to be petted (which I happily obliged).

In the middle of the night, at least twice, he jumped up onto the bed and cuddled up next to me (recognizable by his little squeaky meow; he's the only one that does this). "Wow", I thought to myself, "maybe he's FINALLY turned the corner!" I was so jazzed!

The next morning as I was making the bed, I saw him sitting over by the dresser. I started to walk over to him...and...he darted away. I was a bit crestfallen and confused. He kept this up pretty much all day (other than when he wanted fed, then he was pretty darn friendly again).

This got me to thinking how his behavior and my reaction to it reminded me of getting special attention from a cute boy (like at a dance or something) only to be jilted the next day; shunned, ignored, whatever. You're heartbroken, then, something happens and the boy pays attention to you again. Etc. Well, Love 'Em and Leave 'Em Apollo was back at sucking up to me last night.

All jest aside, I think the issue is that Apollo and Hera, more so than the others, don't really care for humans towering over them (unless the tower is bringing yummy food). Obviously, when I'm prone (flat on my back, not much of a threat), they feel more comfortable; like I am on their level and there is little danger that I'll attack them.

So, Apollo is definitely making more strides than Hera (he's been friendlier today than I've ever seen him) but even Hera is coming around as I found HER next to me on the bed when I woke up this morning!

Two humans, one canine and six felines on one king-sized bed. Can you imagine? It's something else.

Mrs. B