Hail Caesar

This is Caesar.

Hey ladies, check out my eartip.

He’s from a colony of outdoor feral cats that a woman has been feeding in Humboldt Park for a decade. She used to live there, and then moved out of the neighborhood, but travels back a few times a week to feed. She calls shelters periodically to take the kittens and friendly cats. She called enough times that Tree House Humane Society realized that she was feeding without doing TNR, which would expedite breeding even more. The problem is being solved now. Over 15 cats have been TNR’ed now from that colony. This woman is no longer a feeder – she is now a caretaker of a cat colony managed properly through TNR.

Caesar is so friendly that when I came to pick him up at the clinic, I was able to drop him into a carrier immediately. I have terrible technique handling cats – if they don’t want to go into a carrier or a room or wherever, I don’t know how to make them. There are scruffing techniques, etc, but I usually leave that to other people.

Caesar is also FIV+. This is not surprising as he is an outdoor tom cat who fights for food and mates. FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus, can be transmitted from cat to cat through deep bite wounds, and fighting cats like to bite each other on their haunches. FIV is not a death sentence. FIV+ cats can live a long life, especially if they are well-cared for.

Caesar is now admitted to PAWS Chicago, which has an FIV+ feline adoption room. If you want to learn more on how to adopt out cats like Caesar, check out PAWS’ adoption page. The cats that are FIV+ or have other special needs are marked with a red heart. Chicago is lucky to have an organization like PAWS to adopt out these cats.

Carlin Reed says:

March 16, 2012 at 7:09 pm

Absolutely. Percy is FIV+ and has been with us for over 13 years now.

Vanessa says:

March 17, 2012 at 4:50 pm

Percy is a great cat!

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