Our new cat Nala is a mystery. Found as a scrawny stray south of the Minneapolis area, she started showing up in the yard of a kind couple. They fed her and for several days she came to visit them whenever they were outside, so they set up a little area for her in the garage with food and a dry bed since it was a stormy spring. Believing it odd that a cat like Nala would be a stray, they checked the local lost cat postings online and the vet checked for a microchip, but there were no leads.
Once it was obvious she was staying there instead of going home at night, they moved her into their basement and scheduled a vet visit. They had intended to make her part of their home, which included three other cats, but Nala as they called her, turned up positive for the FIV virus. The vet estimated Nala's age at about 4 years and also gave her her shots, spayed her, and checked for the microchip which was not present.
As much as they both want to keep Nala, potentially exposing an immunodeficiency disease to their other 3 cats seems like a bad idea. Their 4-year-old brothers have chronic upper respiratory issues, and one was just confirmed to have chronic rhinitis. So, they looked for a good home for her and reached out to some local rescues.
However, as they thought about it more, they realized that they didn't want to turn Nala over to rescue. After two weeks a rescue where they had adopted two of their cats finally replied and told them that it would be perfectly safe to keep Nala with their other cats and that they had cured cats of FIV before. This statement only confirmed Nala's caretakers' belief that she needed to go somewhere else as they learned that the prevailing view was that FIV+ cats could be adopted out and live with other cats safely, a position they didn't support. If they believed this theory, they would have kept Nala themselves. They emailed us this week "We were both struggling with the idea of giving Nala to a rescue-type organization, but we aren't having any luck finding a home for her ourselves. Home for Life® seems like a perfect solution. Please let us know if you have space for Nala."
There are several ideas of what kind of cat Nala could be with her beautiful and exotic looks: everything from ocicat to Bengal to Abyssinian has been suggested. After meeting her, she seems to look most like an Oriental with tiger pattern coloring. She is definitely domesticated, so unlikely she is mixed with a wild cat of any sort (we had suggested they contact the Wildcat sanctuary about her but they didn't feel she had any characteristics of a wild feline other than a love of hunting type play like pouncing and chasing, so declined).
The other mystery is how she contracted the FIV virus as a gentle female cat. The exposure surely occurred when she lived as a stray. Rescues all parrot the concept that FIV+ cats can safely mix with non-affected cats. We disagree, based on our experience with seeing the virus spread among cats, even those that don't fight. The hypothesis is that FIV spreads primarily if not exclusively among tomcats, and aggressive ones at that, through deep bite wounds. Based on our experience and observation, we think this position is a fallacy. And it doesn't explain the many female FIV+ cats we have in our care, who are not aggressive and don't fight. FIV cats often have mouth and dental issues that go with the virus. If you think about it, it wouldn't take much for cats who share bowls, water, and food, to spread the virus if affected individuals live with those not positive. Similarly, cats who groom each other can also spread the FIV virus.
We are heartened to see many animal control agencies declining to release FIV+ cats back into colonies, to cause widespread infection and exposure. If it is possible to protect non infected cats from those who are positive for FIV, or the more aggressive and deadly leukemia virus, why wouldn't you test and segregate these cats as long as they could have a great life in a safe setting?
That's the life we aim to give Nala, and what Amy and Rob, hoped for her. She is a very dainty cat, and getting used to our routine and the setting, as we slowly introduce her to the other cats of our south cattery dedicated to our FIV+ cats. They include gentle male cats and a few beautiful female cats—we're sure Nala will find her feline family and companionship among them. With summer just getting started, we can't wait for her to follow their lead out to our attached cat run to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Nala will never have to worry about searching for food and safety, nor love and care now that she is home for life!