Interview! Veronica Coit, Asheville Cat Weirdos
February 2, 2019
Interview! Dr. Angie Kraus, Boulder Holistic Vet
February 9, 2019
Here’s the next installment in our series on Feline Leukemia (FeLV) adoption programs around the country. The series shares different groups’ answers to our questions about their FeLV+ adoption programs. We have heard about so many wonderful groups and programs that we’re declaring February to be Fe-Leuk February and running a profile every week this month!
We hope you enjoy and are inspired by this series, and if you have a suggestion for an organization we should consider profiling, please shoot me an email.
This week we’re talking with Kelly Simer, Cat Adoption Center Manager at the Carver Scott Humane Society in Chaska, Minnesota.
Why and when did you start a FeLV+ adoption program?
We have always had FeLV+ cats in a couple of our foster homes, but we didn’t quite know how to advocate and advertise for FeLV cats until November 2018, when I learned a lot about FeLV through the Maddie’s Fund Feline Lifesaving Apprenticeship Program at Austin Pets Alive!. Veterinary science is still learning about this confusing disease, but it really struck me that these cats usually do not require special food, medicine, or care. Adopting an FeLV+ cat is comparable to adopting a senior cat—it may not live for a decade or more, but it can be a healthy, beloved pet for years and years with no issues, which encouraged us to reduce barriers to adopting these special cats. There are impounds in the Twin Cities and in Minnesota (we only pull cats from within the state, to save cats from euthanasia outcomes) still euthanizing for FeLV+ or when they can’t find placement for their FeLV+ cats. The information we learned from Austin Pets Alive! gave us the knowledge and skills we need to better support our FeLV+ fosters, increase our foster base, and pull more of these special cats into our rescue.
How many cats do you adopt out annually?
In 2017, we adopted out over 300 (0 FeLV) cats. In 2018, we adopted out over 500 (4 FeLV) cats! We continue to reduce barriers for adoption and strive to pull from animal control impounds in the state of Minnesota. We only had six cats test positive for FeLV+ in 2018. One of those cats was with our rescue since 2017, four of them arrived this fall from an impound planning to euthanize if a rescue was not found to take them (we stepped up), and the final cat tested FeLV+ positive after he arrived at our rescue. I’m excited to say that ALL SIX of these cats have been adopted into loving homes as of mid-January 2019, including the one who was actually listed as hospice for several years because some in our organization questioned whether we could truly adopt out an FeLV+ cat. The conclusion: YES, WE CAN FIND HOMES FOR FELVIES! YAY!
Do you provide or cover vet care for the cats after adoption?
At this time, we do not provide or cover vet care for FeLV+ cats after adoption, but we do offer informational resources and references for vets who better understand the needs of FeLV+ cats. We also reduce the adoption fee, to match what we charge for senior cats, given the similarities to their needs, care, and future outlook.
What are the benefits to running such a program?
We are able to save more local cats in risk of euthanasia and we are better partners to other rescues in the community who might find placement for FeLV+ challenging. I’m hoping we can continue to support our fosters and show our community that FeLV+ cats ARE adoptable and can be wonderful, healthy, beloved members of loving families. I think some of our fosters are now more willing to take in FeLV+ cats, now that they see how these cats can thrive and that their length of stay doesn’t necessarily have to be longer than other cats. Also, it has been very rewarding to see our vet partners learn more about FeLV+ cats as well, as we’ve increased the number of FeLV+ cats we bring into our rescue. It is our hope that we can encourage other rescues and impounds to realize these cats are worth saving and are not a threat to the community.
What are the challenges?
Our greatest challenge is old-school thinking—that these cats are harboring deadly diseases that must be eradicated through euthanasia. There are several very large impounds with strict policies of euthanizing FeLV cats if they test positive on their first test. This can be reckless given the unreliability of FeLV tests. So often cats, especially kittens, may test positive once, but follow up testing demonstrates there is no disease in their system. In some impounds and rescues in our state, these cats would not have been allowed to live after their one false positive test. It is heartbreaking to say the least. Making sure we share the latest research and best practices to encourage life-saving among our impound and rescue partners is key.
Another challenge is having enough foster homes or creating a space in our shelter for FeLV cats. These are our initial next steps to reduce the stigma these cats face and to increase our capacity to serve these cats within our rescue.
How can people contact your organization for more information?
We only transfer cats from within Minnesota into our rescue and we are limited intake, but if people have questions about meeting the needs of FeLV+ cats in a foster-based rescue, ways to promote them in their community, or the benefits of adopting out these special cats, I can be emailed directly at kelly.simer@carverscotths.org.
I’ve attached photos of some of the cats and here is the background on them too:
CHARLEE (kitten): Charlee was part of a litter of three cats that were facing euthanasia at an animal control shelter north of the Twin Cities. They tested positive for FeLV in October. Another rescue who had tagged the kittens for their rescue but didn’t have placement for FeLV+ cats reached out to see if we could take them and our Animal Programs Manager decided to foster the litter. Two of Charlee’s siblings were adopted together into a home without other cats.
Charlee, who seemed to be a Siamese mix, was adopted into a home with a dog and they enjoy snuggling together. I’ve attached photos of Charlee on the couch with her doggie buddy, snoozing at home, and her initial kennel pic before she was adopted.
ODIN (fluffy tabby & white): Odin was a big floofy cat transferred to our care from a northern Twin Cities metro area impound that was overcrowded. Before we snap tested him, he was in our shelter, in an isolation cage, but right from the beginning he was a snuggler and loved people. At his first vet visit, he tested positive for FeLV. Subsequent tests confirmed his status. The vet clinic actually fostered him for our rescue. They made him their break room cat. He enjoyed taking turns with the vet techs, sitting on their laps during lunch. He was quite a friendly character! Although he was an adult FeLV+ cat in a non-traditional foster home, he was adopted within about a month of posting him as available! The adopters were thrilled that his care requires no special food or medication.
NALA (grey kitty): Nala has an amazing story. She was actually part of a TNR project and had some head trauma when she was trapped way back in spring 2017. Our volunteers didn’t want to return her to field with the trauma, so she had full vetting and it was discovered that she had FeLV in addition to the head trauma. We found a foster and the vet predicted that with the head trauma and FeLV+ combined, Nala would not live more than six months, so she was considered a hospice foster.
Fast forward a couple of years, and we realized this unique girl was still thriving in her foster home. The foster reached out to ask if she could actually be adoptable, right around the time we learned so much from Austin Pets Alive! about FeLV. We got the “all clear” from our awesome vet partner after getting Nala caught up on vaccines and set her as available to adopt. A special adopter seeking a special needs cat fell in love with special Nala—complete with her unique look from her past trauma (that had healed) and was not afraid of taking on an FeLV+ cat. We provided as much information as we could to prepare this wonderful adopter for sweet Nala, and Nala’s adoption was finalized in January 2019. Nala was one of the longest-stay cats in our entire rescue and there were many happy tears shed by our volunteers, coordinators, and her dear foster when Nala went home. We are so lucky to have fosters willing to take on FeLV+ cats so we can save more cats in Minnesota!
