And then there were three

I was at the rescue on Saturday when a distraught family came in with a wee little kitten.  They said they had found it by the side of a busy highway with no mama cat or littermates in sight, scooped it up before it got hit by a car, and brought it in.  The kitten was terribly frightened, and had an odd chunk of fur missing out of one side, and had conjunctivitis, but didn't seem to be injured in any way and didn't have any fleas or ticks or signs of respiratory problems.

Oh boy, another one!  haha.

I set up a crate in the back while another volunteer called the founder.  Could we, somehow, some way, make room for one? more? kitten?

The founder said yes, if a foster could be found.  When no one stepped up, I offered to take it and put it with my ringworm kittens, with the understanding that the new kitten would also be treated for ringworm, in the hopes of avoiding him catching it from the my fosters.  Seeing as I was the only one who had room, if a less than ideal room due to the ringworm, the decision was made to send him home with me to Foster Camp.

And then we did the FeLV/FIV test.  And he tested positive for FIV.  It was a very FAINT positive, but it was a positive.

If he had tested positive for FeLV (leukemia), he could not have stayed at the rescue.  FeLV is contagious and always fatal, and when we have a cat come in who tests positive (which, thankfully, happens VERY rarely these days), the founder has an FeLV rescue group she works with to place the animal.  FIV (feline AIDs) is a little different story, especially with a faint positive.  Kittens are sometimes born with FIV in their system, often from their mama, but manage to shed it as their immune system develops. Even if they don't, it is a less contagious and less, well, fatal disease in cats, and our group has a different rescue that we work with to place FIV-positive cats.

Our veterinarian was called and consulted, and the decision was made to let him come to Foster Camp, with the understanding that he would stay in foster care (and not at the rescue) until it was time for his re-test in six to eight weeks.

Welcome to Foster Camp, Nicky!  (The family who found him named him Nicky, I'm guessing because of the chunk of fur missing from his side.

Look at those paws!: 

He is a wild little thing, all teeth and claws, and having to stick meds in his mouth (de-wormer) and gel in his eyes (conjunctivitis treatment) and give him a BATH (ringworm treatment, as a precaution) and stick him with NEEDLES (testing and vaccinations) are not making him feel any more kindly disposed to humans.  The other kittens are scared of him because he plays AWFULLY rough, but they already are learning to swat back and sometimes just walk away when he's mean. And that's why Foster Camp and the other foster homes are really, really important when singletons come in - they NEED that interaction with other cats while they're still kittens and are learning the ways of socialization, with people AND other animals.

Of course, there is that looming FIV retest hanging over us.  Needless to say, a lot of other rescues would just euthanize a kitten with even a FAINT positive FIV test, but our rescue does not.  And I'm not really worried about it.  Even if the retest does come back positive, there is a rescue who will take him and find him a home, so his life will be saved regardless.

Welcome aboard, little Nicky!  And mind your manners, good sir. :)  (We won't talk about how he pooped in the salad bar yesterday.  ahem.)